Can't Get Rid Of Whitespot

[kmaisch]

Several weeks ago I set up a new tank with 6 neon tetra's, 2 angel fish, 3 harlequins, a loach, 2 catfish and a clown loach.

The clown loach always seemed to act very strangely - it would sit quietly at the bottom of the tank - then suddenly go crazy and dart all around the tank - up and down the sides, racing along the bottom, etc. About a week or two later I noticed visible white spots on it.

Apon inspecting all the other fish, all my tetra's had a few white spots on them also.

I went back to the shop and found that their clown loach tank was infected and all their clown loaches had whitespot. They said they will replace any of my fish that die as a result of the disease. So far I have lost the clown loach, the loach, 2 tetras and both angel fish (all within the space of the first week).

I was sold Methylene Blue to treat the tank, and have raised the tank temperature to 27 degrees C (about 80 degrees F) and have treated the tank as per the directions on the Methylene Blue bottle (half the dosage for Tetras and Scaleless fish).

So far it is about 3 weeks later and I have not lost any more fish. However, a couple of the tetra's still have some spots (not many - but it is still there). I am continuing the treatment, but just cant seem to clear all the fish completely.

What other things should I do? Should I just start the tank from scratch - get all new gravel, all new plants, and disinfect the tank and start over? (leaving the remaining fish in a hospital tank until they are all better?).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Kim

 

[black angel]

I would get some protozin but before adding, do a 40% water change with a gravel vac and remember no carbon in the filter.
Keep the temp at 80 and dont have the tank light on or this will reduce the strength of the meds. As the meds are only effective for 24 hours, on the days you dont treat do another gravel vac of around 30%.
Even if you dont see any spots do the treatment for the full course.
Hope that helps.

 

[IMCL85]

Before I use quickcure works wonder in most ich problem. I use to treat my clown this but recently found its not needed to treat clown with medicine as the heat treatment seem more better and cheaper .

 

[kmaisch]

is it unwise to clear the tank (remove everything) and start from scratch? (keeeping the fish in a hospital tank for a while?)

I have done a 40% water change every 3 days (as well as the gravel syphon), but I am worried that even if the white spot does clear up - that it will still be lurking somewhere under the gravel - ready to infect any new fish i get)

 

[Soaup]

Ive used Pimafix for any kinda of fungus or diseases and i am currently treating an african cichlids on day 3 it seems too be cleared but im gonna treat him through the end of the week to be certain he is fungus free before introducing him back into my 55 gallon.

 

[Angel Lady]

I dont know about loaches at all. But if I were you I would raise the tempature to 85 degrees for a week or so and do something with the loach. Do you have a hospital tank you could put the loach in. I never use ich medicine and I have always raised the temp and do small daily water changes and it does the trick without the medicine and all the stress that comes along with the ich medicine.

 

[kmaisch]

the clown loach and my other loach died... all i have left is some tetras, a harlequin (2 harlequins jumped out of the tank) and 2 catfish. Oh, and a glass catfish (forgot about that one).

The tetras are the only ones that still have spots on them - but not very seriously (just a couple on the fins of 1 or 2 of the tetras).

Maybe I'll continue using the chemical treatment and doing the water changes for a bit longer... i just want to make sure there are no ich eggs or anything in the gravel when i get replacement fish...

 

[Clairel]

Sorry about your Clown loaches...Did you use half Dosage of Protozin? As Clown Loaches have no scales, and also cant really tolerate anything warmer than 80.

I have Clowns too, there my fav...

C x

 

[kmaisch]

Hi Claire,

Yeah I used a half dosage of the treatment (seeing as I have mostly small fish and loaches/catfish). I'm pretty sure the loach died from stress from the disease - before the treatment started to kick in it was pretty badly covered with whitespot

The clown loaches seem to have a bit of a personality - but I'm not sure if i'd get them again I have heard that they are very likely to get whitespot...

Kim

 

[scrappy]

Yes Clown Loaches have a tendency to get whitespot a lot more than other fish, i was treating white spot for a month to get rid of mine, i started off following the course as dictated on the protozin bottle then after a few visits to a specialist at my local LFS (he did a course on protozoans and parasites) he indicated that if it wasnt shifting to continue the course but dont water change for a week or so as this dilutes the treatment... IT WORKED !!! and at one point i was beginning to think that anymore treatment and id have turned my fish blue from the dye...

I did lose my Clown Loach in the process however my Rams, Black Phantom Tetra, Rosy Tetra, Blue Loach & YoYo loach all recovered and ive not had whitespot since (touch wood)

 

[kmaisch]

glad the whitespot in your tank cleared up!

Since yesterday my tetra's no longer have spots on them - so i've done a waterchange this morning and added a final treatment of ichonex (to kill any of the parasite in the water/rocks). Hopefully that will be the last of it!

Cheers,
Kim

 

[kmaisch]

Its been a few weeks since the whitespot in my tank has cleared up.

But now, over the last few days, I have noticed one of my Testra's has a light coloured blemish on one if its fins - similar to white spot (but not quite as prominent). One of my Gourami's is also rubbing itself on plants as if it is trying to scratch itself.

I am paranoid that my tank has whitespot again... if it does then it is the early stages. As a precaution I have raised the tank temperature a little and have started the Ichonex treatment again. I guess there is no harm in doing this if they do not actually have whitespot?

Cheers,
Kim

 

[jolaf]

I wouldnt suggest starting over becasue your tank wil have to cycle again and you would probably lose the fish you have anyway. It sounds as if you are almost at the end of the ich cycle. Hang in there and make sure to vaccum at least once a week and the water changes also.

is it unwise to clear the tank (remove everything) and start from scratch? (keeeping the fish in a hospital tank for a while?)

I have done a 40% water change every 3 days (as well as the gravel syphon), but I am worried that even if the white spot does clear up - that it will still be lurking somewhere under the gravel - ready to infect any new fish i get)

I would start treating again for the whitespot now before they have a chance to get your fish again. I had that ich for over two months off and on until I decided no more clown loaches. They seem to be prone to that disease.

Its been a few weeks since the whitespot in my tank has cleared up.

But now, over the last few days, I have noticed one of my Testra's has a light coloured blemish on one if its fins - similar to white spot (but not quite as prominent). One of my Gourami's is also rubbing itself on plants as if it is trying to scratch itself.

I am paranoid that my tank has whitespot again... if it does then it is the early stages. As a precaution I have raised the tank temperature a little and have started the Ichonex treatment again. I guess there is no harm in doing this if they do not actually have whitespot?

Cheers,
Kim

 

[naefearjustbeer]

I found this info on the net I am trying at the moment as my guppies are covered in whitespot

quoted from www.cichlid-forum.com

Salt:

Salt is frequently recommended for treating a myriad of fish diseases, especially those involving external protozoa and fungi.

What kind of salt? We are not talking about “marine salt” or “cichlid salt” (both of which typically contain a blend of mineral salts and trace elements specially formulated for aquarium use to simulate ocean or rift lake water chemistry). You want sodium chloride (NaCl). “Aquarium salt” is the most widely used form because it does not contain the iodine or anti-caking agents that table salt does. I will say, however, that several credible sources assert that the minute amount of additives in table salt are harmless. Robert T. Ricketts, writing for AquaSource online magazine, puts it best with “any water-living vertebrate would be pickled in brine well before toxic concentrations of iodine could be reached.” Still, others offer strong warnings about the dangers of iodine and prussiate of soda (an anti-caking agent) and suggest “canning salt” as a cheaper alternative to aquarium salt. Make your own choice, but since I’ve heard only warnings and no actual accounts of fish death by table salt, I assume it’s most likely the ‘better safe than sorry’ principle at work here. “Sea salt” is another option, and is generally available in nutrition stores because it is considered a more “natural” form of salt. It does not contain iodine, but may have anti-caking agents. I have used it in my aquariums without incident.

Can my fish handle salt? I wrote this article with African rift lake cichlids in mind, and I have successfully exposed my Malawi haps and clown loaches to a salt treatment without any problems. But these fish are accustomed to fairly hard water with a high pH. It is my understanding that species preferring soft water will not tolerate salt as well. If you keep soft water fish, please do your homework before proceeding with salt.

How much? I visited websites and read articles on treating Ich in generic freshwater fish, food fish, guppies, loaches, and African rift lake cichlids to name a few. I encountered dosage recommendations ranging from about 1.75 tablespoons to 6 tablespoons salt per 5 gallons of water. One rift lake cichlid importer/breeder uses “1 handful” of salt per 5 gallons of water. I concluded that my fish can probably tolerate more salt than I think, at least on a short-term basis. Based on everything that I’ve read to date, I would feel comfortable adding 2-3 tablespoons salt per 5 gallons if I were also using the high temperature treatment outlined above. If I were using salt alone, I would work my way up to 4-5 tablespoons per 5 gallons. We don’t want to skimp on our treatment if we hope to permanently eliminate this pest. Salt should be added slowly over the course of 24-48 hours or so (always dissolve in a small container of tank water first). Keep a close eye on your fish and perform an immediate water change if they show any additional signs of stress (beyond what the Ich is already causing).

How long? The salt bath should be maintained for approximately 10 days, or for at least 3 days after any visible signs of Ich can be detected. Do not discontinue treatment when the spots go away. If you use a higher dosage of salt, watch the duration more closely. One article (on guppies) specifically stated not to leave the fish in salt longer than ten days, but their dosage recommendation was on the high end at 5 tablespoons per 5 gallons.

What else should I do? The salt bath can be used on its own, or in conjunction with a temperature adjustment as described in the section above. A water change can be performed during the salt treatment (but is not necessary unless nitrates are creeping up to an undesirable level). Be sure to salt the replacement water accordingly to maintain salinity. Gravel vacuuming is also helpful to remove as many tomonts as possible before they can release offspring. Again, this is not absolutely necessary since the salt should destroy the free-swimming thermonts upon their release.

At the end of the treatment, do several large (40-50%) water changes with dechlorinated unsalted water to reduce the salinity to normal.

One last note on salt treatments: If you follow the directions here thoroughly and have a subsequent outbreak without having added new fish or plants, you may need to try a different approach. It is possible to encounter a resistant strain of ichthyophthirius, as there have been rare instances recorded where the organism survived in water salted at more than 5 tablespoons per 5 gallons.

 

[kmaisch]

i wonder if the salt would be OK to use in a tank that has Cory's, Neon Tetras, Harlequins, and Gourami's. And if it would be OK to treat with salt at the same time as Ichonex?

Kim