Who Gives A Fish Forums

My Angel's got these weird white spots on him, like salt grains clumped together, a few on top and one on his fin. Looks like it's eating away at the fin, and I'm worried it might be ich. Anyone know if that's what this is, and if so, what's the best way to treat it? Still trying to get some decent pics up, but it's proving to be a real challenge.

My cleaner shrimp's been going to town on those white spots and it seems like it's either really tickling my angel or actually hurting him, I'm not entirely sure. Since the cleaner shrimp's been on the job, I've noticed those spots starting to clear up.

Sounds like a parasite issue. Hopefully the cleaner shrimp can take care of it, that's a bit alarming.

I've been reading up on it and it seems like it's an ich infection. I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of it, can anyone share their experience with treating ich?

Another possibility here is lymphocystis, a viral disease that's fairly common in disc-shaped marine fish, particularly angels. It can resemble ich when it's small, and as it grows, it looks more like egg sacs. If the cleaner shrimp manages to remove these, there's a risk the wounds could become infected.

If we're dealing with ich, the cleaner shrimp should be able to take care of it. Alternatively, you could try a freshwater bath - basically, you'd place the angel in a bucket of pure water with the same temperature as its home tank for about five minutes.

yeah, so after i added the cleaner shrimp, my angel went straight for it and the shrimp started cleaning him right away. now he seems to be doing alright, but those white spots are still on his right fin and on his back - not as bad on his back, but his fin is looking pretty rough.