White Bugs

[GoPhish]

My tank is swarming with tiny visible white bugs. The tank is only 6 weeks old. I don't if it's ICK. Can you visibly see the Ick parasite on the glass. These are all over the glass walking. I was hoping they were the helpful copepods I've heard about. If the tank is infested with Ick how do I rid the tank. Please Help!!!!

[TripleT]

Pods.

At 6 weeks, your tank ideally has no fish in it. Which would also mean there are no hosts for ich to multiply.

[GoPhish]

If I jumped the gun and put in 3 fish would that create a problem.

[Denbf58]

+1 pods ick will look like grain of salt on your fish during its cycle it does go to a free swimming stage but i do not think it is what your seeing

[murfman]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

If I jumped the gun and put in 3 fish would that create a problem.

How big is the tank? What are your parameters?

[TripleT]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

If I jumped the gun and put in 3 fish would that create a problem.

Ammonia is very toxic and can kill or shorten the life of these three fish.

If they are breathing heavy, have discoloration, spots or sores, get them in a tank with better water quality ASAP.

What are your current ammonia and nitrite readings?

Do you have a QT set up yet? If you plan on being in the hobby for a while, a QT tank is a must for many reasons. If you had one now, you'd be able to relocate your fish to it, if your DT is still cycling.

And you'll hear it often, because it's true... bad things happen fast in this hobby.

What are your future stocking plans? And what size is your tank?

[GoPhish]

No QT yet. My current tank is 120g. 40g sump with fuge/mud/chaeto. ATB 840 Skimmer. WavePoint T's. My future stocking goals are to have a mixed reef with Sps Lps fish. I do plan on being in the hobby for the longhaul. I think I just need to slow down a bit

[murfman]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

No QT yet. My current tank is 120g. 40g sump with fuge/mud/chaeto. ATB 840 Skimmer. WavePoint T's. My future stocking goals are to have a mixed reef with Sps Lps fish. I do plan on being in the hobby for the longhaul. I think I just need to slow down a bit

Have you tested your tank parameters yet?

[manycolors]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

If I jumped the gun and put in 3 fish would that create a problem.

From what I understand he/she doesn't have any fish in the tank

I don't think ick is visible to the human eye, when you see the white spots on the fish, it is the dead skin of the fish (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

99.9% sure it's pods on the glass, I have them too... most ppl don't notice them because they are so small
But usually they are a sign of a healthy tank... so +1 on that

I don't see anything to worry about, Just make sure your tank cycles before adding fish

[Palting]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

If I jumped the gun and put in 3 fish would that create a problem.

Originally Posted by GoPhish

No QT yet. My current tank is 120g. 40g sump with fuge/mud/chaeto. ATB 840 Skimmer. WavePoint T's. My future stocking goals are to have a mixed reef with Sps Lps fish. I do plan on being in the hobby for the longhaul. I think I just need to slow down a bit

As stated previously those are pods and are a good sign. I wanted to post, though, to encouage you to go ahead and start planning on a QT BEFORE you plan on getting fish. I made the mistake of rushing, adding fish directly to the tank. After I slowly added fish, several months later I had Ich with a tank full of fish. I had to QT and do hypo on ALL my fish. Something I don't want to wish on anyone. So, get a QT going first, THEN get fish.

[Frogmanx82]

The first fish you buy can go right in the tank without QT and its not much risk since you don't have other fish to worry about. The big question is how or if you cycled your tank?

If you haven't cycled the tank, I think people are recommending using a piece of shrimp, put it in the tank, and then measure your ammonia levels as it decays and your nitrogen cycle starts. When ammonia is back to 0, you're ready to go.

If you have pods I would think the tank is fairly well along the process. You have to remember that any addition of livestock increases the ammonia load beyond the current bacteria population and so large increases can cause an ammonia spike until the bacteria catch up. Usually that doesn't take long in a tank that has cycled.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by Frogmanx82

The first fish you buy can go right in the tank without QT and its not much risk since you don't have other fish to worry about. The big question is how or if you cycled your tank?

Don't want to be argumentative, and I do agree with making sure it's cycled, but even your first fish should go to QT. If it does show some disease, then you have to catch it to place it in QT/HT, and in doing so stress it further and likely mess up the aquascape.

[murfman]

Originally Posted by Palting

Don't want to be argumentative, and I do agree with making sure it's cycled, but even your first fish should go to QT. If it does show some disease, then you have to catch it to place it in QT/HT, and in doing so stress it further and likely mess up the aquascape.

Also adding the disease to the tank. If the 1st fish has ich, and then you remove it to put in QT, the ich is still in the tank for at least 6-8 weeks. That is how long the ich parasite can survive without a host.

Good article on ich; http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

"If an aquarium has no fish in it, and there are no additions of fish, or anything else that could be carrying trophonts, tomonts, tomites or theronts for a period of 6 weeks or longer, all parasites will have died. An aquarium such as this is an obvious exception to "Ich" always being present."

[GoPhish]

This is going to sound horrible but I haven't tested my tank parameters. I did let the tank cycle for 4 weeks with 1 nch live sand in DT and 30 lbs live rock in DT and 1 inch miracle n mineral mud mixed in fuge with cheato. I put 1st fish in after 4 weeks waited 2 more weeks did a water change and put in 2 more fish. I Also used a special vial of living bacteria from very trusted Lfs that only deals in reef that claimed to drop cycle period to 2 weeks. I waited 4 and figured should be good. A little embarrased about not testing parameters.

[Frogmanx82]

Originally Posted by murfman

Also adding the disease to the tank. If the 1st fish has ich, and then you remove it to put in QT, the ich is still in the tank for at least 6-8 weeks. That is how long the ich parasite can survive without a host.

Good article on ich; http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/marineich.html

"If an aquarium has no fish in it, and there are no additions of fish, or anything else that could be carrying trophonts, tomonts, tomites or theronts for a period of 6 weeks or longer, all parasites will have died. An aquarium such as this is an obvious exception to "Ich" always being present."

I don't disagree in principle with what your saying. In practice its really hard to set up a nice new tank and have it sit empty while you put your fish in a tiny tank that will be much more difficult to control the water parameters for. To me its a matter of risk benefit, and the risk is a lot less when other fish aren't around and you know your new fish would be less stressed in the big tank.

Doing QT is the hardest habit to learn. I suppose I shouldn't encourage people to skip it, but if you're going to skip it, you need to make sure you've evaluated the risk. I could not easily duplicate the fish I have now and would certainly QT any new addition.

[JMartin104]

Originally Posted by Palting

Don't want to be argumentative, and I do agree with making sure it's cycled, but even your first fish should go to QT. If it does show some disease, then you have to catch it to place it in QT/HT, and in doing so stress it further and likely mess up the aquascape.

BTDT

[TripleT]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

This is going to sound horrible but I haven't tested my tank parameters...

... A little embarrased about not testing parameters.

Well, coming here and asking questions, and fessing up to early mistakes is a good start.

I'd say your very next step is to buy test kits for ammonia and nitrite, and see where you're at. Don't buy the strips, they are worthless.

And set up that QT, a purchase you won't regret. My only regret was not setting one up sooner. The one time cost has already been forgotten, and has already saved a couple of my fish from certain death.

And I have kept it running 24/7, and it has turned into an amphipod breeding ground extraordinaire!

AquaClear filters work nice for QT, as they have a flexible basket, and adjustable flow.

Good luck. And add future fish slowly to give your biological filtration (bacteria) a chance to keep up.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by JMartin104

BTDT

I think it would have a betterr effect if I knew what it meant .

[murfman]

Originally Posted by Palting

I think it would have a betterr effect if I knew what it meant .

BTDT is "Been There Done That"

http://www.internetslang.com/BTDT.asp

[mgoblue]

+1 on having a DT empty of fish while you have fish in the QT being hard...

That's where I am at. Firefish on day 9 in the QT (20 gal). Personally, I like running sponge filters for QT. I ran a sponge filter for 2 weeks in my fuge prior to setting up the QT and I haven't had any ammonia in my QT, due to the seasoned sponge filter. I have an ammo badge in the tank and I'm ready to do water changes if necessary, but it looks like I may avoid any cycle in the QT.

Trying to do things right, but way hard to do (patience is a virtue, but not my strongest character trait).

[GoPhish]

I became impatient and added 3 fish n button polyps after 1 month cycle. It has been tough thoug. it took me 6 months to save up and purchase my set up piece by piece and build my sump/fuge. All the while going to reef stores and admiring their DT. I just couldn't take it anymore.

[GoPhish]

Great news though. The 1 fish with 2 salt spots is looking great. Spots are gone n other fish look terrific. Green button polyps are fully open n vibrant. And it sounds like the swarm of bugs are Helpful pods n not Ich. Thank goodness n thank you for everyones help here

[epic.exposures]

COPEPODS!!!!! Yeah, you have a healthy tank! This is not ich, the ich parasite doesnt climb on glass and live rock, in fact ich needs a host (fish) to grow visible to the naked eye, it is a free floating parasite but is rather rare if you don't have a fish acting as a host. Copepods are a great treat for many fish, and some fish ONLY eat copepods (like the Mandarin). If you look very closely at teh copepod it often lugs like an itty bitty shrimp with a lot of legs. You could purchase a mandarin to get rid of your copepod problem, but within a week or two he will start starving, it takes about a year and a half to get a mature enough tank to support a Mandarin. Keep in mind that copepods eat microscopic algae and they help in preventing an alge bloom in your tank. Six line wrasse and tangs love copepods. Make sure you test your water before adding them. And keep on top of testing your water too.

[njudson]

Originally Posted by GoPhish

Great news though. The 1 fish with 2 salt spots is looking great. Spots are gone n other fish look terrific. Green button polyps are fully open n vibrant. And it sounds like the swarm of bugs are Helpful pods n not Ich. Thank goodness n thank you for everyones help here

Fish with salt spots? now that does sound like ich

[Palting]

Originally Posted by njudson

Fish with salt spots? now that does sound like ich

The tank spots are not ich, but the fish spots may or may not be. If the "saltspots" are gone within a day, they were likely sand granules or dirt, since Ich rarely if ever will disappear from the fish skin that quickly. If, however, they were there for 48 hours or more, then it's likely Ich, and they just went deeper into the fish and you can not see them anymore. Fish will then show sporadically signs of "itching"; rubbing on rocks or substrate, darting/flashing...

IIRC, you did have a thread elsewhere asking about those fishspots. IF, and that's a big IF, it is Ich, the fish and tank need treatment, regardless of whether you still see the spots or not.