Ich is still in tank even after going full cycle

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well, this morning I woke up and he had a spot on his fins, specifically his right side.

Could be ich - however, in looking back at the pictures, I see that the tang is in a small isolation box. Those tend to cause a lot of minor injuries to a fish, so that can cloud any definitive ich diagnosis.

What are your options if it does turn out to be ich? All exposed fish would need to be treated…..

 

[StartingATank]

If it is ich I would put all the fish back into quarantine and start copper at begin the fish less cycle again. And I would be VERY careful about cross tank water.

 

[StartingATank]

He also has one or two spots on his tail

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

He also has one or two spots on his tail

So - what I would do is to prepare the treatment tank, but then continue to watch the fish for now. If the number of spots increases to about 20 or so, that confirms ich, but still gives you ample time to move the fish and treat them.

 

[StartingATank]

He also has one or two spots on his tail

Yeah I have the tank up and running because I only put the tang in the main tank so my other fish are currently in the quarantine tank, so all I would have to do is add copper. I also counted that he has about 10-15 on his right side, about 5 on his left side, and two on his tail

 

[W31Olds]

Post some new Pics and a Video so we can take a look at him today.

 

[StartingATank]

Here’s a video

 

[W31Olds]

I looked at you Video several times and I see a healthy fish. Maybe it's the image quality, but I can't spot any Ich.

 

[StartingATank]

I looked at you Video several times and I see a healthy fish. Maybe it's the image quality, but I can't spot any Ich.

It probably is because I have a bad quality camera, but I definitely see spots on it

 

[StartingATank]

I have noticed that it is a lot more apparent under blue lighting, so here is a video under blue lighting

 

[W31Olds]

Are they spots or dots. Ich usually first presents as well-defined white specs just like grains of Salt.

 

[StartingATank]

Are they spots or dots. Ich usually first presents as well-defined white specs just like grains of Salt.

They kinda look like that, I think, they are raised off of the skin and I did just watch one come off, it kinda looked like a fat bug, as it had little tendrils coming off of it on the sides, kinda like a spider. They are perfectly round. About the size of a pinhead, I think

 

[StartingATank]

So I went ahead and released him into the tank and we will see if the spots go away. His breathing rate was elevated after I released him but that could be because it is a new environment for him as I have pretty much doubled the amount of corals and CUC since he has been taken out of there

 

[StartingATank]

Ok so he still has the spots and I found one on his right fin and 2-3 on his top fin, and I think his breathing rate is normalish but on the higher side, but it Is so difficult to tell because he is constantly swimming. But he seems perfectly happy and not showing any signs of sickness other than the spots and mildly elevated breathing rate, so I wonder if he built an immunity to ich. I am wondering if I should take him out and restart the cycle or just let him be.

 

[strich]

So sorry to hear about another potential outbreak! I've just finished going through it myself with the hypo salinity protocol and also have my doubts as to whether I got it right.

FYI I've found a lot more success with videos if you upload them to YouTube in their native resolution hopefully 4k if your phone has that. Also if your phone supports slowmo video it helps a ton too. IMO your videos are really hard to make a call on.

I'm not a fish medic, but I thought one only needed to do 45 day fallow these days, with 75 days being considered slightly overkill?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So sorry to hear about another potential outbreak! I've just finished going through it myself with the hypo salinity protocol and also have my doubts as to whether I got it right.

FYI I've found a lot more success with videos if you upload them to YouTube in their native resolution hopefully 4k if your phone has that. Also if your phone supports slowmo video it helps a ton too. IMO your videos are really hard to make a call on.

I'm not a fish medic, but I thought one only needed to do 45 day fallow these days, with 75 days being considered slightly overkill?

A 45 day fallow can work if the water temperature is held above 81 F., and if time is a real issue for some reason. Otherwise, I use 60 days as a good, solid value. 76 days is based on an in vitro study (petri dish) from many decades ago, in which the author of the paper even doubted that it would take that long in vivo (in a tank).

The trouble is that the 76 day number is firmly entrenched in the hobby literature, and then, people expand that to 90+ days for some reason. Back in the 1970's, we used to "burn out ich" in 30 days by holding the water temperature above 88 F., but of course, that was before corals, and those cannot handle that high of a temperature.....

 

[StartingATank]

I have tried to take a video in slo mo but my tang immediately hides once white light is on and my phone has terrible focus on blue lighting.

 

[strich]

I have tried to take a video in slo mo but my tang immediately hides once white light is on and my phone has terrible focus on blue lighting.

Keep trying if you can. It's bloody hard I know haha. Give him some time in the white lighting.

 

[StartingATank]

Ok I kinda got one

 

[Gone Reefin’]

Well the tank temperature is kind of the problem, as every day my temperature fluctuates from 78ish to 80ish, and that is the glory of Texas. I have been able to cool down the tank whenever it overheats with a fan. I did have the tang running a full copper but then I was able to catch another fish that had been surviving in the main tank and added it into there, and forgot to increase the copper again. The only thing that I can remember that was ever shared was a net.

Can you clarify the part where you “caught another fish surviving in main tank”? When you caught this fish, both clocks need to reset, the copper treatment period and the fallow period. Did you go fallow another 45 days+ after you caught the last fish?

BTW, I see nothing in the video of concern, but if you can see them the concern is still there.