Small white dots on my new angel fish

[meagle]

Hi all,

 

I recently (three days ago) purchased an African Flameback Angel from a LFS and this morning I noticed he is covered very tiny white bumps all over his body, including head fins and eye region.

 

They do seem to be bumps and not flat to his body.

 

Can anyone shed light on what he has, what the prognosis is and how to help get rid of them?

 

He is in a 28g nano reef tank with two clowns and a six line that are unaffected. He did not have these bumps last night.

 

Thanks for your help!

[meagle]

After a bit of research, looks like Ich.

 

Anyone have success with certain products to rid ich?

[Duke]

Ive always had luck with this product. Make sure you stick to this green label instead of the red if you have inverts in your tank since the other may kill them.

[roni]

After a bit of research, looks like Ich.

 

Anyone have success with certain products to rid ich?

 

There really isn't any medication in a bottle that has proven success with ich.  Most reported success is likely secondary to the fish recovering on it's own.  If you can't catch and medicate, your best option is to keep the water quality and oxygenation up, feed well, and wait it out.  Garlic is reported to help but probably doesn't.  May stimulate appetite however. 

 

If you have UV available, it helps.  If it's a FOWLR, you can do hyposalinity for treatment.  

 

If you can catch and treat, you can do copper, hypo, or tank transfer for treatment of ich.  Ultimately, if you don't have a cycled qt or the ability to treat, most fish that are healthy to begin with will _probably_ fight off the infection on their own (in my experience) and you're better off doing supportive methods. 

[Brian Ward]

Hypo and/or copper are the only things that will really help. You have to catch and QT. Bring the salinity down to about 1.010 or 1.008. That will both fight the ich and help the fish have enough energy to fight it himself. Look for an Advanced Aquarist article on hypo therapy for exact protocols.

 

Be sure it isn't velvet! They can be confused and velvet thrives in hypo.

 

Copper is equivalent to chemo for fish. Use it as a last resort.

 

Also, all of your fish now have been exposed to ich as it is living in your tank. They must all be treated and your tank must sit fallow for at least 6 weeks. If you introduce new fish prior to this (or add the infected fish back) then the ich will still be in your tank and the new fish will be infected.

[TheyCallMeMr.703]

  Kick- Ich        ... come's in a 2 liter bottle. And does the measurements itself, making it easier to dose correctly. Fool-Proof for a First Timer, or one without all the measuring equipment. VERY, Easy to follow Directions, making this one of my favorite products on the market for this problem...
            I've used it before in a tank, with Fish, Inverts, and a Few corals back in the day... Got Rid of everything, and Nothing seemed really bothered by it. Very Good Product. Would Recommend it to Anyone, and Use it Again myself... Should I ever get Ich.... thankfully, I've been pretty good so far. lol.

      If you have not gotten' something yet... I'd go out and get this... Very Good Stuff... Good Luck with the Ich. Deal with it sooner, rather then later.  
 

Edited November 17, 2013 by TheyCallMeMr.703

[Coral Hind]

Before you do hypo make sure it is ich. If it's velvet and you do hypo it can make things much worse since velvet is not killed with hypo treatment and from what I've been told it actually multiplies faster in lower SG levels. If you can catch the fish then you need to treat in a hospital tank and you need to treat all of the fish while letting the main tank go fishless for two months. I would be careful since this is a pygmy angel and they are sensitive to copper. I would suggest a Formalin / Malachite Green combo instead of the copper.

[countryboy]

The one time I had ick, the kickick worked for me at double the recommended dosage

[YHSublime]

You can follow my journey with what I believe was Ich through this thread. Tomorrow marks 4 weeks of QT and copper treatment.

[meagle]

****************** UPDATE ******************

 

Thanks for everyone's help! You guys are awesome and I am grateful to be a part of such an active and helpful community.

 

I have ordered an Kick Ich from Marine Depot and will begin treatments when it arrives.

 

Unfortunately I do not have a QT. I am in an apartment and a 28g is all I really have room for but it is on my list for when I can expand my setup.

 

The good news is that he was more active as the afternoon/evening progressed and was finally interested in food, eating quite well. His bumps even seem to have gotten a bit better but I will keep my eye on it tomorrow. 

 

Thanks again for all the advice. I always learn so much when I post here. It is truly invaluable!

[gmerek2]

Keep em fat and happy! Keep water quality up with water change to reduce stress! These things boost immune system and hopefully keeps it in check for the rest of his life with no signs/symptoms. Go to LFS and buy live brine if he turns nose to food. Also black worms. I put drops of selicon in the brine shrimp and blackworm water to marinate. There is a link pinned on forum page that has everything you need to know about saltwater ick if you want to rid it for good. A lot of people think the display tank meds are snake oil. They say the fish with success storys just overcame it with less stress and boosted immune.

[trockafella]

. There is a link pinned on forum page that has everything you need to know about saltwater ick if you want to rid it for good.

 

 

There is no ridding it for good.. It could come back anytime, and any new fish you add runs the risk. There is no forever fix. But healthy fish should easily beat it.. 

[gmerek2]

I was under the impression that hyposalinity was a cure for good for ick?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[meagle]

******* UPDATE 2 ***********

 

For anyone still following this post, the angel fish kicked the ich the following day but died a day later. Very sad about it. I thought he was going to make a recovery.

 

I bought Kick Ich from Foster's & Smith but it arrived a few days after the fish died. My two clowns and 6-line were unaffected and are happy as can be. Corals and cleanup crew are also doing extremely well.

 

So my question is, should I still treat my tank with Kick Ich at this point?

[Coral Hind]

I was under the impression that hyposalinity was a cure for good for ick?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am with you, I have never heard that hypo or copper were not cure if done correctly.

 

meagle - Just because the spots are gone doesn't mean the ich is gone. The ones that were visible just move to another stage in the cycle but there are always different off cycles so it probably still had ich in and on it.

 

Odds are very good that ich is still in the tank, just not affecting the other fish as bad. They might not show spots but still carry it on their gills. Watch to make sure they are not breathing real fast. If they were to get stressed their immune system and slime coat might let the ich take a stronger hold.

[gmerek2]

I think he meant there is no cure because it can always be re introduced with new parasites from newly added infected fish.

[zygote2k]

there's no cure because fish that have been living without ick for long periods of time (many years) can get it without warning.

[meagle]

I am with you, I have never heard that hypo or copper were not cure if done correctly.

 

meagle - Just because the spots are gone doesn't mean the ich is gone. The ones that were visible just move to another stage in the cycle but there are always different off cycles so it probably still had ich in and on it.

 

Odds are very good that ich is still in the tank, just not affecting the other fish as bad. They might not show spots but still carry it on their gills. Watch to make sure they are not breathing real fast. If they were to get stressed their immune system and slime coat might let the ich take a stronger hold.

 

Coral - Thanks for the info. Makes sense. I will treat my tank and hopefully reduce the chances of this happening in the future with stressed new additions.

 

gmerek - You are also right. I suppose I cant 100% safeguard against it being reintroduced by new fish but I can do my due diligence to reduce or kill what exists in my tank currently.