One of my three fish has white spots on it?

Question

What is it and what should I do to get rid of it???

Answer 1

That's not much at all to go on, but white spots that look like grains of salt are usually ich. Ich is a parasite in your aquarium. To dispel some common myths it is not caused by poor water quality or low temperatures, or ammonia, or dirty filters or anything else like that. It does not lurk around in a tank waiting to attack fish, it does not only attack weakened fish, it is not airborne. None of that is true. It is caused by a specific parasite and must be introduced into the tank. This usually happens when you bring in new fish from an infected tank. The best treatments for ick in a tropical aquariums is:

Change a large portion of the water, about 50-60% while cleaning the gravel very well.
Clean the filter and change all the media but leave out the carbon.
Add 2 tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons of the tank.
Raise the temperature to 88-90 F. Raise it slowly, about 1 degree per hour. You may need to add an air stone or two depending on the type of fish and how heavily the tank is stocked. Threat for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish. After the treatment return the tank temperature to normal.

OR

Use a good ick medication as directed on the bottle. Try to find a medication that used Malachite Green as the active ingredient. (CAUTION: Malachite Green is a known carcinogen. Be careful not to get it on your skin!)
Change 25% or more of the water daily being sure to clean the gravel as you do so.
Continue the treatment for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish. After the treatment, return the carbon to your filter.

This will work and will remove the ich from your tank.

Salt is a valid ich treatment you can find literally 1000's of hobby related links that support this and some that don't, but here's support from veterinarian conferences, research labs, government publications and and various University Fisheries and Biology departments. It's science and it's proven.
veterinarian support of salt treatment
http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=15788&cid=3806&search=
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00343.htm

General resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyophthirius_multifiliis

Scientific research links
Supports salt treatment with heat
http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?DocumentID=276.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA006
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio354l/Projects/2000/ginger_hsieh/index.html
Supports heat treatment:
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/AS/AS-459.pdf.
Download the Ich pdf here:
http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/aquaculture/Health.php

If you have access:
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?sid=U2TAADUBS1GM8G3RFACUJ1R2G00C3U91&ID=36388
http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1577%2F1548-8454(2001)063%3C0293%3ATFIIIC%3E2.0.CO%3B2

Hope this helps MM

Answer 2

Are these freshwater fish? Going on that assumption, I'll add to what MM has said. While ich is a definite possibility, white spots could also indicate velvet, another parasite. The treatment for freshwater ich and velvet are the same, so don't spend too much time trying to figure out which one it is. Be aware that scaleless fish may be sensitive to copper-based medications.

Another possibility - are these goldfish? Are the white spots only on/near the covering over the gills and the front edges of the fins? Male goldfish get these when it's spawning time - see photo for comparison: http://members.aol.com/jjduedall/malefish.htm

If your fish are saltwater, this may be saltwater ich, Amyloodinium, or clownfish disease (Brooklynella). Here, it would be advised to treat the infected fish outside your tank. For the first two, treatment consists of malachite green - any invertebrates you have would be senstive to copper-based medications and likely die. Brooklynella is characterized more as excess slime coat (which may appear as larger white patches) but formalyn (another carcinogen) is the preferred treatment.

Freshwater fish disorder info:
http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/stressdisease.shtml
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Velvet.htm

Saltwater fish disorder info:
http://peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1992&articleid=2420
http://peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1992&articleid=2428
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/brookynella.html

Answer 3

Hi,try another medication they need more Oxygen. Have you got a air line & pump.I use Interpret for white spot if they have not made any improvemnet then try Esha 2000. I think the main problem is lack of Oxygen so you need to get more air into the tank & do a 25% water change. Good Luck

Answer 4

Your fish have ick. You need to get to the store and get the meds to treat your tank or all your fish will catch it. Ick is caused by a quick change in the water temperature and will cause death if not treated.

Answer 5

Your fish is probably infected with a parasite called "ich." Go to your local petstore, and they will have relatively low cost medications. I personally recommend "Primafix" by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. You can find it at any PetSmart or Petco.

Answer 6

sounds like ich. You will need to check your fish carefully to be sure it is ich before you treat.

here is more on ich and how to treat it:


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.

Hope this help

Answer 7

it's got ick and if you don't treat it they all will get and it can kill them. You can get meds for it about anywhere they sale pet supplys

Answer 8

its ich, quarantine it into another tank and give it proper treatment like rid ich