Someone please talk me off the ledge, lol!

[laritheloud]

Hi, everyone! I need a little bit of reassurance while I choose to step back and let my EBA settle in my 55 gallon tank.

Background info: I bought an EBA about five weeks ago. I put him through prazipro and levamisole, 3 rounds of the latter, 2 rounds of the former two weeks apart. He was in quarantine for all five weeks, eating vigorously, and grew from about 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches. He looked great! I decided to move him to the 55 gallon today.

Then, of course, I noticed after putting him in that there were some tiny spots on his dorsal and caudal fins, and I start panicking. Logic tells me there is no way this could be ich, as he would have been flashing and acting much sicker by now after 5 weeks at 78/79 degrees Fahrenheit. There has never been any flashing. His appetite is good. He doesn't gasp at the surface.

He did, however, get briefly postured at by my African Butterfly Cichlids when they saw a new kid was on the block, which I expected. He currently has a torn caudal fin to show for it and I figure things will settle now that he's staying out of their way.

I took a video to show everyone how *subtle* the spots are -- subtle enough that they don't pick up on camera. Is it possible I'm looking at stress ich (like little acne spots) or random scuff spots? My mind wants to skip straight to "OH NO YOU SHOULD HAVE QUARANTINED FOR ANOTHER MONTH IT'S EPISTYLIS!!!" but I want to be rational and calm about this, as his behavior seems completely fine.

https://streamable.com/hjhjo3

[Tihshho]

Sadly, I don't see anything that is clearly stating one way or the other in terms of Ich. I hope this ends up just being an air bubble or something thats stuck to them and that it goes away. 

Tank looks great! Best of luck with this, if you can get a closer and clearer still picture when you get the opportunity, that should help us guide you in the right direction 🙂

[laritheloud]

On 5/1/2022 at 9:38 PM, Tihshho said:

Sadly, I don't see anything that is clearly stating one way or the other in terms of Ich. I hope this ends up just being an air bubble or something thats stuck to them and that it goes away. 

Tank looks great! Best of luck with this, if you can get a closer and clearer still picture when you get the opportunity, that should help us guide you in the right direction 🙂

I'm truly unsure how it could be ich after having him in quarantine by himself for five weeks. I was thinking it'd be more likely to be epistylis if it IS a disease. The lights are dim in the tank right now and you actually can't see the little spots on his fins in this light, so I'll see if I can get a clear shot tomorrow (or if they change at all).

EDIT to add: Anyway, without any earlier symptoms, I'm mostly hoping it's nothing and I'm overreacting with worry (as I'm prone to do). I've learned to take a more moderate/temperate approach with medication aside from the parasite treatments I always do in quarantine, but I do quarantine routinely for as long as 5 to 6 full weeks before I move fish to display. Let's hope it isn't failing me.

Edited May 2, 2022 by laritheloud

[Tihshho]

On 5/1/2022 at 9:51 PM, laritheloud said:

I'm truly unsure how it could be ich after having him in quarantine by himself for five weeks. I was thinking it'd be more likely to be epistylis if it IS a disease. The lights are dim in the tank right now and you actually can't see the little spots on his fins in this light, so I'll see if I can get a clear shot tomorrow (or if they change at all).

EDIT to add: Anyway, without any earlier symptoms, I'm mostly hoping it's nothing and I'm overreacting with worry (as I'm prone to do). I've learned to take a more moderate/temperate approach with medication aside from the parasite treatments I always do in quarantine, but I do quarantine routinely for as long as 5 to 6 full weeks before I move fish to display. Let's hope it isn't failing me.

If its not ich and no one else is exhibiting symptoms you might be able to find a dip that can be used to ease your mind.

[laritheloud]

Not a bad idea. I miiiiiight sit on it a couple of days and see if it's actually a disease, first, or just a random anomaly I'm overanalyzing. If it spreads (either on the one fish or to other fish), I'll do something to stop it. If it's in the same pattern tomorrow and doesn't multiply overnight, I'll just wait and watch. I do appreciate the suggestion but I hesitate with stressing a fish more than necessary. He's already moved, so I'd be treating the whole tank if something did come up.

[Atomicfish]

I am not familier with what a EBA is but as always with fish illness as with anything is to error on the side of caution.

[laritheloud]

Typically, yes @Atomicfish -- but I have a history of jumping the gun and being too careful. I have quite a bit of anxiety when it comes to the health of my fish and... how do I say this without sounding like a maniac? I do over-study them sometimes. I have never seen a real case of ich in my tanks before, nothing was introduced into his quarantine while he was in for five weeks, and I had just moved him over today. The spots are hard to see in different lighting; I don't know if that makes a diagnostic difference. I turned up the tank temp from 77 to 78 and I will take another close look at him tomorrow.

If it is something serious, I will know soon, I think. But behaviorally nothing is wrong so I'm trying to stay calm and rationalize my processes (and convince myself I'm doing the right thing, lol; my initial panic was telling me to bomb the tank and/or pull him out again).

[laritheloud]

You can only see them in certain lights and he’s vigorous/acting fine. Spots have not spread and continue to not show on camera. I’m going to just watch and wait and figure it’s nothing unless it gets worse!

[laritheloud]

More pictures. You can only see them in certain lights and they haven’t multiplied…

[Tihshho]

I don't see anything specific of worry, but like you said lighting and angle of a picture might not be portraying it clearly. Just be patient! 

I've seen some cichlids have spots between the rays of their fins that over time grew out and went away, for a while I thought it was ich when I was younger, but it ended up being something else that wasn't a problem.  Are the spots noticable on the body or just fins?

[laritheloud]

On 5/2/2022 at 10:07 AM, Tihshho said:

I don't see anything specific of worry, but like you said lighting and angle of a picture might not be portraying it clearly. Just be patient! 

I've seen some cichlids have spots between the rays of their fins that over time grew out and went away, for a while I thought it was ich when I was younger, but it ended up being something else that wasn't a problem.  Are the spots noticable on the body or just fins?

Just the fins! This makes me feel MUCH better, actually. 🙂 Thank you for telling me this!

[laritheloud]

Update: Fish are fine, spots have faded and healed. Thanks again @Tihshho for reassuring an anxious fishkeeper. I have to fight against it sometimes. I'm glad I waited it out!

[Tihshho]

Not a problem! To some fish are pets, to others they are family! I'm glad to hear it worked out!

[Atomicfish]

Im glad to hear things worked out. I know from experience that ICH when it does happen  will often kill fish if not caught right away.

[Atomicfish]

I have to also say your fish are really cool looking.

[laritheloud]

On 5/7/2022 at 12:17 AM, Atomicfish said:

I have to also say your fish are really cool looking.

Thank you very much. I love them dearly! All of them are wonderful fish. Don't tell my other 4 tanks, but this 55 gallon is probably my favorite to watch right now. ❤️

[laritheloud]

Found a few spots on my bristlenose pleco and one spot on barb's fin but no one else. I'm going to go ahead and do epistylis treatment (Ich X in water column, kanaplex in food) starting today.