My tank was recently hit with Whitespot. I am not sure how my tank got it as my tank has been cycled for over a month and i added all 22 of my fish at that time. Since then, no new fish or plants have been added.

But, this weekend i found whitespot on my Clown Loaches, all 6 of them, and they were covered in it. No other fish in my tank had any visible whitespot. I have angels, 3 Silver Dollars, 2 Bristlenoses, Khulis, and BGK.

Although there was no visible whitespot on the angels, 3 (out of 6 angels) of them died. So a Total of 9 fish have died.

I will replace the 3 angels, but i am not so sure about the Clown Loaches. I think my Whitespot experience has turned me off them. I do like the Clowns, but i dont want them if they are that bad with whitespot or any other disease/parasite. Do you think i should give them another chance?

If Not. What in your opinion would be a better replacement? It doesnt have to be a schooling fish like the loaches. It can be a single bigger fish, or a few different fish. I dont like real small fish (plus the angels or BGK might eat them).

It will be a little while before i get any more fish, as i want to make sure my whitespot is definately gone.

But i am open to any opinions. Tank is 4'x2x2. Has a large piece of driftwood (with many hiding places). Some River rocks, and no plants.

Thanks

Well, SD's enjoy bigger groups than what you have, so you could do with one or two more of them. Mine really perked up when I bought a couple more (now they're my favorite fish in my 90 gallon, they have such great personalities), but otherwise,... err... I'm not too sure.

Yo-Yo loaches are really cool, they have a little pecking order kinda like Tiger Barbs so they're always scuffling with each other, its rather entertaining.

Also Pictus Cats possibly. They get a little bigger, and you also have to watch out if you have smaller fish as they are predatory. Beautiful catfish though.

I have kept clowns for about 5 years. My largest is over 6 inches. I have never had ich on any of them in that time. Clean water and good food along with regular tank maint. is all I have ever done for them.

you should replace them with a medication...dont be a dummy and add more fish into the problem

Dont want to patronise you ,but are you using a medication in the tank right now?

As for replacing your fish.....I would steer away from the Botia family of fishes,(loaches)because correct me if i am wrong but i think they are all prone to spot and other infections ( something to do with them having no scales)

What about corys?

This post has been edited by the man from atlantis: May 29 2006, 11:17 PM

personaly i would try clown loaches gain and see if you can get some that is 3 or 4 inches lond but if you don't want to you could add some type of ram like a Gold, German blue, or bolivian. You could get an ell like a spiney peacock. Just a suggestion.

Yes i definately am medicating the tank! and i dont plan on getting any new fish for a while, to make sure that the whitespot has completely cleared. The remaining fish already look a lot better, but i will continue to medicate for maybe 1-2 weeks (i medicate every 3 days, as per instructions) I have so far medicated twice.

I heard that Whitespot can be caused by changes in water temperature. If this is true then i may know why i got it. When i do water changes, i add the new water straight from a hose, so its cold. I always do quite big water changes, so maybe i will start doing smaller changes so there is not so big of a water temp change. Or i will add warmer water.

Thanks for the fish advice. I am still not 100% on what i want to get yet.

You should always add water that is at the same temp as the tank. As adding cold water to a warm tank will shock all the fish that are in it. Also, how are you dechlorinating the water if it's coming straight out of a hose? This will also shock the fish and harm them as well, as the chlorine will still be active in the water. Hope this helps.
Ian

I add the dechlorinator bit by bit as the tank fills. This method is done by many members on this site and is very acceptable. It is said that the few minutes that the fish are exposed to the untreated water will not harm them. If you are that worried you can add the dechlorinator first.

i would do clowns again just because they're my favorite my clowns had a little bit of white spot after a couple of weeks having them, but i put in some coppersafe (safe to use with them because of no scales) and it cleared up and they've been ok ever since! i also hear that your actually not supposed to add all your fish at once to a new tank because it will stress them out and give them whitespot. i added 5 at the most at a time, and started with cheaper fish , since clowns are a little pricey. and do you have a heater? that helps keep temps nice and stable for them also, mine seem to like it at 79º

I have a personal rule.....no water changes larger than 20%. And since I have a python I can't accurately tell whether the temp coming out of the faucet is exactly the same, so I feel both the faucet water and the tank with my fingers until I get what feels accurate.

I have never had a problem with this, and I've been doing it for many many years.

Whitespot is a parasite, you have to bring it with the fish. If fish is stressed, parasite wins and borrows into the skin - a white spot. Once it is delt with, there is no more parasites in the tank, unless you add a plant or a fish and it will come with it. Parasite can not last without the host - a fish. Ich - whitespot, can not last in higher temperature, thus temp ABOVE 86 F kills it in about 2-3 weeks. Copper based meds would kill your plants. I used Rid Ich + with 3 weeks of 86F water and I had no ich since (3 years). Be careful adding new fish. Q-tank comes handy. Adding 22 fish at once you killed the balance ( there were no bacteria in sufficient quantities to deal with the load) and stressed the fish. Once you are done, enjoy your loaches. I do, with no problems. Do google search on Ich (Ick) to learn about different stages of this parasite and when you can kill it (you can not kill the one that is on the fish, it has to break and become free swimming looking for a host).

Ok, ther is all kinds of controversey on Ich......we all agree to disagree.

Some say it is present in the tank all the time and takes ahold when something goes awry. Others think it may be a "spore" that can drop in your tank and some believe that it is brought in with new fish (which I personally dont believe as I have had Ich crop up in a tank after not adding anything (plants, fish, decor etc) for months.

Either way, medicate as it says on the bottle and add some new fish when it has been cleared up for (I'd say) about 2 months.

This post has been edited by qwikimpss: Jun 1 2006, 12:45 AM

Stargirly and jhd, I did a fishless cycle. So there should have been MORE bacteria than was needed. Thats one of the reasons people do a fishless cycle, that you can fully stock once its complete. I had no ammonia or nitrite spike at all once i added the fish.

Otherwise, if you do a fishless cycle, then only add 2-3 fish, mose bacteria will die off and only enough bacteria will remain to support those 3 fish. Of course if i was doing a cycle with fish i would not add 22 at once.

Yes i have a heater. and it is around 28C to help kill off any whitespot.

Also, i have no plants, and will have no plants. Once i have all the fish i want, i wont add any more fish or any plants, so i dhould have less chance of getting it again.

Anyway, thanks for all the help.
Mike