Eek! It's Ick!

You can ask a hundred aquarium hobbyists if they use a quarantine tank, and you might get eighty of them that say "no". It's one of those things that many experienced aquarists recommend, but most people just don't do. I wasn't going to do it at first, but I decided that since I had my old 20-gal just sitting around I would give it a shot. Of those hundred aquarists that you spoke to earlier, you probably would get at least half of them to say they never had a problem with disease. I am, on the other hand, the one guy who gets his first case of Ick with my first fish! Yes, that's right, folks - one of the new ocellaris clowns has had a white spot on his dorsal fin. It was only one white spot, but it's definitely Ick. While I'm upset that I now need to quarantine the fish for longer, I'm quite happy that I decided to use the quarantine tank.

The medication that I picked up earlier tonight says that it'll take at least a week to cure the Ick, and then I plan to keep them in quarantine for another week, just in case. So, my two week quarantine period has just turned into at least a three week (if not four week) journey.

On a very positive note, I have been worried about the yellow watchman goby, but things have seemingly turned around. It has been very in active - hiding all the time, fins tight near the body, coloration darkening slightly. His breathing wasn't a problem, there were no visible signs of damage (rotted fins, spots, stripes, etc.), and he was eating occasionally, but I was still worried at how shy he was, because I picked the one that seemed to have the most personality when at the store. In any case, within five minutes of putting the medication into the tank, he came out of hiding, and had his fins outstretched.

The medication needs at least four days to take effect. I'll post again once something happens (good or bad).