joeblow Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 I am just wondering I have had ick twice before in a different tank and it spread quick and lasted for a a while ended up using one of the ick treatments and it went away. My question is there anything else that can develop like ick or show up and disappear in a matter of a day or 2 reason I ask is in my community tank I have 1 black molly that all of a sudden will have a bad breakout of what looks like ick covering most of its body face and fins, he acts perfectly fine like nothing is wrong. Then within 2 days it is all cleared up none of the other fish ever get it. This has happened about 3-4 times now just seems kind of strange and I can't find anything about it anywhere, It is a very healthy tank water tests regularly never had any sickness in the tank or fish die. Any ideas is it ick or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taurus Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 I've noticed this also on my fishes but not like what you describe. its like little white spots then it dissapears in the morning. I was suspecting mine was just scratch marks when they bump or scrape against the rocks or decorations in the tank. Does yours go away after a water change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caprichoso Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Maybe this fish is feeling stressed and so the symptoms present with only him. It's been my experience that healthy, stress free fish will not get sick. The only other thing that comes to mind is fish lice, although I can't see it disappearing then reappearing if that's what it was. Do you just have the 1 molly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblow Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Ya I only have the one molly, I had 2 but the other passed quite a while ago and I never got another one. I know not good since they prefer to be in groups but at the moment I don't have any more room in that tank until my new 70 gal establishes properly. He has never really shown any sign of stress other than what I mentioned and I think in the last 8 months it has happened 3 times and never lasted more 3 days, White spots very noticeable on the first day the second they are already fading quite a bit and by the third they are completely gone. His fins are not contracted or anything after which usually shows stress as far as I have read. Also figure I should mention it doesn't coincide with water changes or anything. Just never thought that ick could come and go that quickly so figured it might be something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EowynJane Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 That could be an issue, it would be stressed being alone. Is it white bumps or is it maybe patchy faded colouring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairdeal Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 It is definitely not ich as it will infect every fish in your tank if left untreated, does not disappear on it's own and will also kill the fish off big time. I've heard from half a dozen people that the ick they have had in their tanks in the past 6 months or so is particularly devastating - spreads like wildfire and is killing fish within 2 or 3 days. Ich is always present in your tank water and just waits for an opportunity to attack a weakened fish whether it be through stress or sickness. A healthy well fed fish is not susceptible to these attacks as their immune systems can fight it off with no outside assistance. The ich used to be able to be treated with an increase in water temperature and the addition of salt but according to the people who have related their sad stories to me those things don't seem to have any affect on the ich at all. It would appear that the parasite has become immune to these old fall back treatments and has to be lambasted with newer stronger tactics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caprichoso Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Ya I only have the one molly, I had 2 but the other passed quite a while ago and I never got another one. I know not good since they prefer to be in groups but at the moment I don't have any more room in that tank until my new 70 gal establishes properly. He has never really shown any sign of stress other than what I mentioned and I think in the last 8 months it has happened 3 times and never lasted more 3 days, White spots very noticeable on the first day the second they are already fading quite a bit and by the third they are completely gone. His fins are not contracted or anything after which usually shows stress as far as I have read. Also figure I should mention it doesn't coincide with water changes or anything. Just never thought that ick could come and go that quickly so figured it might be something else. IMO the best thing you can do at this time then is to keep the water very clean. As mentioned above, the things that can make our fish sick are already likely present in the tank but healthy fish will have the ability to fight it off. The fact that your molly is by itself may cause it to become stressed out, leaving it open to illness and disease. I personally would do your weekly water changes of 50% or daily 25% water changes for the next 10 days to see if the problem persists. If the molly seems to be eating ok and otherwise acting normally, I don't think you need to take any drastic measures and certainly I wouldn't recommend medicating the tank since you don't know the exact issue. I wouldn't normally advocate introducing more fish into a tank that has illness present but considering it may be caused from stress due to lack of companionship, adding a couple more females when you are ready may be the answer. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblow Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thanks for the help guys I have started doing 20% water changes daily and just waiting for my new tank to establish properly (probably another couple weeks) then I will be moving a few of these fish to that tank and then will have the room for a couple more mollys either that or find a new home for this molly unsure as of yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caprichoso Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 You're welcome, best of luck:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) I quarentine all of my fish just because I fear an outbreak of disease. I primarily use salt unless something (like ich) shows up. Then I treat according to what shows up. About 5 years ago I found a strain of ich that was immune to most medications. I then tried Coppersafe and it worked beautifully. Edited March 30, 2012 by Crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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