Is it ich?

[pyekhine]

2 out of my 3 tangs got some sort of bumpy stuff on their belly.. is it ich? they eat and swim normal.. colors look normal, too....

And i have a thin oil film on teh surface... help me get rid of it. I tried so many ways. I scoop it out... i have overflow but it seems to be there all the time.. .is it from the frozen food?

 

[TonyHNY]

Any pictures?

 

[pyekhine]

I tried but these guys are swimming so quick, i can't get a clear one.. i'm gonna try it again when i get home today...

 

[Lenny718]

The film on the water surface can be from the frozen food, you should try rinsing the food in water first. The way I do it is I get a cup of aquarium water and defrost the food in the cup, then I pour the water threw a net to catch all the food without using the water. As far as the bumps on the fish it will be very hard to tell you exactly what it is with out a pic.

 

[pyekhine]

yea, that's a good idea... i'll try that and see what happens. I'll post up some pics later when i get home..

 

[KathyC]

Clean the area around the 'teeth' in your overflows, on the outside AND the inside (a brand new toothbrush is good for this). Also rinse your frozen food in RO or new SW and squeeze out the excess fluid before feeding. Pellet food also tends to leave a film on the water if you over-do it.

Definitely need a pic of the fish to help with your other question.

 

[pyekhine]

Ok.. this isn't my hippo...i tried taking pic but didn't work... it is similar to that belly. My purple tang also has that kind of belly, too. They have been scratching themselves with rocks. They are eating and swimming well.

 

[basiab]

Ich shows as white dots on top of the skin.

 

[pyekhine]

sbd told me that is it wavy and moving around the skin...i've seen fw ich but never seen sw ich.... plus they are scratching against rocks.

 

[basiab]

sbd told me that is it wavy and moving around the skin...i've seen fw ich but never seen sw ich.... plus they are scratching against rocks.

Scratching can mean a problem but not always. If it is wavy and moving around it is just some garbage stuck to them. Ich drills into the fish and doesn't move anywhere until the stage completes and it falls off.

 

[TonyHNY]

If you have a DSLR or some fancier cameras, you can try taking a rapid shooting mode where you can shoot multiple pictures on the press of the button. You'll need a good amount of light. That's how I usually catch the dolphins and whales performance.... if it is ich, you should see a lot covering the entire fish by now...

 

[pyekhine]

yea... i got rid of my dslr b4 i got into this hobby... i'll try with my regular camera... i was using my phone camera, that's why i can't get any good pics...

 

[cjosephson66]

I think this is what ich looks like on a chromis

I read all the posts and the article on Marine Ich but I am confused. I think my blue green chromis has it. Here are some pictures (the best I can get). The head has these white bumps and the tail has 1. The only thing I don't get is that the fish is eating fine and does not rub up against rocks or hang out on the top of the water. My tank is in the 4th week of cycling (yes I know not to put damsels and chromis in when cycling - I will never listen to friends again). But my ammonia is almost nothing and the nitrate is not high either (I test these everyday). I still have a little cyanobacteria on the back wall but since I did the water change on Saturday (like I do every week) it's starting to disappear. The other 3 damsels don't have anything so I'm wondering if that's what this is.

Thanks.

 

[JavyJaverson]

^^ that looks like lymphocytes

 

[LongIslandAndy]

^^ that looks like lymphocytes

+1

 

[cjosephson66]

^^ that looks like lymphocytes

So if it is lymphocystis, I really can't do anything about it according to the following articles except water changes and treat for secondary infections. My fish are already on a shrimp and flake diet so the nutrition is there. My chromis is eating healthy and it seems that today the bumps are no longer on his head so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_Lymphocystis.html
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/saltwaterfishdiseases/a/aalymphocystis.htm

Thanks for the info.

 

[WiLL2c]

may be the water

 

[cjosephson66]

may be the water

I checked the parameters and they are ok. I did a 20% water change this afternoon so we'll see what happens.

Thanks.