worried

[stagofdoom]

Ive noticed a lot of little white things crawling around on the glass. I was wondering if I should be worried about this or is there anything i can do to fix it.
Thanks

 

[fishbait]

those are copepods. they are a good thing. they are the little scavengers that help keep you tank clean, and a food for many fish and corals. congradulations!

 

[Bifferwine]

If they look like little bugs, then Fishbait is right, they are pods. You'll see them more often at night. And take a closer look at your rock at night, you'll see a gazillion of them.

 

[stagofdoom]

now I see a white spot on the top back fin of my clown and one more on the back of my other.
They are acting different too..then again they might just be getting usto the tank, I put them in last thurs.

 

[yote]

I'm voting that its pods on the glass too.

As for white spots on your fish,That COULD be ick.Not saying that it is.Just keep an eye on them for a few days.If they get more spots,start mixing some garlic extract in their food.

 

[stagofdoom]

yeah thats why im worried. It just started. Ill watch them for a few days though.
Also I talked to the local store here and he recommended to wait till a water change. I just wanted to ask some other people too before I decide if I need to or not.

 

[cthegame]

Is it just one or two sports on your fish or a bunch? Sometimes my clowns get a few micro bubbles stuck on them and it looks like ich. It used to freak me out until i saw the bubble float up from their body when they move aggressively. Happens all the time.

If its ich, quarantine them asap.

 

[stagofdoom]

Its just a couple. I havnt seen them float away yet but im going to keep watching.
If it is ich where do I put them to quarantine them

 

[cthegame]

Once you have determined its ich, you'll need just a small tank (you can get them at petco for around $10, but dont buy livestock from petco), a small heater, a small powerhead, and a small hang on filter (but the filter might not be necessary, i just have one, i dont know about this). You dont have to go all out on this, its very cheap. You can get it done for under $50 i believe.

Use a little bit of water from your current tank (like 5 gal.) and use new water for the rest. Then add the copper and you got yourself a nice hospital tank.

I have my QT in my room so i dont mind at all having some sick patients with me for a few days.

Change the QT water about 10% every other day to keep the water qulity high. I think this is the most important element for fish recovery. You need to give them good environment because the small tank can change water conditions fairly quickly without a skimmer, etc.

Good luck!

 

[stagofdoom]

im going to do a water change tomorrow since I havnt yet. The salinity and gravity are high so I was thinking doing a 5 gallon change and getting half freshwater and half salt so I could decrease the salinity and gravity. Also I was going to put the garlic extract in the food and see if that helps. Once I do determine it is ich ill QT them.

 

[Bifferwine]

Quarantining fish can often stress them out even more. Ich is a disease brought out by stress. So quarantining them can often make it worse. I have never quarantined a fish of mine that came down with ich, and I have never lost one to it. I am a proponent of leaving them in the tank, minimizing stress, and boosting their immune systems and giving them the chance to fight it off themselves. If your water parameters are good (ammonia, nitrite at zero, nitrates less than 20, and correct pH and salinity), I'd just say to let the ich run its course and give them a shot at fighting it off themselves rather than quarantining them. It's a different story if you have a whole tank of expensive fish at risk, then you might want to get the sick ones out. But that doesn't sound like the case here.

 

[cthegame]

That sounds like a good plan!

 

[stagofdoom]

What about the water change... is half fresh and half salt the right thing to do to lower the salinity...
Oh and the guy at LFS said I should wait to do a water change but I dont think thats right.

 

[Bifferwine]

If you need to lower the salinity in your tank, you should do it gradually. So diluting out the new water is a good idea. Do it slowly until you get to the right salinity.

 

[cthegame]

Quarantining fish can often stress them out even more. Ich is a disease brought out by stress. So quarantining them can often make it worse. I have never quarantined a fish of mine that came down with ich, and I have never lost one to it. I am a proponent of leaving them in the tank, minimizing stress, and boosting their immune systems and giving them the chance to fight it off themselves. If your water parameters are good (ammonia, nitrite at zero, nitrates less than 20, and correct pH and salinity), I'd just say to let the ich run its course and give them a shot at fighting it off themselves rather than quarantining them. It's a different story if you have a whole tank of expensive fish at risk, then you might want to get the sick ones out. But that doesn't sound like the case here.

Good point. I just personally have the habit of quarantining my fish that i think are acting odd or showing signs of sickness or stress. I cant help it, i have a QT always running and its become standard procedure to me.

 

[stagofdoom]

so like 3/4 salt water and 1/4 fresh to do it slowly? Also I might just get like 2 gallons of fresh water to have so I can control it over the week.

 

[yote]

so like 3/4 salt water and 1/4 fresh to do it slowly? Also I might just get like 2 gallons of fresh water to have so I can control it over the week.

Your better off just mixing your water to the proper salinity for each water change.It'll take long to bring the salinity down,but it wont stress your fish any at all.

 

[fishbait]

I agree with biff 100% I have had two different fish get ich on two different occasions, and never qt'd them. just gave them a good diet with a little garlic and it was gone in no time. ich is allways going to be in the tank. but, it's only going to attack the ones that are stressed and week. just because one gets it, doesn't mean their all going to get it. except maybe if you have ich prone fish such as tangs.

 

[Piggy]

Don't change the salinity to quickly.

 

[stagofdoom]

im not...im going to do my first water change. when I get my new water im also going to get freshwater so I can do that later in the day after I do my water change. so I can do it slow