ICH!!!

[Euclid]

I bought the liverock from 'Duc' on these forums. It's been in his tank for some time now and it even has some mushrooms/anemones growing on it. I'd say it's pretty 'live'. It seems to me that the LR caused my nitrate/ammonia levels to drop, see the dates on the readings? The most current reading is farthest right.

[GaryP]

I just went back and re-read your original post. DuH! Moving the tank is the source of your high nitrogens. Whenever a tank is moved it goes through a mini-cycle just like when its first set up. You lose a certain amount of the bacteria in the move as well as stirring up a lot of the nutrients that may have been trapped in the system. It looks like its starting to settle down now and the LR is probably helping.

Sorry about the confusion.

[GaryP]

There is a really easy way to tell if it is cured...just smell it. The nose always knows ;) .

The good ole Mark I Model I live rock analyzer.

[Euclid]

The ich didn't show up until probably a week after transportation, though. Any thoughts on that?

[Richard]

There is often a delay between the stressor(s) and an outbreak. In your case it's probably the cummulative effect of the move and the following ammonia spike. With the ammonia spike being the biggest stressor. The nitrite isn't as big of a concern since it is not very toxic in saltwater.

If it were me I would go get some instant bacteria culture (biospira or tlc are good ones, TLC is much cheaper though) to beef up your bacteria population. Then start feeding very frequently (like 10+ small feedings per day) with a variety of quality foods.

[GaryP]

It can take a while to show up. Ich goes through a couple of different life stages before it becomes infectious. It really is a fascinating critter from a biological standpoint. Not so fascinating when its on your fish. That's why some shops quarantine fish. They wait for the fish to develop ich and then the copper in the quarantine tank zaps it. Sorta. As I recall, on the free swimming stage is actually killed by copper. Neverthe less. My point is that like any disease, there is an incubation period. Infectious lesions don't appear over night. The stress that started the infection could have occured weeks ago.

[Euclid]

It looks like it's gotten really bad today. She almost looks like she's covered in snow. There are a lot more bumps now and they stick out more and theyre almost fuzzy. I really don't want to lose her! Does anybody have any reccomendations?

[Bill S]

Is she eating? Feed the HECK out of her - Richard recommended 10 x a day to me. And, it worked for me.

[Euclid]

I feed them a lot at one sitting. I work all day so feeding a lot in one day isn't very easy for me. I've been alternating between green algae food and frozen krill. She is eating very well and she is very active. Every now and then she'll hide in a cave and she seems a little more timid than usual but other than that and her fuzzy bumps she seems fine.

On another note, my lionfish is very dark in color comparatively speaking. It also looks like he has some kinf of a film over his eyes and he hasn't been very active at all. He just kind of sits in a corner and acts all ****ed off.