Henrique
New Member
I have a clownfish currently in a quarantine tank (5 gallons), and I’m dealing with what I believe is marine ich, but I want confirmation.
Timeline:
- Fish was originally in the display tank where I noticed many visible white dots on its body (looked like salt grains), and it had stopped eating
- I removed the fish from the display tank and performed a freshwater dip before placing it into quarantine
- After the dip, the visible white spots disappeared and the fish began eating again
- A few days later (day 3 in QT), the white dots came back on the body
Current observations:
- White dots are ONLY on the body (not a slime coat)
- There is a pink/red “stain” or irritated patch near the head/gill area
- No heavy breathing
- No rapid decline
- Fish is still eating aggressively and behaving normally
Actions taken:
- Set up QT tank (heater, basic setup)
- Performed one freshwater dip before QT (no repeated dips after)
- Started copper treatment (currently ramping dose slowly over 2 days)
- Ordered a Hanna Copper Checker (arriving Saturday) to properly measure levels
- Feeding consistently (mysis + garlic)
Current plan:
- Reach and maintain therapeutic copper level for 14 days once test kit arrives
- Monitoring the pink spot before adding any antibiotics (e.g., Kanaplex)
Main questions:
1. Does this sound more like marine ich or Brooklynella?
2. Is the pink irritation near the head just parasite damage, or should I treat with antibiotics?
3. Anything else I should be doing differently at this stage?
OBS: I forgot to take pictures of the dots before the FW dip so right now the clown looks fine if needed I can still upload a picture of the pink stain looking thing near the head, it seems to be going away but not sure, it appeared after the FW dip
Any help or confirmation would be appreciated.
Timeline:
- Fish was originally in the display tank where I noticed many visible white dots on its body (looked like salt grains), and it had stopped eating
- I removed the fish from the display tank and performed a freshwater dip before placing it into quarantine
- After the dip, the visible white spots disappeared and the fish began eating again
- A few days later (day 3 in QT), the white dots came back on the body
Current observations:
- White dots are ONLY on the body (not a slime coat)
- There is a pink/red “stain” or irritated patch near the head/gill area
- No heavy breathing
- No rapid decline
- Fish is still eating aggressively and behaving normally
Actions taken:
- Set up QT tank (heater, basic setup)
- Performed one freshwater dip before QT (no repeated dips after)
- Started copper treatment (currently ramping dose slowly over 2 days)
- Ordered a Hanna Copper Checker (arriving Saturday) to properly measure levels
- Feeding consistently (mysis + garlic)
Current plan:
- Reach and maintain therapeutic copper level for 14 days once test kit arrives
- Monitoring the pink spot before adding any antibiotics (e.g., Kanaplex)
Main questions:
1. Does this sound more like marine ich or Brooklynella?
2. Is the pink irritation near the head just parasite damage, or should I treat with antibiotics?
3. Anything else I should be doing differently at this stage?
OBS: I forgot to take pictures of the dots before the FW dip so right now the clown looks fine if needed I can still upload a picture of the pink stain looking thing near the head, it seems to be going away but not sure, it appeared after the FW dip
Any help or confirmation would be appreciated.
