Second fish ever. Did I manage to get one with Ich?

[Tickolas]

Alright, so yesterday I went to the LFS to buy another clown goby since the first one was doing excellently. I arrived like 5 minutes before closing and stupidly decided to buy one anyway. Acclimating went well and it's very energetic to the point of bullying my original clown goby in their own tank after one night. But of course, after turning the lights on for the first time this morning I noticed these white bumps on it. The rear dorsal fin also has lumps on it.

I immediately moved him to a separate jar with an air stone. On recommendation from the store I also gave him a short temp and pH matched RO water bath and I am prepping an improvised hospital tank (read: bucket with an air stone, hide, sponge from the display tank and a heater I do not trust at all beyond getting the water up to room temperature (about 21-23 degrees Celsius).

So, did I manage to get free Ich or something with the purchase or what do you think? Not the absolute worst if so, the display tank only has the one fish and is otherwise all inverts so waiting out the Ich lifecycle is not as bad as it could be.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Alright, so yesterday I went to the LFS to buy another clown goby since the first one was doing excellently. I arrived like 5 minutes before closing and stupidly decided to buy one anyway. Acclimating went well and it's very energetic to the point of bullying my original clown goby in their own tank after one night. But of course, after turning the lights on for the first time this morning I noticed these white bumps on it. The rear dorsal fin also has lumps on it.

I immediately moved him to a separate jar with an air stone. On recommendation from the store I also gave him a short temp and pH matched RO water bath and I am prepping an improvised hospital tank (read: bucket with an air stone, hide, sponge from the display tank and a heater I do not trust at all beyond getting the water up to room temperature (about 21-23 degrees Celsius).

So, did I manage to get free Ich or something with the purchase or what do you think? Not the absolute worst if so, the display tank only has the one fish and is otherwise all inverts so waiting out the Ich lifecycle is not as bad as it could be.

Yes, that does look like ich - gobies show larger spots than other fish do. You may need to treat both exposed fish.

Are you able to get coppersafe or copper power?

 

[Tickolas]

Yes, that does look like ich - gobies show larger spots than other fish do. You may need to treat both exposed fish.

Are you able to get coppersafe or copper power?

Yeah, I can probably source some. Since they really don't like each other I will wait for a bit before I try to treat the original fish. Annoying, they both came out of the literal same tank but a week apart so I didn't think it'd be an issue. How likely is it that the other one will also get it after one evening together?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alright, so yesterday I went to the LFS to buy another clown goby since the first one was doing excellently. I arrived like 5 minutes before closing and stupidly decided to buy one anyway. Acclimating went well and it's very energetic to the point of bullying my original clown goby in their own tank after one night. But of course, after turning the lights on for the first time this morning I noticed these white bumps on it. The rear dorsal fin also has lumps on it.

I immediately moved him to a separate jar with an air stone. On recommendation from the store I also gave him a short temp and pH matched RO water bath and I am prepping an improvised hospital tank (read: bucket with an air stone, hide, sponge from the display tank and a heater I do not trust at all beyond getting the water up to room temperature (about 21-23 degrees Celsius).

So, did I manage to get free Ich or something with the purchase or what do you think? Not the absolute worst if so, the display tank only has the one fish and is otherwise all inverts so waiting out the Ich lifecycle is not as bad as it could be.

dOES LOOK TO BE ICH.YOU HAVE ICH ON FISH AND IN YOUR TANK. You will need to treat with coppersafe at 2.2 ppm for all fish in the tank and monitor with a Hanna Brand copper test kit for a full 30 days and leave display tank without fish for 60 days, and inverts and coral can remain in display tank.

 

[Tickolas]

dOES LOOK TO BE ICH.YOU HAVE ICH ON FISH AND IN YOUR TANK. You will need to treat with coppersafe at 2.2 ppm for all fish in the tank and monitor with a Hanna Brand copper test kit for a full 30 days and leave display tank without fish for 60 days, and inverts and coral can remain in display tank.

Hm, that brand is unavailable here. In fact I have so far been unable to find any copper based treatments readily available at all. I can see there's one treatment called eSHa EXIT that's based on a different formulation that may or may not be more reef safe. I'll keep digging.

 

[mcarroll]

Did someone tell you two clown gobies would work? I think only if they're a pair.

You're going to have to remove one....aggression will eventually (sooner or later) cause disease by breaking the immune system of your fish. (Sooner in your case, it appears.)

You're going to have to remove him (at least) for treatment anyway, but you're also gonna have to re-home him once done.

 

[Tickolas]

Did someone tell you two clown gobies would work? I think only if they're a pair.

You're going to have to remove one....aggression will eventually (sooner or later) cause disease by breaking the immune system of your fish. (Sooner in your case, it appears.)

You're going to have to remove him (at least) for treatment anyway, but you're also gonna have to re-home him once done.

Yes, the store owner said it would work fine and the idea was that they would pair up since the new one is smaller. Doesn't seem to have panned out. Ugh, I'm really reconsidering if fish are worth the effort at this point. Inverts and corals may be more my jam even if they're less active.

 

[mcarroll]

Yes, the store owner said it would work fine and the idea was that they would pair up since the new one is smaller. Doesn't seem to have panned out. Ugh, I'm really reconsidering if fish are worth the effort at this point. Inverts and corals may be more my jam even if they're less active.

I recommend going coral only. I did that for a long time and IMO it was great.

I tell people all the time that corals are easy and fish are the hard part.

It's possible that if you remove the "offending" fish that things might even out without going through all the treatment for the remaining fish (that still appears healthy, right?)

But if you decide to go coral-only the obviously getting both fish out and treating them would probably be a good idea, that way you can pass them on as "QT'd fish" so to speak.....which most people have confused to mean "treated with medication". It will make whoever buys your gobies feel better tho. (Important if you want them to sell.)

 

[Tickolas]

I recommend going coral only. I did that for a long time and IMO it was great.

I tell people all the time that corals are easy and fish are the hard part.

It's possible that if you remove the "offending" fish that things might even out without going through all the treatment for the remaining fish (that still appears healthy, right?)

But if you decide to go coral-only the obviously getting both fish out and treating them would probably be a good idea, that way you can pass them on as "QT'd fish" so to speak.....which most people have confused to mean "treated with medication". It will make whoever buys your gobies feel better tho. (Important if you want them to sell.)

Yeah, the original fish already has a name (Nawa) so we'll be keeping him at least. And yes, they were only together overnight so I expect any transferred parasites will take a while to show. Also, I really do love the personalities of our hermits and other inverts so they're a given.

Managed to find Seachem Cupramine on the local Amazon. Cost $33 but at least we'll have some if Nawa breaks out in spots in a few days/weeks. Heck, by then we'll have begun migrating to the new tank I've set up so the current 20L can make an excellent QT/treatment tank for smaller fishies at least. As for the new fish, I'm going to give the LFS a chance to make this right and either take the new fish back for a refund or at least treat it at their place.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yeah, I can probably source some. Since they really don't like each other I will wait for a bit before I try to treat the original fish. Annoying, they both came out of the literal same tank but a week apart so I didn't think it'd be an issue. How likely is it that the other one will also get it after one evening together?

Tough to say - the risk is lower, but not zero, so keep a close eye on it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hm, that brand is unavailable here. In fact I have so far been unable to find any copper based treatments readily available at all. I can see there's one treatment called eSHa EXIT that's based on a different formulation that may or may not be more reef safe. I'll keep digging.

I see you are in Sweden. Your options are Cupramine to be dosed at .45 (max .5) or Aquasonic Formalin

 

[martin.a]

I suggest taking the sick fish back to the shop and saying thank you.
I am not sure about this, but if the other goby is from the same tank, only 1 week earlier, there is a large risk it is infected as well. I would treat it even when asymptomatic.
You surely can get copper safe or copper power, you only need to get creative. Amazon (other than Sweden), ebay, back streets od Stockholm... or ask in that shop.

 

[Tickolas]

I see you are in Sweden. Your options are Cupramine to be dosed at .45 (max .5) or Aquasonic Formalin

I suggest taking the sick fish back to the shop and saying thank you.
I am not sure about this, but if the other goby is from the same tank, only 1 week earlier, there is a large risk it is infected as well. I would treat it even when asymptomatic.
You surely can get copper safe or copper power, you only need to get creative. Amazon (other than Sweden), ebay, back streets od Stockholm... or ask in that shop.

Yeah, managed to find Seachem Cupramine on Swedish Amazon.

Anyway, the new fish did not survive the night, likely due to stress or acclimation failure so I guess all that is moot. At least I'm a bit more prepped if this happens again, and I have the beginnings of a hospital/quarantine tank. Ugh, not how I wanted this to go.

As for Nawa, they're the only fish in the display currently and I'm getting ready to start migrating to a bigger tank so I'll keep 'em in there for now. We'll know in a few weeks.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[mcarroll]

You might be fine just continuing on the course you laid out. If you wanted to take any extra measures of safety though, there are some things you could do for the remaining fish.

One thing is to add filtration to remove or kill infective agents that might still be in the water like ich or velvet.

Strong UV filtration can kill them. Micron filtration can remove them from the water.

Combining UV and micron makes for double the fun....they work very well together.

Micron filtering is probably the cheaper option if you only want to do one.

Another thing to consider is using a reef-safe additive like those from Ruby Reef (pretty sure there are other comparable brands if RR isn't international) as a supplement to the filtering.

 

[Tickolas]

You might be fine just continuing on the course you laid out. If you wanted to take any extra measures of safety though, there are some things you could do for the remaining fish.

One thing is to add filtration to remove or kill infective agents that might still be in the water like ich or velvet.

Strong UV filtration can kill them. Micron filtration can remove them from the water.

Combining UV and micron makes for double the fun....they work very well together.

Micron filtering is probably the cheaper option if you only want to do one.

Another thing to consider is using a reef-safe additive like those from Ruby Reef (pretty sure there are other comparable brands if RR isn't international) as a supplement to the filtering.

Thanks for the tips! Can't really fit any more equipment on the current tank, but I might be able to do something for the new one

 

[martin.a]

Yeah, managed to find Seachem Cupramine on Swedish Amazon.

Anyway, the new fish did not survive the night, likely due to stress or acclimation failure so I guess all that is moot. At least I'm a bit more prepped if this happens again, and I have the beginnings of a hospital/quarantine tank. Ugh, not how I wanted this to go.

As for Nawa, they're the only fish in the display currently and I'm getting ready to start migrating to a bigger tank so I'll keep 'em in there for now. We'll know in a few weeks.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Sorry to hear about that goby. My only goby has just developed some white spots and I am panicking.

Seachem Cupramine is the more active copper which requires low therapeutic concentration. If you use it, keep copper below 0.5 ppm and do not use any ammonia reducers/detoxifies. (Theoretical knowledge, I used only Copper Power myself and only once - I am in in second week of treatment.)

 

[Tickolas]

Sorry to hear about that goby. My only goby has just developed some white spots and I am panicking.

Seachem Cupramine is the more active copper which requires low therapeutic concentration. If you use it, keep copper below 0.5 ppm and do not use any ammonia reducers/detoxifies. (Theoretical knowledge, I used only Copper Power myself and only once - I am in in second week of treatment.)

No need to panic, that's more or less what I was forced to do yesterday and it didn't end well. Set everything up properly before taking any action and get your goby the help it needs

A final update, the LFS has promised a replacement fish or a refund so all's well there at least. I'll likely go for some inverts for the new tank instead of another Clown Goby right now though.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah, managed to find Seachem Cupramine on Swedish Amazon.

Anyway, the new fish did not survive the night, likely due to stress or acclimation failure so I guess all that is moot. At least I'm a bit more prepped if this happens again, and I have the beginnings of a hospital/quarantine tank. Ugh, not how I wanted this to go.

As for Nawa, they're the only fish in the display currently and I'm getting ready to start migrating to a bigger tank so I'll keep 'em in there for now. We'll know in a few weeks.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Sorry for loss and UV is not always the answer especially if you dont have sufficient wattage. Prevention is often the best remedy by quarantining fish before they reach the display tank.

 

[Tickolas]

Sorry for loss and UV is not always the answer especially if you dont have sufficient wattage. Prevention is often the best remedy by quarantining fish before they reach the display tank.

Yep, going to keep the current 20L as a quarantine/hospital tank when it's been fully transfered. This time things went a bit faster than they should have, and that's on me. Good learning experience at least.

 

[Tickolas]

dangit, now Nawa is showing a pair of white dots just as I'm about to leave home for two weeks. I have the Cupramine and just about nothing else and my tank sitter will not be able to handle it. Going for an expedited transfer of all inverts and corals from my 20L, then I will make it hyposaline. Way I understand it an SG of 1.008 to 1.009 will kill the ich but not bother the fish too much. Does that sound about right? Over how many days should the salinity change be done ideally? @vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal