Hey everyone;
my dog face seems to catch ich every time he turns around. I have treated with kent marine rxp and rid ich. the water parms are fine ph at 8.6 ammiona 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 salt 1018. I have tryed everything possible that i have heard and read.
my tank has been runnig for 90 days after cycling. I cured rock and sand at the same time for over 2 months. then cycled with green chromis for 30 days before adding any other live stock. over the last 90 days I have added 1 juv. dragon wrasse,which had been in there 2 months before adding other fish. 1 sea urchin 1 large hermit crab. i renoved the green chromis all but 1 how decide it was going to stay in there the last 30 days i aedthe rest of the fish 1 clown trigger, 1porc puffer, 1 dog facepuffer. I'm in the process in setting up a larger tank. none of the other fish show ich except the puffers. there is 60lbs of live rock 80lbs of sand. this isnt my first tank i have 3 others. 1 75 gal 2 30 gal sadly one of my tanks used for holding is being used for who dont play well with others. that impulse buy thing. I would like any help possible in trying to stop the ich outbreaks.
Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
What size tank is it right now? He could be getting sick do to being in an overstocked tank and possibly from stress. Did you quarantine all the fish before they were added?
Also read the article on ich in the library, theres lots of good info there.
Also read the article on ich in the library, theres lots of good info there.
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clint
- Puffer Fry
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
My tank is 75 gal my puffers are only 4 inches at this time, i have been keeping the lights off and feeding garlic treatments.
I know my lfs holds all mt fish for me untill i feel safe to bring home. reason being i live 60 miles to the closes one. yes i have read on ich from this sight along on others and still cant figure it out. these are my first puffers are they just easlly pronned to this? I ave read about fresh water dips but havent ever done this before to me it sounds like a lot of extra stress on them. I havenot added nothing new and fees them what the lfs was feeding so as not to cause them any change in their feeding habbits. I slowly started feeding them frozen raw farm shrimp they seem to love the stuff and its fresh frozen. none of fishes have lost their appetite . I feed small amount twice a day just enough to keep their begging worth doing, no where
near over feeding.
I know my lfs holds all mt fish for me untill i feel safe to bring home. reason being i live 60 miles to the closes one. yes i have read on ich from this sight along on others and still cant figure it out. these are my first puffers are they just easlly pronned to this? I ave read about fresh water dips but havent ever done this before to me it sounds like a lot of extra stress on them. I havenot added nothing new and fees them what the lfs was feeding so as not to cause them any change in their feeding habbits. I slowly started feeding them frozen raw farm shrimp they seem to love the stuff and its fresh frozen. none of fishes have lost their appetite . I feed small amount twice a day just enough to keep their begging worth doing, no where
near over feeding.
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StormySkiez
- Fahaka Puffer
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
Nitrate 0? Can that be right?
Reference: library/hospital/swich/
Have you treated for the ich in this manner?
Reference: library/hospital/swich/
The preferred method of ridding the parasite is achieved by removing ALL of the fish from the main display tank and placing them in a separate, bare-bottom quarantine tank for a minimum of 4 weeks, though 8 weeks is preferred. The tank will have to remain fallow (fishless) for the entire time. By removing the fish, the parasite does not have a host in which to complete its life cycle and will eventually die off completely.
Have you treated for the ich in this manner?
55g-2 green spotted puffers 1 year old Nov 08!
20g-5 leopard danio,4 whiteskirt tetras, amanos, nerita snails, 2 neon tetras
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clint
- Puffer Fry
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
my quarantine tank is being used at this time. is there any way to treat my main tank. like i explained before my lfs quarantines all my fishes before i bring them home. i guess im just dont understand why these are the only fishes that has ever had ich and why there is no way in treating the whole thing.my lfs had them for 4 weeks before they allowed me to bring them home. they showed no systems of ich at all.
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t1gerbee
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
you say your LFS quarentines all their fish before you take them home... do you mean QUARENTINE or just hold them...
If they hold them in tanks with other fish then they can contract ich from the other fish, but even if they are being kept in isolatio (doubtful) the tank they are being kept in could still harbour ich parasites in the substrate.. rock...
then the stress of transporting them to your tank weakens the fish enough to allow the parasite to invade...
you cannot treat the main tank if you have live sand, live rock and/or corals....
if you have none of these, you can treat the main tank with hypo... read article in library about this, it's relatively easy as long as you buffer the RO water you use... and very successful.
If you have live rock/inverts, you have to remove the fish to a Q tank to treat...
Ich is very dangerous for all fish, but puffers seem to be far less resistant, it attacks their gills and seems to often lead to cloudy eyes... I have lost a puffer to ich by not treating soon enough, but I have subsequently saved two by using hypo.
I now quarentine ALL fish for 4 weeks before adding to the main tank, as once you get it in the tank, you have to remove ALL fish and leave the tank fallow (just with the live rock/coral etc) for 6-8 weeks to starve the parasite..
If they hold them in tanks with other fish then they can contract ich from the other fish, but even if they are being kept in isolatio (doubtful) the tank they are being kept in could still harbour ich parasites in the substrate.. rock...
then the stress of transporting them to your tank weakens the fish enough to allow the parasite to invade...
you cannot treat the main tank if you have live sand, live rock and/or corals....
if you have none of these, you can treat the main tank with hypo... read article in library about this, it's relatively easy as long as you buffer the RO water you use... and very successful.
If you have live rock/inverts, you have to remove the fish to a Q tank to treat...
Ich is very dangerous for all fish, but puffers seem to be far less resistant, it attacks their gills and seems to often lead to cloudy eyes... I have lost a puffer to ich by not treating soon enough, but I have subsequently saved two by using hypo.
I now quarentine ALL fish for 4 weeks before adding to the main tank, as once you get it in the tank, you have to remove ALL fish and leave the tank fallow (just with the live rock/coral etc) for 6-8 weeks to starve the parasite..
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
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clint
- Puffer Fry
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Re: Dogface Puffer can't shake ick
I finally got there ich rid of. I lowered the temp to 76 degrees left the light off, lowered the salt to 1016. Feed them garlic shrimp(I made myself) and treated the tank with rid ich medication I got from my lfs. It took longer then expected but finally beat the little --------. Everything is going great with them, the dog face has grown almost twice his size along with the porc. The trigger has grown also, glad my larger tank has been cooking for nearly a month now, I think that they will enjoy their new home when it is ready. Lots of room to swim and grow. Thanks for all the advice on everything you guys are great.