Is this ich or something else?

[tobster]

Is this ich on this blue tang? I noticed it showed up about a week ago and seems to be increasing.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’ll have to try and get a video in the morning.
Temp is 78
Ammonia badge hasn’t changed - see pic

I don’t have a way of testing ph on this tank- the Neptune is hooked up on the DT.

I have 2 wave makers running. One is pointing towards the surface agitating the water and a skimmer running.

All other fish seem fine. I just noticed the tangs not eating.
Breathing is normal and they are swimming around like normal as well.

I also checked the copper when I got home from work and it dropped to 2.20, does that mean the clock restarts when it’s back to 2.25?

Those ammonia badges can be tricky, and they don’t always read correctly. I’d say that one is in the alert range. You might want to have the ammonia checked through a second test, just to make sure.

No - you do NOT need to restart the copper treatment. The range is between 2 and 2.5
Even if it drops below 2 for a time, you may not need a full restart, just add some time, perhaps a week. Now - if it drops really low, for a long time, and ich starts up again, then you need a full restart.

 

[tobster]

Those ammonia badges can be tricky, and they don’t always read correctly. I’d say that one is in the alert range. You might want to have the ammonia checked through a second test, just to make sure.

No - you do NOT need to restart the copper treatment. The range is between 2 and 2.5
Even if it drops below 2 for a time, you may not need a full restart, just add some time, perhaps a week. Now - if it drops really low, for a long time, and ich starts up again, then you need a full restart.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

At the end of the video, there are two orange circles - are those mushroom anemones? I couldn't tell, but there shouldn't be any invertebrates in a tank with copper.

I can't see any spots like there were in the still photos you provided, but video under blue light can mask them. Can you still see white spots on the fish in person? Coppersafe or copper power are mild, and can take 5+ days to begin to work (this copper doesn't kill the ich trophont, the "white spots", it only kills the free swimming stage, so you need time to have the ich go through its life cycle before it will seem to begin to work.

 

[tobster]

At the end of the video, there are two orange circles - are those mushroom anemones? I couldn't tell, but there shouldn't be any invertebrates in a tank with copper.

I can't see any spots like there were in the still photos you provided, but video under blue light can mask them. Can you still see white spots on the fish in person? Coppersafe or copper power are mild, and can take 5+ days to begin to work (this copper doesn't kill the ich trophont, the "white spots", it only kills the free swimming stage, so you need time to have the ich go through its life cycle before it will seem to begin to work.

Yes there were a few mushrooms I couldn’t get off the back wall without tearing them unfortunately.
There are only a few white spots left on the blue tang. I still haven’t noticed any spots on the other fish.
Hopefully they will get their appetite back soon.