Platies biting off Cardinal Tetra tails?!

[Colin_T]

You either have really high ammonia levels in the water, very acid pH or that's a really really bad case of Ichthyophthirius (aka: whitespot).

What's the pH and ammonia in the tank?
If the pH is above 7.0 and there is no ammonia then the goldfish have a severe case of whitespot and need treating immediately or they will die.

The best thing to do right now is a 75% water change and complete gravel clean. This will dilute the number of whitespot parasites in the water.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Then go to the local petshop and buy some whitespot treatment. Anything that treats protozoan infections or has Malachite Green will work. Come home, add the medication and increase aeration. Then hope it's not too late.

You should also check the cardinal tank because the platies probably transferred it from the cardinals to the goldfish.

There is more info on whitespot at the following link. The parts to read are the first thread on page 1 and the last thread on page 2.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-ich.7092/page-2

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To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will absorb the medication and stop it working.

 

[martinio1]

Ammonia is reading 0 and the PH seems to be between 7.5 and 8.

From what you have posted and reading the symptoms, I think you are correct. I will look into treatment asap.

 

[Colin_T]

You need to start treatment today, asap. If you can't get to the petshop for a few days then do a 90% water change and complete gravel clean each day until you get medication into the water.
Or move the fish into a clean container of water each day for a couple of weeks.

 

[martinio1]

I managed to get some and have done first treatment. Just says I have to apply every 48 hours until the spots/symptoms have disappeared. Then one last treatment 48 hours after all symptoms have disappeared.

Also, I done about an 80% water change before applying the treatment. I find it difficult to try and clean the sand as the siphon tends to pick it up. Easy enough to get fish waste though as it just sits on top of the sand. Can the parasites burrow under the sand? If so I guess I will have to kick it up a bit before doing the next large water change?

 

[Colin_T]

The whitespot parasites usually sit on the sand but if you have added medication then it should be ok. If you need to gravel clean sand just kink the hose a bit and it will stop the sand being sucked up.

The basic lifecycle of whitespot is the white dots on fish. After a few days the spots fall off the fish and sit in the substrate where the parasites divide inside the white spot. A few days later the white spot cysts hatch and release hundreds of new parasites that swim about looking for a fish to infect and develop into a new white spot.

The medication only works when the parasites are swimming about looking for a fish and does not affect the parasites already attached to the fish because the parasites are protected by the white spot cyst.

You need to treat for at least a week and probably 2 weeks or more depending on water temperature. Does the goldfish tank have a heater for the platies?

If the water temperature is around 24C then the parasites will go through their lifecycle pretty quickly but if the water is colder, the parasites develop slower and take more time to hatch. If the water is cool, keep treating for about 1 week after the last spots have fallen off the fish.

Did you check the cardinal tank for whitespot?
Chances are they are dying from the same problem and you should treat both tanks. If you have catfish in the tank check the directions for treating catfish and other scaleless fishes. You normally use a lower dose (about half dose) for scaleless fishes.

 

[martinio1]

The Goldfish tank is at 24-25c roughly.

I did check my other tank. Had a good look and noticed 2 tiny spots on one of the cardinals, so I have treated that tank as well. It's a bit warmer in that tank, around 27c. Also, I don't have scaleless fish, so don't have to worry about that!

Thanks again for your help. I guess in hindsight I should have quarantined the new fish...lesson learnt.

 

[martinio1]

Just thought I would post a quick update.

The goldfish have nearly fully recovered. They were showing a vast improvement in behaviour after the second treatment (I also added an air stone and salt). I can't see any more white spots and the red streaks on their tails have completely gone. Their tails are a little torn, but look healthy and are recovering.

 

[Colin_T]

Continue treating them for 1 week after all the spots have gone just to make sure there are no parasites left.

The tails should heal by themselves but watch them for red lines or patches or white edging.

 

[NickAu]

The Ich life cycle is temperature dependent. Higher temperatures within its livable range speed up every stage of the life cycle, while the lower temperatures will slow it down. At 18°C/64°F the cycle takes 10-12 days to complete,

If your fish can handle it raise the water temp to 32°C/89.5°F, ICH cant reproduce at this temp, keep it there for 3 or 4 days then slowly reduce it back to normal, Ich is gone.