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Ich / Ick white stuff, not thought to be ich...but actually is

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by Aironia, Jun 24, 2009.

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  1. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    one of my larger clown loaches has a touch of this white stuff on its side. Its not like ich, but looks a little fuzzy and flows in the water. sorta like hair would. I cant get a really close look but it almost looks like a little white line under its skin right where the fuzzy stuff touches it.

    i am going to try to get a picture but in the mean time wanted to get this out there. this fish is one of the oldest in my tank and i have never seen anything like this before.

    Water changes weekly, at least 30% of the 65g. Havent checked the water today but its never been out of normal perameters. ill post exact numbers tomorrow. I keep the tank at about 82, but with the AC running more often its hanging in at 81. The tank has been running with its current occupents for over six months.

    thanks for any help
     
    Aironia, Jun 24, 2009
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  2. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    sounds like a fungus of some sort

    Whats all in this tank? anything extra besides what's in your signature?
    Anything new added (fish,plant,chemical)?
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jun 24, 2009
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  3. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    ps. white spot disease (ich) is a ciliate ...which would explain the white hairs your seeing. IF that is what it is please be aware that you cannot use copper based products on clown loaches. If you want/need to use a med for loaches look for something that uses Quinine Sulfate.

    jrow8162 battled this with a clown loach, so IF this is what it is you may want to pm for first hand advice.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jun 24, 2009
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  4. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    ok so this morning the fuzzy stuff that was hanging on to the fish is gone. no sign of it at all, but now there looks to be a small white spot on its top fin. It does look like ich.

    so my question is this, should i stress out everyone trying to catch the bugger and put it in the quarintine tank, (moving everything in the quarantine tank to the planted) or leave it and treat the whole tank.

    Im very familuar with not using copper on them...which makes treating them take much longer and not always succesufully.

    Only the fish in my sig are the ones in this tank.

    also since i already keep the tank in the 82 degree mark.....should i turn it up on the quarintine tank?

    i did read everything i could find on this site before posting, but personal attention is very much appreciated. I feel like my kid just broke his neck or something.
     
    Aironia, Jun 24, 2009
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  5. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    Well if ich is present on one fish it's in the tank which means it's very likely other fish have it in their gills where you cannot see it. Because of that I recommend treating the whole tank. You said you read everything already so I assume you read the "Understand Ich and Cure" thread ? I would do the temp process to get rid of the ich.
     
    Anthony, Jun 24, 2009
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  6. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    yea i started upping the temp this morn, in case i was told not to move it.
    getting it to 86.
     
    Aironia, Jun 24, 2009
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  7. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    What you saw could have been some excess slime coat from where the ich attached itself to the fish.
     
    Anthony, Jun 24, 2009
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  8. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    defin. sounds like ich in the early stages. Do as Anthony is telling you (you probably already read the topic with the instructions). Keep us updated and let us know if you run into any problems!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jun 24, 2009
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  9. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    alright now i cant find the white spot at all.

    just did the evening feeding and no spots on any fish.


    does ich just vanish?
     
    Aironia, Jun 24, 2009
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  10. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: white stuff, not ich though

    Yep, as it goes through it's life cycle the cyst falls off. This does not mean your in the clear though. Keep your temp at 86-87 per the ich cure thread. A good substrate vacuuming would help remove any ich in the substrate.
     
    Anthony, Jun 24, 2009
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  11. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    temp.
     
    stevenrox, Jun 24, 2009
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  12. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    What ?
     
    Anthony, Jun 24, 2009
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  13. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    MOD_Dawn, Jun 24, 2009
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  14. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    so the thought is this one degree flux is the cause?
     
    Aironia, Jun 24, 2009
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  15. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    no, my thoughts are that if it truly is ich that your fish probably already had it at the time of purchase (if it was recent). Anthony may have a different thought on it though.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jun 24, 2009
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  16. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    Ok so i did a good vaccumm of the substrate, and the water is sparkling!

    No white dots anywhere...temp is at 85, should be up to 86 at the end of the day.

    /crossing fingers
     
    Aironia, Jun 26, 2009
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  17. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    That's great. If you can make sure the temp is 86 at the very bottom of the tank too.
     
    Anthony, Jun 26, 2009
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  18. Aironia

    Aironia Thread Starter New Member

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    oh good heads up, although in this tank my temp strip is horizontal and on the bottom of the tank. (opposite side of tank of the heater) so should be good.
     
    Aironia, Jun 26, 2009
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  19. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Yep that should be good then.
     
    Anthony, Jun 26, 2009
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  20. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Member

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    My clown loaches were covered in ich at one time. The heat method works great. I saw results in just a couple of days. If the spots have disappeared and the fish are still alive I would say your on the right track!!!
     
    jrow8162, Jun 27, 2009
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