white spot?

Question

Iam new to keeping fish.

my tropical fish have white spots on them how do cure this.

Answer 1

You should test your water or take a sample to a local fish shop to see if it is a water quality problem that is causing it or perhaps you have bought a infected fish that has white spot and it has infected your tank.

White spot is caused by the fish being very stressed.

The cure -;

Buy some med from your lfs i use protozin its very good i think.

if your water test is fine then id treat the tank as on back of bottle.

If your water is the problem then do a water change and make sure you treat new water with aquasafe or something like that, the water should be at same temp as the tank.

Turn your heater up a few degrees but do this slowly.

The spots should start to clear up soon,

Good luck
Pete

Answer 2

If this is white spot (ich) the ONLY cause is a parasite that is present. It's possible that the fish were already infected if you bought them recently, or you may have introduced the parasite if you added anything to the tank without a period of quarantine first. Even though other animals and plants don't get or carry ich, it may have been present in the water from the store's tanks. That's one reason why you should rinse off plants and let them sit in a change of water for around a week (as well as preventing snail infestations), and should never add water from a bag from the store to your tank.

There are two ways to go for treatment - you can use store-bought medication (look for something that contains both malachite green and formalin, as this is the most effective) or use salt. In either case, you also want to raise the temperature in the tank to speed up the life cycle of the parasite - when it's attached to the fish, it's enclosed in a protective cyst, so it's not affected by the treatment. It's only when the cyst erupts and the parasites are released into the water that they can be killed, so it's important that you not stop treating when you see the spots disappear - you want to continue for another 3-5 days.

Some fish (tetras, scaleless fish, catfish) may be sensitive to salt or medication, so you should start with only 1/2 of the recommended dose and slowly build to the full dose.

This link will give you more info about the life cycle of the parasite, treatments, and doses: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

Also, if your fish are goldfish, this may not be ich at all, but breeding tubercles on males - they will get small white bumps that look like pimples on the gill coverss and along the front edges of the side fins - see a photo at this link: http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/sexing-fs.htm Also, if the fish is a goldfish with a wen (bubble-like 'cap' on varieties like orandas, lionheads, ranchus, etc.) white spots within the cap may only be new points of growth for the cap. If in doubt, wait to see spots on the body other than these locations before you treat for something your fish may not have.

Answer 3

Bummer.. you fish have ICK. It is very easy to treat, but if left untreated, it will kill all of your fish.

You must treat the entire tank and do not add any additional fish until the treatment is done.

When you fish had Ick it looks like someone has sprinkled them with salt. It is little teeny tiny specks of white. Most of the time these specks show up on the fins and tails first. They do not have a raised appearance and are flat against the fish. However, when they are covered with these in the advanced stages of Ick then they do have a raised look to them.

Ick is always present in your tank, in your fish. Stress is the main cause of Ick. Your fish can get stressed as a result of many things. I have found that Ick seems to show up most often when I add new fish to the tank. Almost every time I bring a fish home from the store and add them to a tank within a few days not only does the new fish develop Ick, but several of the other fish as well. Very frustrating.

Fish purchased at the store have had a large amount of stress. They have left their happy home, been transported to a new environment, then you buy them, transport them again and put them in another new environment, all within usually a matter of a few days. At first I was very worried when this occurred, but after all this time I have come to expect it and watch new fish very, very carefully. Another reason is dirty water. When the water gets cloudy or contains too much ammonia or nitrates this will stress the fish out a lot thus causing Ick.

I use a product called Quick Cure by Aquarium Products with very good success. This seems to have worked the best for me. I tried Rid Ich once and had no luck with it.

I always use this for a full 14 days. Usually it does not take that long to cure it though. It is very important that you treat with the Ick medication for a full 14 days. The bottle says that it can cure Ick in 2 days, but it is best to continue the treatment for the 14 days. Ick is a parasite. The parasite lays eggs in your tank continually. The eggs that are laid will continue to hatch out for a full 14 days. By using Quick Cure for the full 14 days you will kill any of the newly hatched Ick parasites. This is the only real way to cure the Ick for good. NOTE: If you have any fish in the Tetra group you use one half (1/2) the dosage of this medication.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

You already got a good answer from Copperhead (not sure why anyone would give this answer a thumbs down?)

As stated this is a common freshwater disease that needs immediate attention and with proper aquarium keeping husbandry outbreaks can be minimized in the future.

Check your water parameters as well:
*Ammonia/ nitites- 0
*Nitrates- under 40 ppm
*GH and KH - 100 ppm and 50 ppm respectively. These are important for many Malachite Green Treatments and others to work better as lower GH, KH, and pH can cause more medication toxicity and having adequate Calcium in the water is helpful in resistance as well.

Quick cure is one of the fastest treatments available while ParaGuard (SeaChem) and Medicated Wonder Shells are useful especially with more "sensitive" fish such as Tetras.

I suggest reading these two articles as well:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Ich.html
And this one for disease prevention:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Disease.html

Answer 5

Sounds like Ich (commonly known as Whitespot). If they look like tiny sugar grains then this is what it is. Go to your nearest aquatic retail shop and buy a bottle of whitespot treatment it is really easy to clear up. If you are in the UK a bottle will probably cost you about £2.99. Treat it quickly though as it is a very contagious parasite.

If they are fluffy you will need an antifungal treatment.

I have answered your other white spot question with a more detailed answer for you.

Hope your fish survive :-)

Answer 6

ya its most likely ick but look closely if its gold then its velvet. so be careful true ick and velvet are both parasites so they get cured in almost the same way.

Answer 7

No idea mate, take 'em to a vet