is it ich?

Question

i noticed that one of my fish had a few spot on his head, they looked like tiny bubbles that's stuck to his head. is this 'ich'? will my other fishes contract this? i put in medicine for the ich and raised the temperature a bit. would that get rid of the 'ich' or will all my fish die?

Answer 1

That is most likely not ick. As others have pointed out ick is usually on the fins of the fish first and appears as solid white dots much like salt grains. What exactly it is would be impossible to tell without a bit more information. I would suggest you drop your tank temperature back down until you know what you are dealing with here. Some have suggested raising the temperature to 85 F which without a diagnosis is very irresponsible and could cause you far, far more harm than good. In fact, that is a very poor suggestion for treating ick. Ick stops reproducing at 86 F and actually dies at 88 F so 85 is about the worst temperature to use. VERY bad advice.

Try to shine a flashlight on the affected areas and the rest of the fish and see if you notice anything else about the spots that you can report. Maybe then we can have enough info to offer responsible suggestions. Feel free to write me if I can help.

MM

Answer 2

I agree with DanielleZ. Only you can tell what your fish have by looking at them. What looks like bubbles to you may look like salt to someone else. Your other fish can contract ich from a sick fish. Usually if they are not stressed or sick, they can fight it off. Raising the temperature, unless it is close to 90 won't help. Don't stress your fish out. Leave the temps where they are.

Answer 3

Looks like bubbles??? It is possible that they could be air bubbles that have got there from your air pump or from the water coming out of your filter (however these should fall off after the fish swim around a little bit).....

Ich should look more like salt crystals than air bubbles. If it is ich, your other fish can get it. Ich is definitely treatable, the earlier you start treatment the better....but you do want to make sure it's ich first.

I would suggest using salt to treat ich. it's a proven method and is cheaper than chemicals you buy at the store. also, you don't have to remove the carbon from your filter (with most chemicals, you do). The last case of ich i had in a rainbowfish tank, i tried 2 different ich medications, for almost 2 weeks, and the ich just got worse...i started the salt treatment, and within a week it got better!

Read the link below for a very good article about Ich, and how to treat it.

"Salt will kill ich. Just as medications will. The dosage needed for this is one to three teaspoons per actual gallon of water. One strain of Ich has been reported to withstand as much as five parts per thousand of salt1, do not rely on light salt dosage to be one hundred percent effective. Most strains will succumb to low levels of salt, however."

Answer 4

Bubbles? Ich has never looked like bubbles to me. I've attached a picture of ich below for you to compare to. The fish in the picture below has a major infestation. At the beginning stages your fish will only show a scatteredness of the salt like white spots.

Also attached below is a link to aqua hobby for the most common freshwater diseases. From there you should have a better idea as to what is infesting your fishies. As well as the best way to cure it. Also fish around the website for any further information you may be looking for.

Answer 5

Ich is a bunch of white spots. They are very small, like salt. Probably is ich. Raise temperature to 85 (1-2 degrees per hour) and what medicine did you use? What kind of fish is it?
You will also need to do some water changes. About 25% per day for two days, then take a day off and do a 3rd 25% water change.

Answer 6

What kind of fish is it? If it is a cichlid species (including angelfish and discus) it may be hole-in-the-head disease. You need to look up more information on this disease. Ich is a very weak parasite, it usually shows first on the tail and fins because the fish has no protective slime coat in those areas.

Answer 7

Since we cannot see the fish you will have to determine if it is really ich.

Here are some guidelines:

Is it white spot disease or is it Ich? You need to know the difference between the two since they are treated differently.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Also: You can raise the temp but Ich needs higher temps than 90 anything less will not work. Leave the temps in the tank alone so you do not stress the fish farther. It is possiable the other fish, if stressed could attract ich this isn't always the case. Remove your carbon filters prior to treating for ich.

Hope this helps