how to detect ich?

My fish seem fine they have no markings seem healthy, but i noticed one clown rubbing his body as if he had ich. i know most sick fish will swim against rocks to scratch. My clown, only one of the 3 fish, will not rub against the rock or the crushed coral what he does is rubs up against the heater? not often just here and there i see him rub his body against the smooth side of the heater ..... is this something to keep an eye on?

 

the rubbing against is a sign of it coming..its like us getting a cold or sniffles before we get really sick..check params and maybe if there off you can get them under control with little damage to fish

 

with your situation it could be ich coming, but i would just keep an eye on it..make sure params are fine,

have you changed anything in the tank

 

Every tank has ich, but fish only get it when they are stressed. I would watch for obviously white spots and also loss of appetite. If you experience either you can put the fish into QT or just feed it food soaked in selcon or garlic to maintain its appetite and keep its immune system strong. Also make sure to keep params in check as this will aid in the fish recovery.

 

had the params checked friday when I picked up some RO from my LFS. the water looks like glass I hardly have any goo in my skimmer because all i have in my 55g is two tiny clowns and a royal gramma... also cuc

 

also the one who rubbed the heater eats like a beast. He is almost like a Gold fish lol... he eats more then the other fish. no white spots but i'll keep my eye on it... the only change in the tank was the temp i noticed it dropped from 79 to 77. and I added a frag (lobo)

 

i bet your clown is attempting to "host" your heater. Mine hosted my heater in my 36 gallon. If he is eating well and all params are in check i wouldn't worry too much. Clowns have some really weird random habits.

 

yeah sounds like hosting...clowns will host anything..it must like the little warmth it puts off

 

I like Annies reply the best LOL i hope thats what it is i'll keep my eye on him. He seems to be the more dominant one so im guessing he's going to be or is the male

 

+1 to hosting