Spots on Copperband...

[fishgeeksrus]

I am having a problem with my Copperband. It looks as though he may have ich but I am unsure. The spots are only on his fins and tail. (None on body) I took him out and treated him in a QT for 11 days. The spots disappeared. I had to place him back into the main tain because he was not eating and I was afraid that I would loose him. He has been back in the tank for 3 days and the spots have re-appeared. There aren't any spots on any of the other fish. So I am wondering if this was ich???? Anyone have any ideas????

[Shablin]

Im no ich expert but sounds like ich; alot of times new comers to a tank are susceptible to the ich strain in your tank which the older residents are immune to. Treating in the QT probably killed the bugs but he didn't develop an immunity and there were probably critters still in the main tank. (I see ich only when I add new fish to my tank; my tank is large enough I ever have a heavy infection and they get over it 95% of the time; I dont have a QT.) The new guy is stressed, more so because of not eating and the changes in environment.
Copperbands are tough; is he eating at all? try any mysis? muscle strips? I had a couple but they never lasted more than a couple of months. My last one ate very well (only under low light though), then suddenly died (not sure why).
Id probably place him in the QT and keep him there untill he is eating and over the infection.
Good luck with him!

[fishgeeksrus]

We have had him a for a several months. That is why it is odd. He is eating in the main tank but only eats live food. amphipods etc, I have never really got him to eat prepared foods. I am afraid if I take him out again he will die from not eating.

I thought ich would be on the entire body??? Hmm, I am not sure what to do. Thanks

[Shablin]

It will eventually cover more of his body; it is also an internal infection and will attack fish in poor health; a couple spots on the surface can appear on a fish with a loarge internal infection from what Ive read. Did he maybe get it from another fish that was introduced into the tank?? (not that it matters). Mine had a couple spots of lymphocystis;

I would imagine it would be, though not impossible, tough to get him to survive on only food from the tank unless your tank is teaming with copepods amphipods and worms. I suspect your fish is suffering malnutrition.

It took me about a month before mine started to accept the other foods; frozen mysis seems to be the most commonly successful, but each one is different. I tried a lot of different foods which other had success with but only had luck with aiptasia and mysis and my small feather dusters. Mine only ate when the actinics were on and the MH's off. It also liked a 'low flow' situation in the tank. Several people report success with thin strips of muscle meat laid on the rock to resemble a worm; I didn't get to try this personally.

Most people describe thier fish as slowly starving and having a sunken/concave gut and loosing them after a few months. I hope you can pull yours out of this;

[fishgeeksrus]

our copperband eats and picks at bugs all day long, lights on or off. He's wiped out all of our feather dusters and the aptasia that we did have in there. It did eat some blood worms when we had him in the qt, so that might be an option again, but so f ar in the 6 months we've had him he hasnt eaten frozen mysis. Maybe we can try to qt him again.

Will the bugs survive in copper? if i scoop some out of the main tank and throw them into the qt?