What Is It?

[ISLAND REEF]

Recently purchased a orange brazilian sea horse (wild caught) for our local fish store. have noticed some white spots on it (seems like powder) is it ick? the local fish store said that it is a type of ick that seahorses get, is this true? if it is what is the best treatment for it?
thanks
barry

[SeaNemesis]

Hippocampus reidi may naturally have tiny white spots, but if this looks like powder or raised then it could be ick or something parasitic. Is she displaying any other symptoms such as not eating, poor eye contact or rapid breathing? If this looks other than natural skin coloration I would treat her with low salinity 1.10 for 1 month if she seems to be stable. You can also try methylene blue if she appears really infected. Main thing you want her eating and as stress free as possible. I would also consider keeping the lights lowered. H. reidi are one of the more non tolerant and one of the more difficult of species to keep. Wild caugh H. reidi typically do not do well in aquariums and often are the first to succumb to infection and other secondary type stress induced illnesses. Keep us up to date with her and if you can get pictures that would be very helpful.

[ISLAND REEF]

LFS recommended possibly a formaldehyde dip. The spots are definetly not skin coloration. The spots are powdery raised whit spots and are around the eyes and other areas, . Have been treating tank with immuno vital by Mark Weiss since day1 (now 1 week). She is eating but seems to be hiding more the last 2 days. she is housed in a reef tank w/ uv & protien skimmer. any other thoughts?

[Airel]

Hi, any chance of getting some really good, clear close up pics of her??? It is next to impossible to diagnose and give treatment advice with out pictures.

DeAnne

[ISLAND REEF]

No, she has been hiding alot lately, she does come out some with the lights off. unfortunately she has been in the back corner, making it impossiable to get a picture. the lfs has 2 more (same shipment) they look alot worse(then her),but they seam to think that it is normal coloration, but if you look real close you can see the white raised specks. sorry I cant give any better discription. should I try some type of dip (methylene blue) if so how much & how long?

[seahorse_nut]

Ick is nasty stuff. It can wipe out your whole tank population in a week. Seahorses have natural white spots so check the fins to see if there are cloudy areas or actual irregular distribution of white spots on the fins. If the fins are clear, she most likely does not have ick. For spots on the body, look for symmetry. The spots on the body usually occur in a pattern, not just in a random scattering.

Signs of ick are heavy breathing, scratching, color loss, lack of appetite, infections, etc.

Freshwater dips of at least 5 minutes can pop the white spots and kill Ick on the body, but some cysts will remain in the tank bed so you'll have to perform the dips on a regular basis.

Make sure it's not a normal distribution of white spots first, though. Good luck!



:eek2:

[iloveinn]

I've had good success controloing ick with a hyposaline bath. I slowly lower the salinity over 2 days into half of what it was, keep it like that for 1 week, and then raise it back up in 2 days.

HTH