Ick?

[djlen]

I've got three young black angels that I've had for about 3 months. They have always been solid black, but recently two of them are getting a few white spots on them. The tank temp is 80 degrees. No salt in the tank. I've had fish that I bought before that within a few days got Ick, but this is the first time I've seen any on fish that I've had for a while. There have been no new additions to the tank. Feedback please.......
Len

 

[OrionGirl]

As long as there have been no introductions of any kind in the past 30 days--wood, gravel, plants, ect, then it's not ick. Ick looks like salt grains stuck on the sides of the fish--other parasites tend to look more like sugar crystals (larger, not pure white).

If the white patches are 3-D, I would worry about some kind of parasite. If the change in color seems to be smooth, angels will change color as they mature. If the area is not smooth, or looks like an open sore, I'd check water parameters -includingpH. I've heard of problems with warmer waters and high pH causing erosion issues on some fish--this would be a first with angels, but it could happen.

 

[djlen]

No, these are little pinpoints of pure white and it sure looks like Ick. What do you mean by "3-D"?
Len

 

[OrionGirl]

Does it stick out away from the body? Ich will always stick out, where many bacterial infections are visible, but flush with the fishes body.

However, if you haven't added anything that was in another aquarium, the ich parasite isn't the likely culprit. It's life cycle is much faster at higher temps, and would have been visible within the first 14 days of introduction.