How can white spot disease in freshwater fish be avoided?

Question

Also, i have cardinal tetras which all are affected but it has now started to spread to a few of my guppies. I will be putting in treatment for white spot disease to try cure it but is there anything else i should do and how can it be avoided?

Answer 1

You need to quarantine everything, not just fish. Even though fish are the only organisms that will "get" ich, if there's water from an infected tank that contains the parasite that gets added to your tank, the parasite can go with it.

This means you should quarantine new fish, plants and invertebrates for at least 3-4 weeks. In the case of plants, it can also prevent an overpopulation of snails from eggs attached to the plants that you don't notice.

If you don't have a separate quarantine (and you should!) the next best method is to use a series of containers (Rubbermaid storage containers will work) to acclimate your additions and dilute the possible parasites. This would involve floating the bag with your additions in a container of tank water at the proper temperature for 15 minutes so the temperature equalizes, then pouring out about 1/4 of the water in the bag (down the drain, never keep store water) and filling with new water from the tank. Do 3-4 small water changes, then net the additions and add them to the container. Let the additions stay in the container for a while (30 minutes or so), then net them out and place it into another container of water from the tank, and dump the first container (and any parasites that may have dropped off into the water). Let the addition stay in the second container for 30 minutes, then move it back into the first container which has been rinsed out and refilled with new water from the tank. By doing this a few times, you can at least lower the number of parasites/pathogens you're adding to your tank. It's not nearly as good at preventing the spread of disease/parasites as a quarantine, but it may help. For fish, you can also do a salt dip to remove parasites - see these links:
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/quarantine.shtmlhttp://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml

It also helps to look over new purchases very carefully and not buy anything that's showing any signs of any type of sickness, ich or otherwise: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/fishes/buytips.shtml

NOTE: The only thing that causes ich or white spot is the presence of the parasite - which only affects fish: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

Answer 2

Your best bet is healthy fish. This means proper maintenance, such as 25% bi-weekly water changes with a gravel vac. Good health for all living things helps avoid disease, fish are no different.
Ich thrives in cool water, keep your tanks above 74°. The shock of water temperatures fluctuating fast, more than 1° per hour, will also bring on ich.

Answer 3

The best way to avoid ICK or white spots is to look at the fish you are buying and only get the healthiest. Only put in a couple of fish at a time. To cure ICK, I recommend the only product that worked for me: Copper Safe by Mardel Labs. Do NOT get Jungle Labs products. They are JUNK!

Answer 4

Don't forget to remove the carbon from your filter Before you start the treatment. Normally it is from water temperature fluctuation or adding water from new fish. The best way to prevent it is Keep your water at about 78 degrees f. The top of the water in your tank should always be moving.

Answer 5

the main reason that fish get white spot disease is the fact that their tank isnt clean or they arent getting along with the other fish in the tank or the animals OUTSIDE the tank (cats, dogs, and angry bird, ect). Make sure that you clean the tank every few days if u have more than 5 small fish. Also, if you have cats or dogs, ect, then either move your tank to a place where they cat get to them, or discipline your animals to not terrorize them.

Answer 6

-Quaritine new fish
-Dont stress the fish (tapping on tank etc,etc)
-Maintain a heathly aquarium, test water once a week)

:Connie: What are you talking about?What does cats and dogs have to do with white spot (a fish disease)

Answer 7

The only true way to keep ich out is to
1. buy only from stores that run UV Sterilizers in all their tanks
2. Run a UV Sterilizer yourself.

That is the only way to keep ich out. You can quaranteen fish however if they are stressed when moved into your tank, ich is present and has the ability to attach itself to your fish. Ich is in the water source Every water change allows the parasite to reenter the tank. that isn't to say your fish will get ich, it is just present. A UVSterilizer kills the free floating form and keeps it out of the tank.