Newbie

[pw2762]

Have just recently started keeping tropicals, have in my tank 1 x siamease fighter, 2 silver sharks, 4 sword tales, and a couple of others (cant remember the names).
I have noticed in the last couple of days that my sword tales have developed what I think is white spot (but am not sure, it could be body fungus,. my question is how can I tell what it is and how do I get rid of it?? Please help if you can.

return e-mail [email protected]

your help is much appreciated.

 

[Ivan Sloshed]

Hi Rhino to the forum. You need to post Here in Tropical Fish Emergencies, its quite a common problem and i sure someone will be able to help you
Ivor

 

[blitztidus]

to TFF. Your not the only person to have done this

 

[Weaver]

I know very little about fish disease but whitespot is very common and there is a good pinned article at the top of the emergencies section which tells you how to treat it effectively
If the white bits are fluffy in appearance it may be columnaris
Sorry I cant be of much help but hopefully some of those knowledgeable about disease will see this and answer your query.Good luck

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

If it looks like grains of salt it is whitespot- read the pinned thread. You can treat with a whitespot medication, with adding small quantities of salt, and turning the temperature up.

If it is a slightly larger white spot maybe looking grey round the edges, then it's more likely to be finrot: the next stage will be the area rotting away leaving a hole. It is quite easily treatable if caught early. You should start by ensuring the water quality is good (coming to that in a minute), sometimes this is enough on its own. If not, there are medications.

IF it looks like fluffy cotton wool, then it's some sort of fungus. Again, there are medications.

As a lot of fish diseases are closely related to water quality, it is best to start there. What size is your tank and exactly what fish- and how many- have you got in there? How long has the tank been running? How did you start it up? Have you got a test kit? You will need to test the water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The fish shop should sell liquid test kits.