New Corydoras trilineatus with ich cyst that wont fall off!

[Moon]

Hi
I have a 55 gallon planted tank and a 10 gallon that I quarantine all fish/plants in before placing them in it. Two weeks ago I purchased 4 Corydoras trilineatus (near as I can tell the store only knew they were corys). I didn't notice till I got them home that one of them had a single spot of what looked to me like ich on it. Since I always quarantine everything, I did't see it as a big deal since the cory is over an inch long and very healthy looking in general.

I put them in the quarantine tank added 1 tbl aquarium salt per 5 gallons and bumped the temp up to about 82. I waited patiently (well almost) for the cyst to fall off so I could do a water change and get rid of the free swimmers.... and waited..... and waited...
At one week I bumped the temp up to 84 and started adding quick cure , I watched them carefully for a reaction, they seemed to do fine and continued to eat like little pigs.

I know there is no way to kill ich until the free swimming stage, what I dont understand is how at a temp of 82-84 the cyst has not fallen to the bottom yet, it's been over two weeks now. I have not seen a single new spot on that fish or any of the others in the tank. They are all happy otherwise healthy fish and eat great. Is there something else this could be besides ich? It looks like the typical salt grain not far behind the gill, it is easy to see because it's on one of the black strips.

I am deathly afraid of putting anything in the planted 55 gallon tank that houses my neons and two lonely corys currently that does not have a clean (near as can be told) bill of health.

At this point I have considered netting the fish and scraping it off manually which is not a great thing for the fish but it is the only way I know to get it under a microscope.

Any suggestions?
How long can a cyst stay on the fish at 80+ degrees?

Thanks and nice site!
Moon

I should have added there is nothing in the tank but filter floss in the hang on back filter (no charcoal) and only a single layer of gravel on the bottom. I don't use blackwater in the sick tank or anything else that would absorb medications. I have done a 20% water change once per week since the cyst has not fallen to the bottom to release the free swimming stage. I have made sure the temp is correct on the replacement water and I replace the salt to bring it back to the 1tbl per 5gal ratio on replacement water.

[Jools]

Doesn't sound like white spot? Maybe something else or just a lump of flesh?

Jools

[Allan]

I have a suspecion this is just a bacterial infection.

I once had some fish with similar symptoms, a white cyst that i thought to be some kind of nematode or similar.

After some time nothing happening, i took up one the fish, carefully removing the cyst without bursting it with a sharp pincher. I studied it under the microscope, it was exactly 0,9mm in diameter. I dissected it, and found nothing but huge ammount of oblong bacteria.

The fish lived on unharmed from the surgery, others died. Unfortunately i could not use any meds on these fish, as they were part of an experiment at my work, but i guess you can easily threat this as a bacterial infection, many effective commercial medications for this.

Good luck

[Moon]

http://www.moonsweb.com/cory.jpg here is a photo of the cory. I have treated the hospital tank with both quick cure and melafix and nothing seems to affect it. Melafix is supposed to work for bacteria as I recall. S/he eats fine and other than the spot appears to be perfectly healthy.

[JdubsVW]

did you try the melifix ? did it work ? whats the update ?

[Moon]

Yes I have tried melafix and there is no change. The cory seems perfectly healthy and appears that he will become a permanent resident of my hospital tank. I could try to manually remove the spot by scraping it but I fear it would harm the fish and not produce good results. Since it is still there unchanged I don't see how it could possibly be ick, and melafix has no effect after using it daily for over 10 days. No new spots have shown up but the one it has does not change. As far as it being a lump of flesh it seems awfully symetrical and too white to be. I suppose I should dispose of him rather than keep him in the sick tank forever, at some point I will need the hospital tank to treat or quarentene new fish, I wont be able to do it in the same tank out of fear of exposing any other fish to what ever this is. I simply don't have the heart to. Hes to active and too healthy looking for me to justify deep 6ing him in my mind. At the same time I can't make myself ignore it and put him in one of the planted tanks and he looks lonely, they are normally schooling fish and at times I think keeping him alone is a slow form of death.

Moon

[Coryman]

Having watched this post for a while I thought it was time I added my to penny worth.

If the problem was Ich then it would have gone through its normal cycle and more spots would have appeared. So I don't think its Ich.

I think it could possibly be caused by damage at some tome and what you are looking at is scar tissue.

Where about is the spot, fin or body. please say exact p[osition e.i. Fin ray, fin membraine, scute edge, etc.

Ian[/url]

[Moon]

One the body almost directly behind the middle line of the eye and behind the gill. I posted a photo of the cory at http://www.moonsweb.com/cory.jpg It shows very well in the photo.

[Barbie]

I can't see any redness or inflammation around the spot that would indicate it causing a problem for the fish. I would probably swab it with iodine on the spot, let it quarantine for a couple more weeks, and then not worry about it, if it didn't go away.

Barbie

[Moon]

There is no sign of inflamation, I am pretty sure it bothers me more than it bothers the cory
Thank you for the iodine suggestion thats one I have not tried yet.
Moon