Help Please Puffer Sick with Ick (little rhyme lol)

[Pazzoman]

Hey Guys,


Well here the deal, my porcupine puffer was purchased I would say nearly one month ago. The third week he developed numerous white spots and banged into the rock a lot. I placed him in the hospital tank because just want to be cautious since their is a snowflake eel, long nose hawkfish, clarks clown hosting a rose bulb anemone, scooter blenny and some snails, hermits and cleaner shrimp. Then two days ago I released him back into the main tank because he was eating normally in the hospital tank and his white spots had disappeared. Today after I came home from work, he had lots and lots of white spots, I can even point them out from his little spikes on his body which are also white. I did a huge water change in the hospital tank and not the main. Well he is currently in the main tank and btw my water param. since the past three days were the following:

4/14/10: PH: 8.2 Ammonia: .50 Nitrate: 5.0 Nitrite: .25
4/15/10 PH: 8.2 Ammonia: .50 Nitrate: 5.0 Nitrite: .0
4/16/10 PH: 8.2 Ammonia: .25 Nitrate: 5.0 Nitrite: .0

TheCanuck hey I know you do water changes, but will that also help the other fish not obtaining the ick from the puffer if I leave him in the main?

Also the puffer is being meticated by "Quick-Cure" and i 've been using the nutrafin cycle.

Thanks Guys

 

[Kevin8888]

Ich can live in your tank for a long time, and it seems that your puffer is more suseptable to it is the only one with ich so if you dont treat the whole tank its only a matter of time until all your fish have it.

So here is my suggested treatment;

First setup a hospital tank that is big enough for ALL your fish. Then place your fish into the tank and then lower the salinity to kill the parasite.

Second, leave your fish in the hospital tank for 5-6 weeks which is the life cycle of the ich therefore any ich alive in the tank will go through their lifecycle and die. At this point the fish may be returned to the tank.

BUT there is another problem, there are parasites that look like ich that are not ich, these can be copepod parasties, and these are almost impossible to treat other then by using copper, as their lifespan is as long as 10 years.

Here is a link to treating ich that is more thurough then my explination.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/ich.html

Hope this helps!