Ich on a boxfish

[leanne]

Question - would a freshwater dip cause him to get stressed and release poisons? I don't want to resort to medications if possible. It seems to have come from nowhere - have had him for 2 weeks and just came up yesterday... Any tips?

 

[leanne]

Any ideas before he dies or I kill him with kindness...?

 

[Hazmat]

Watch your temp. If it is going up and down during the night and day hours, that will get them sick. Also do a complete test on your water.
Post your resaults

Hazmat

 

[leanne]

Temperature is stable. Ammonia - 0, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 5, pH - 8.2, kH (high enough...)

It's not a problem with the water chemistry parameters; its that pesky little parasite...

I'd heard freshwater dipping them ruptures the parasite due to the water tension difference (osmotic pressure and all that). I don't want to resort to copper based medications as I would like corals at some point and don't want to dump all my live rock and substrate.

 

[sumer_kay]

may I suggest a quarintine/sick tank? This way you can treat him without hurting your chances for coral, and can avoid the possibility of him killing off everyone else. I love those box fishies! I hope it works out!

A question, after releasing the poison, will the box fish die too, or are they immune?

 

[leanne]

A quarantine tank is a good idea but out of the question unfortunately. My LFS has offered to quarantine and treat him for me - they're nice like that... I can definitely recommend them!! South manchester Aquatics...

 

[leanne]

Hmm it seems to have diappeared. Maybe he was just covered in sand... The LFS said it's unusual for boxfish to get Ich. Feel rather foolish...

 

[jams.alaskan]

That's so funny. Do you really think that it was sand? And I just wanted to say three cheers for your lfs - if I were you I wouldn't hesitate to use them if you ever need to treat him for anything - save the rest of your stock from the potential release of their poison.

ALASKA

 

[leanne]

I'm not sure what is was. The only thing I can think of is sand. Surely Ich can't just appear then disappear overnight...?

 

[ade]

Leanne, really chuffed that it sorted itself out in the end. I'm always worried that something serious is going to afflict my tankeys before I'm experienced enough to know what to do straight away. But then I guess you only get the experience by running into these problems...

 

[Landlocked]

FYI, the poison that boxfish release is poisonous to everything. If they released it into the water, you'd have to do an immediate water change, or everything, including the boxfish itself, would die shortly after.

Just answering your question, sumer_kay.