Ich

[Nigel-James]

I have just recently added 8 Clown loaches to my 120 gallon tank, I purchased the loaches one week ago. All has been fine until tonight when I spotted one white spot on a single loach.

I have Ich medication ready, however my question is shall I treat now or should I wait until I see a few more spots to ensure that it really is Ich/white spot? I know that time is of the essence if it is Ich.

Ich has killed my fish in the past, I am determined not to lose the battle against it this time.

Any advice or tips are welcome.

Cheers

[eastofthesun46]

I am in the same position - one tiny dot on the end of a tail fin that definately was not there yesterday!!
I think the best idea would be to start treating straight away, and do not stop for about six weeks. If this is the first time that you have had ich, there will be very low levels of the parasite in your tank, so it will be easier to kill them all off now and forever!! There is a very good article about treating ich in the health forum.
I have also heard wonderful things about liquid garlic extract, if you can get hold of some from your local health food store or lfs? It's known to help support the immune systems of most vertebrates, and is supposed to be very good when it comes to treating ich. If you can't get hold of any, you might try peeling some cloves of garlic, and poking wafers or pellets into them, to try to get your clown to accidentally eat some.
Good luck!

[Diana]

I would jump on it right away if you are sure it is Ich.











This is why a quarantine tank is so highly recommended.

[Nigel-James]

I would jump on it right away if you are sure it is Ich.

That is my problem, I am not 100% sure it is Ich.

To make things even more awkward, when I woke up this morning I checked the loaches over and the single white spot which was on one of my 8 loaches has now disappeared.

To treat or not to treat?

I want to treat to prevent any outbreaks of Ich however I don't want to treat them as I may not have a case of Ich. I don't want to add chemicals into the water and stress them out if there is no case of Ich to treat.

When I arrive home from work tonight I will scan them over again and I will keep you guys posted. It is great having your support.

This is why a quarantine tank is so highly recommended.

I have taken your advise and pulled out my old 25G tank from the garage, will set this up & use for quarantine of future fish.

[Nigel-James]

Ok I have just arrived home from work. I inspected all the loaches and all are showing no white spots and all look active, happy and are all feeding very well. I am going to hold off on treatment however I am going to be very cautious and observant over the following weeks.

[eastofthesun46]

That is a mystery! According to my lfs, clown loaches can also develop white spots if they don't like the water conditions, although I can't imagine those would disappear overnight either!?
Have just dosed my tank to be on the safe side, and Eric seems fine - although I think this might have something to do with the pellets and zucchini I just gave him!