# Is this ick?



## Frank H (Mar 11, 2013)

These guys are tiny, around an inch long at most. I didn't notice before taking pictures but can see the white spots clearly in the pictures. I introduced them to my tank 2 days ago and took the picture same day of introduction. They are Synodontis Petricola (well sold to me as petricola, but realistically lucipinnis)


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

It looks like ich to me. However, I would wait for a few more opinions to be sure. I would also wait for some opinions on the treatment since it is a scaleless fish.
I am almost positive you *DON'T* want to use any salt. 
If you introduced this one into a stocked tank the others will probably get infected as well, so you will want to treat the whole tank.
This is one reason a quarantine tank is good to have. I keep anything new in a QT tank for a couple of weeks before introducing.
I have not had ich in any of my cichlid tanks but have learned this the hard way in my wife's tropical tank. She purchased and introduced while I was out of town...


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## Frank H (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for the reply.

I have some quick cure from maybe 6 years ago when I had an ick outbreak in my community tank. Would this be ok to use or is it recommended that I buy new meds?

These are the first fish in my 55g. I plan on buying the rest online or local breeders.

This is why I don't like to buy from local fish stores.


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

Frank H said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> I have some quick cure from maybe 6 years ago when I had an ick outbreak in my community tank. Would this be ok to use or is it recommended that I buy new meds?


Well I probably wouldn't use the 6 year old meds as most likely it's out of date. Even if it wasn't I'd get new.
Again- I'd wait for someone else to chime in, and they will, on exactly what to treat with for this catfish.


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## Randifer (Nov 4, 2012)

Search this site for "ich". There are several good posts.

There is also this article in the Library which is very helpful:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

My fish got ich during the first 2 weeks I had my tank. I used a combination of treatments. I SLOWLY raised the temperature to 86 degrees. I added extra air stones. I treated with Quick Cure. And I added aquarium salt (I did not add as much as was recommended because I thought it might hurt some of my Multi Cats). I have a 55 with Male Peacocks and Haps, 4 Electric Yellows, 3 Multi cats, and a bushy nosed pleco. My ich seemed to be gone after 4 or 5 days... but I kept the temp up for 7 days before slowing bringing it back down to 78. I did not have any fish die. But I think I was very lucky.

FYI: quick cure will turn any silicone in the tank Blue. Be sure to take any carbon you might have out of your filters.

Hope this helps... but if you have not already, start the treatment as soon as you can.

Randy


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

I would not use quick cure on scaleless fish. I would however treat with salt. Salt is much less stressful as a treatment then quick cure. 4-5ppt for 7 days should do the trick. A lot of people recommend raising the temp, i would only say to do that if you tank is below 75f.

it does look like ich, you will need to treat the whole tank. Catfish usually have the white spots show up first due to the lack of scales. Your other fish should start to show signs soon. Check out the ich article, it is pretty accurate on treatments and stages of ich.


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## Frank H (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks very much for the tips and link. I'm very limited to internet access right now, sorry for the slow response. Still treating and things are looking better.

Would it be possible that the fish got the ick from stress from bringing them home and showing white dots same day only 5 hours from bringing them home from the petstore? Or am I right in thinking that they were infected before i bought them. Would you stay away from this store that sold them to me?


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Frank H said:


> Thanks very much for the tips and link. I'm very limited to internet access right now, sorry for the slow response. Still treating and things are looking better.
> 
> Would it be possible that the fish got the ick from stress from bringing them home and showing white dots same day only 5 hours from bringing them home from the petstore? Or am I right in thinking that they were infected before i bought them. Would you stay away from this store that sold them to me?


If your tank has been running for some time with no signs of ick, then the new arrival brought it with him. Some people will say that ich is always present in the aquarium, but popular opinion says that is just not true. This is why quarantine for new arrivals is so important. I would not necessarily blame the store. I've never seen any that quarantine new fish. With so many fish sharing the same water, and many suffering from stresses involved with stocking density and transport, fish health is always suspect. Your best defense is to observe all the fish in the store and check for signs of parasites or other problems. And always quarantine new arrivals.


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## Frank H (Mar 11, 2013)

I wanted to report back with how I treated the ick. I was forced to move unexpectedly so was very limited with tank time and did it with medication. I bought API Super Ick Cure. It comes in packets that treat 10 gallons. I upped the heat to 84 and I treated with 3 packets (half dose because of the scaleless fish) of the API stuff, waited 2 days and treated again. It worked like a charm. I left the tank at the old place as long as I could so as not to stress the catfish out. Moved the tank over to the new place a week ago and everything is good. Thanks for the help. Really appreciated =)


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## Randifer (Nov 4, 2012)

Glad it all worked out for you.


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## TamaraSpence (May 21, 2013)

I also had the same problem and it worked out for me also. Sometimes the solution is so simple that we are not able to see it clearly.


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