The Puffer Forum

i think if finally happened to me, i noticed this morning my lawnmower blenny was itching on the sand and the rocks and would bite his tail. i dont see any white spots but im not very familiar with saltwater ich. if you no of any other diseases that it could be i would love to no and if not should i treat for ich now or wait until im sure? only bad thing with the water parameters is the nitrates are a little high but still under 20 ppm. the only new inhabitants ive gotten for a long time are two hermit crabs.

Article in our Library on this.

Hyposalinity is the key. Catch the article in the Library Hospital section.

ok so with the hyposalinity do i just put him in a tank with a low salinity or do i put him in one with the same salinity then lower it with water changes? also i was inspecting him for white spots and i noticed his stomach was moving around. i had just fed him about 15 minutes earlier but could this maybe be internal parasites or just him digesting?

Start at normal salinity in a bare bottom, hospital tank and take the tank down to hypo. Give your fish some hiding places like PVC tubes so they feel more secure. You want to run your main tank fallow for the 30 day duration to kill off any ich in the tank.

Be sure you keep a very close eye on parameters--testing several times/day. This tank isn't going to be cycled. Have lots of water ready for lots of WC.

ok i have a problem the only tank i can put my fish in is a ten gallon tank, but there is no way there all going to fit, is there any way i can just move the blenny and pray my other fish dont catch it or what should i do. im sorry to be such a nuisance i just want the best for my fish

If you're going to go thru all this, why not make sure he even has this parasite? Look really closely.

Pufferpunk wrote:If you're going to go thru all this, why not make sure he even has this parasite? Look really closely.

ive been looking every day and no signs are showing up except him itching but he is itching alot like every ten seconds then he will sit and bite himself

sample789 wrote: im sorry to be such a nuisance i just want the best for my fish

You're not being a nuisance, your asking great questions! This is one of the reasons we're here! I'll defer to PufferPunk on this one, she knows a ton more about SW fish than I do, and I agree with the wait and see (especially since you only have a 10 gal available). If they're not showing spots wait it out, if they start to show spots like ich then we can figure out a way to treat them.

alright ill wait it out thanks for the help. ill keep you guys posted on what happens