Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki - Ich or something else?

[milalic]

I have some Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki that are suffering from a disease that seems similar to ich. The spots seem a little bigger than ich and they seem to protrude from the body.

The fish have been in the tank for 6 weeks. The tank has been established for more than a year.

The fish are breathing heavily with their mouth open. When the fish die it dies with the mouth open and also I have notice that the belly is a little bloated. I am using a quanine treatment and following the instructions in the bottle to dose everyday after a water change. I have raised the temp to 85F and increased aeration in the tank.

This is the fifth day of treatment and the fish are dying.
Other fish in the tank are not affected.

Tank parameters

ph: 7.2
nitrate: 5
nitrite and ammonia: 0
temp: 85F

Pictures:

[Diana]

Do some research for Super Ich, but this looks more like a really bad case of regular Ich.

I would move these fish to a bare bottom tank so that you can do daily vacuuming and be sure to remove the Ich as it falls off.

If you have several species of fish that can handle different medications then separate them. For example, some fish can handle salt quite well, others cannot. If you separate the fish this way then you can heavily salt one tank and use very little salt in the other.

Do not leave any fish in the original tank. The gravel is now so full of Ich that it is reproducing faster than it is dying. Heavily salt the original tank for several days, then several big water changes and thorough cleanings, then do the fishless cycle on it. Salt will kill the Ich, and lack of host will kill it. Then several weeks with feeding the tank ammonia to keep the bacteria alive while the fish are in their hospital tank(s).

Change medicines. Whatever you are using is not working. Add an ultra violet sterilizer if the medicine you choose will not be deactivated by it.

[shari2]

i definitely second the treatment tank suggestion. you may also end up needing a round of antibiotics if the lesions where the ich were concentrated get infected. using a qtank with scrupulous cleaning may stave that off, however.

[milalic]

Do some research for Super Ich, but this looks more like a really bad case of regular Ich.

I would move these fish to a bare bottom tank so that you can do daily vacuuming and be sure to remove the Ich as it falls off.

If you have several species of fish that can handle different medications then separate them. For example, some fish can handle salt quite well, others cannot. If you separate the fish this way then you can heavily salt one tank and use very little salt in the other.

Do not leave any fish in the original tank. The gravel is now so full of Ich that it is reproducing faster than it is dying. Heavily salt the original tank for several days, then several big water changes and thorough cleanings, then do the fishless cycle on it. Salt will kill the Ich, and lack of host will kill it. Then several weeks with feeding the tank ammonia to keep the bacteria alive while the fish are in their hospital tank(s).

Change medicines. Whatever you are using is not working. Add an ultra violet sterilizer if the medicine you choose will not be deactivated by it.

Thanks for the advice. I will search for Super Ich. The medicine I am using supposedly is for hard strains of ich. I will move them to a barebottom tank and change medicines.