Is it possible for ich to cause a single white cyst?

I am currently dealing with an outbreak of ich in my tanks. I have a 75 gallon with 4 tetras and a 2.5 inch blue acara. I had a 4 inch gold severum in there but is now in a 20 gallon temporarily after he showed so aggression to fish I was adding. I quarantined all the fish and checked the parameters everyday. Now they all have ich including the severum in the 20 gallon and tetras/acara in the 75 gallon. I am treating with tetra ick guard and we will see what happens. My other tank which is a 10 gallon has 2 juvenile pearl gouramis. They are in there temporarily but I see one fish has a single white spot. It looks like the ich spots on my other fish but they have had no exposure or cross contamination from the other tanks. Is it possible for ich to cause a single white cyst? Only one of the gouramis has it and it didn't multiply like the others did within a 24 hour period. Am I just paranoid or is it something I should be concerned about?

 

I am currently dealing with an outbreak of ich in my tanks. I have a 75 gallon with 4 tetras and a 2.5 inch blue acara. I had a 4 inch gold severum in there but is now in a 20 gallon temporarily after he showed so aggression to fish I was adding. I quarantined all the fish and checked the parameters everyday. Now they all have ich including the severum in the 20 gallon and tetras/acara in the 75 gallon. I am treating with tetra ick guard and we will see what happens. My other tank which is a 10 gallon has 2 juvenile pearl gouramis. They are in there temporarily but I see one fish has a single white spot. It looks like the ich spots on my other fish but they have had no exposure or cross contamination from the other tanks. Is it possible for ich to cause a single white cyst? Only one of the gouramis has it and it didn't multiply like the others did within a 24 hour period. Am I just paranoid or is it something I should be concerned about?

Hi! I’m pretty new to fish keeping, but from what I know about ICH it can depend on where you live - a lot of strains of ich will stop reproducing when the heat in the tank is increased, but I live in Australia and there are some here that can’t. If your fish get ich parasites you need to use any of the medications with malachite green / formaldehyde to kill the white spot.
I don’t want to take credit for this information - I learnt it from someone with the account name flyfisha on here they showed me a photo of the medication they use which is the blue planet rapid white spot remedy
I know this didn’t answer all your questions but I hope it helped

 

Hi! I’m pretty new to fish keeping, but from what I know about ICH it can depend on where you live - a lot of strains of ich will stop reproducing when the heat in the tank is increased, but I live in Australia and there are some here that can’t. If your fish get ich parasites you need to use any of the medications with malachite green / formaldehyde to kill the white spot.
I don’t want to take credit for this information - I learnt it from someone with the account name flyfisha on here they showed me a photo of the medication they use which is the blue planet rapid white spot remedy
I know this didn’t answer all your questions but I hope it helped

I have already started treatment for my 75 gallon and 20 gallon tanks. It will be day 3 using tetra ick guard and they already look better. Each tank is at approx. 80 degrees F because we have had our fireplace running none stop which has heated the entire floor with all of the tanks. The spot on the gourami still hasn't gone away but it hasn't multiplied either. I don't want to unnecessarily treat them unless I absolutely have to. I'm wondering if maybe it is just an injury, loose scale or even a piece of pool filter sand from my tank. It just looks identical the the spots on my other fish so it's freaking me out a bit. I may just be paranoid lol. I'll just have to keep an eye on them.

 

I am currently dealing with an outbreak of ich in my tanks. I have a 75 gallon with 4 tetras and a 2.5 inch blue acara. I had a 4 inch gold severum in there but is now in a 20 gallon temporarily after he showed so aggression to fish I was adding. I quarantined all the fish and checked the parameters everyday. Now they all have ich including the severum in the 20 gallon and tetras/acara in the 75 gallon. I am treating with tetra ick guard and we will see what happens. My other tank which is a 10 gallon has 2 juvenile pearl gouramis. They are in there temporarily but I see one fish has a single white spot. It looks like the ich spots on my other fish but they have had no exposure or cross contamination from the other tanks. Is it possible for ich to cause a single white cyst? Only one of the gouramis has it and it didn't multiply like the others did within a 24 hour period. Am I just paranoid or is it something I should be concerned about?

Hey mc12345,
I have a new tank - going with a bit of an Amazon feel - with 3 Blue Acaras, 4 Jack Dempsey... Also 2 chinese algae eaters and 2 zebra danios that will soon be removed to swap for something Sth American. I recently introduced some new plants into the well established and cycled tank. Two weeks in.... ICH appeared. Specifically on one of the Acaras. Then on all the fish.. I used meds and heat .. within a week it seemed to work - killed the 4 tetras though... two weeks after treatment the **** ICH is back! but only on one of the Blue Acaras.
The tank is fully aquascaped so impossible to vac the substrate..

Will start treatment again with 50% water treatments to try and get it... but it def comes back so keep an eye on yours for sure.

FYI I'm in the Blue Mtns Australia - It's cold.. so water changes while trying to maintain high water temp is tricky. - Also interested on how people treat their "new water" during such dramatic water changes?

 

Hi all,
Those of us living in Australia should know our strain of the ich parasite is different to any others in the world. As far as I know we are the only country to have ich that lives and reproduces happily in very warm tanks/ water. We must all remember this when writing to other people in the northern hemisphere particularly.

When using malachite green we continue treatment for a minimum of 10 days after the last spots are seen.As you found out fishyPeralta the eggs of the parasites are not troubled by medication. The live cycle from egg to adult and back to eggs is only a few days but we continue treatment to get the next generation and possibly the generation after that.
Adult ich is also not troubled by medication. There is just a short window of opportunity to kill the ich as it swims from eggs in the substrate to the next fish. You ask about treating change water when treating a tank for ich. I use Prime and I add medication for the volume of the new water every 3 days. I think it’s 7 days before a complete dose for all the tank water with another water change. I don’t need to use a heater to raise temperatures in my climate but I do match the temperature of the tank water when adding new water. I also have it on good authority that extra air bubbles are needed when medication is in the tank. With multiple sponge filters I don’t need to add more air?

mc12345 the free swimming ich can travel on nets between tank and from per experience even travel on aquarium plants to the next tank.
One spot is not an outbreak of ich . It could be a scratch? Watch very closely. Use a torch/ flashlight to look very carefully at the other tank and fish.
mc12345 follow the instructions for your brand of medication. I have no experience with “tetra ick guard “ the strength of the malachite green is likely to be different from the Australian brands.

 

Hi all,
Those of us living in Australia should know our strain of the ich parasite is different to any others in the world. As far as I know we are the only country to have ich that lives and reproduces happily in very warm tanks/ water. We must all remember this when writing to other people in the northern hemisphere particularly.

When using malachite green we continue treatment for a minimum of 10 days after the last spots are seen.As you found out fishyPeralta the eggs of the parasites are not troubled by medication. The live cycle from egg to adult and back to eggs is only a few days but we continue treatment to get the next generation and possibly the generation after that.
Adult ich is also not troubled by medication. There is just a short window of opportunity to kill the ich as it swims from eggs in the substrate to the next fish. You ask about treating change water when treating a tank for ich. I use Prime and I add medication for the volume of the new water every 3 days. I think it’s 7 days before a complete dose for all the tank water with another water change. I don’t need to use a heater to raise temperatures in my climate but I do match the temperature of the tank water when adding new water. I also have it on good authority that extra air bubbles are needed when medication is in the tank. With multiple sponge filters I don’t need to add more air?

mc12345 the free swimming ich can travel on nets between tank and from per experience even travel on aquarium plants to the next tank.
One spot is not an outbreak of ich . It could be a scratch? Watch very closely. Use a torch/ flashlight to look very carefully at the other tank and fish.
mc12345 follow the instructions for your brand of medication. I have no experience with “tetra ick guard “ the strength of the malachite green is likely to be different from the Australian brands.

Thanks Flyfisha for the info on the Australian Ich.
I was very slack on the upkeep of the medication post last spot. I'm going to be hitting it more harsh this time around and be really strict with the water changes. I'm wondering of the acara that seems to be hit first and hardest is not a little stressed. With two (of the three) pairing up it's a bit lonely I feel and could be adding to the stress levels (poor bugger). Thinking about getting a fourth to make sure it's not too lonely - but only after i get rid of the ICH of course.
So treat and heat "new water" before adding to the tank?

 

Hi all,
Those of us living in Australia should know our strain of the ich parasite is different to any others in the world. As far as I know we are the only country to have ich that lives and reproduces happily in very warm tanks/ water. We must all remember this when writing to other people in the northern hemisphere particularly.

I think it's present in other warm parts of the world as well. If I recall correctly a case of heat resistant Ich was first reported about 30 years ago in Florida. I don't know how common it is there though. Certainly as an Australian I don't bother trying to treat with heat anymore.

 

Treat change water with prime at least 2 minutes before adding to tank . The ich medication can go in before adding or after adding new water.

Matching change water temperature is not as important as the internet would have us believe for standard water changes. A little cooler is ok normally. But when the fish are already struggling because of the parasites matching the temperature is going to be better I suggest?

I have electric blue acara and standard blue acara in different tanks at different ages but don’t have “the answer “ when it comes to these fish.
Yes a pair is aggressive to an outsider. Sorry I can’t say what the best thing to do is in regards to numbers, I am still trying to understand them myself. If you have another tank you could separate the oddball fish, after the ich is gone ?
I can say they are not aggressive to other species. But one of my adults started eating a school of adult glowlight tetras. Around 2 inch tetras.

Edit .
That makes sense to me GlennO

 

To temp match in winter I just add in hot water from the hot water tap. I know some people don't like to do that but I've never had an issue. Besides, I have a couple hundred litres of water to change and any other method such as adding jugs of boiled water to buckets or heating barrels of standing water is just too time consuming.

 

mc12345 the free swimming ich can travel on nets between tank and from per experience even travel on aquarium plants to the next tank.
One spot is not an outbreak of ich . It could be a scratch? Watch very closely. Use a torch/ flashlight to look very carefully at the other tank and fish.
mc12345 follow the instructions for your brand of medication. I have no experience with “tetra ick guard “ the strength of the malachite green is likely to be different from the Australian brands.

The ich actually went away pretty quickly after using the medication. As for cross contamination, I had separate nets, containers, decor, siphons, etc. Not to mention one tank and supplies was kept in a completely separate room. I think it was from the place I bought the fish from. Everyone was fine until I added the acara. The severum did have contact with the acara for like 30 mins. so I guess that's how he got it too. I'm just glad the medication worked but I also had to deal with a secondary fungal infection with my severum, which I was also able to treat.

 

I don’t want to be boring mc12345?
Sorry if I am repeating myself?
But continuing medication for 10 days after the last spots are seen is standard practice. As the medication only kills the free swimming parasites in a short window of a few hours. The medication does not kill the adult ich buried deep in the flesh of the fish or the eggs in the gravel. The white spots we see are actually the parasite . The white spots are a mixture of scab and parasite poop. The live cycle of the parasites is around 3 days depending on temperature.

Sorry to go on and on about this? But the parasites do not “ go away “ they drop off and produce eggs (cysts) in the gravel. Only when the eggs hatch can we kill the ich as it swims around looking for another fish.

I to have seen the spots disappear in just a few hours unfortunately it’s not that simple.

 

I don’t want to be boring mc12345?
Sorry if I am repeating myself?
But continuing medication for 10 days after the last spots are seen is standard practice. As the medication only kills the free swimming parasites in a short window of a few hours. The medication does not kill the adult ich buried deep in the flesh of the fish or the eggs in the gravel. The white spots we see are actually the parasite . The white spots are a mixture of scab and parasite poop. The live cycle of the parasites is around 3 days depending on temperature.

Sorry to go on and on about this? But the parasites do not “ go away “ they drop off and produce eggs (cysts) in the gravel. Only when the eggs hatch can we kill the ich as it swims around looking for another fish.

I to have seen the spots disappear in just a few hours unfortunately it’s not that simple.

Oh, I'm not arguing with you at all. I treated my fish for at least 10 days and they have been fine since. My original post about the ich was in the beginning of March and we are almost in June so the ich has been handled for quite some time. I did notice that the treatment caused the ich to disappear on the fish within 2 days, but I continued treatment for quite a while after that since the medication can only treat the ich on the fish and not the cysts or eggs they lay. I raised the temp to speed of the cycle of ich so that they would be exposed to the medication quicker. It worked pretty well.

 

Oh that s excellent news. Thanks for the update.

 

I would go ahead and treat the tank with the fish showing only one spot. There us no need to raise the temperature as the medicine works well on its own and raising the temperature is only going to put more stress on the fish. Ich can be prevented by:

#1. Quarantining new fish, plants, inverts etc. for 30 days in a separate tank away from all other tanks and supplies. Even plants that are being sold in a facility with fish can carry unwanted yuckies. Make sure the net, siphon, etc. from the QT tank are separate from the rest of your supplies.

#2. Don't buy fish from big chains as they are inbreed and unhealthy, running a higher risk for being sick.

#3. Keeping your water perimeters good, buying from good ( pref. small) breeders, making sure you water temperature is correct.

 

Hey mc12345,
I have a new tank - going with a bit of an Amazon feel - with 3 Blue Acaras, 4 Jack Dempsey... Also 2 chinese algae eaters and 2 zebra danios that will soon be removed to swap for something Sth American. I recently introduced some new plants into the well established and cycled tank. Two weeks in.... ICH appeared. Specifically on one of the Acaras. Then on all the fish.. I used meds and heat .. within a week it seemed to work - killed the 4 tetras though... two weeks after treatment the **** ICH is back! but only on one of the Blue Acaras.
The tank is fully aquascaped so impossible to vac the substrate..

Will start treatment again with 50% water treatments to try and get it... but it def comes back so keep an eye on yours for sure.

FYI I'm in the Blue Mtns Australia - It's cold.. so water changes while trying to maintain high water temp is tricky. - Also interested on how people treat their "new water" during such dramatic water changes?

Unfortunately, I did the water changes the old-fashion way with those fancy siphons that hook up to the faucet. I run the faucet until it resembles a temp close to the tank (it doesn't have to be exact). I then fill up a 5 gallon bucket, treat with seachem prime and then add the water to the tank. I did this 1 bucket at a time and it took at least an hour for me to do this each night. Honestly, the water changes I did daily for the ich killed my back, but it worked lol. I just recently invested in an electric water pump to help siphon the water from the bucket to the tank so I don't have to lift it. Getting the water from the faucet to the bucket wasn't the problem. It was lifting said bucket about 6 feet off of the ground and "gently" pouring it into the tank. that caused the issues lol. I think some people add dechlorinator to the tank before adding the new water too. For instance, you have a 50 gallon tank. You remove 25 gallons. Add enough dechlorinator for 50 gallons (not just for the 25 gallons you will be adding) directly into the tank and then immediately add the new water. You could also fill a large garbage can or bin with water and treat it all at once. Then add a heater and let it sit until it reaches a temperature close enough to the tank and then siphon the water into the tank.