I Thought A Few Of My Fish Had Ich

[MattM1124]

I have 6 danios, 6 glow lamp tetras, and 2 red swordtails. I got the fish about 2 weeks ago and I did a fishless cycle. a couple days ago I noticed my one red swortail had some white spots on him and immediatley thoguht it was ich. A few of my tetras have them as well. I've been treating the tank with malachite green for the past 5 days and no change really. I've been doing gravel cleanings also right before another dose of meds since it's every other day.

I thought it was ich but now I'm not so sure. The white stuff on the few fish seem to only be on their fins but mostly on their tail fins. I didn't notice any white spots on the bodies. The white spots kind of look like white specs but maybe blended together. Here's a pic I got of my one swordtail. It's not that clear but hopefully you can see enough. Could this still be ich or could it be something else that just focuses on the fins? Should I stop doing the malachite green treatments and try something else or give this more time to work? I've also bumped the temp up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The white stuff in the pic is on his tail fin and also notice the few spots on his tail....

Thanks in advance!

 

[ThePiggy]

Do the white spots look like grains of salt? Complete this course of medication to see if it will do the trick. Is the carbon out of your filter? If it's not, the carbon is absorbing the medication out of the water. What type of filter do you use? What is your water changing schedule? What are your water stats? What size tank is it?

 

[waterdrop]

Matt, there's a type of bacterial infection called Fin Rot. Here's what I clipped from over in the Emergency section. Have no idea if this diagnosis is correct.

"Fin Rot Can be either bacterial (fins rot with red [blood] outline on edge) or fungal (white, cottony grows on edge of fin)

Symptoms The fins will have a ragged, uneven appearance that will eventually, if left untreated, disintegrate to the point where only a stub remains.

Treatment There is a range of medication including penecilin."

Hopefully one of the fishkeepers with direct experience will come along and help you more,

~~waterdrop~~

 

[drobbyb]

Matt, there's a type of bacterial infection called Fin Rot. Here's what I clipped from over in the Emergency section. Have no idea if this diagnosis is correct.

"Fin Rot Can be either bacterial (fins rot with red [blood] outline on edge) or fungal (white, cottony grows on edge of fin)

Symptoms The fins will have a ragged, uneven appearance that will eventually, if left untreated, disintegrate to the point where only a stub remains.

Treatment There is a range of medication including penecilin."

Hopefully one of the fishkeepers with direct experience will come along and help you more,

~~waterdrop~~

From the picture it looks to be fungal, but it's hard to make that out without a clear pic.

 

[MattM1124]

From the picture it looks to be fungal, but it's hard to make that out without a clear pic.
[/quote]

Sorry about the pic, he moves around a lot. If it is fungal, what should I be using then? Would it be normal for a few fish to have it? If it's a fungus then that's not a parasite is it?

Also, does anyone know if Malachite Green and melafix would be bad to use at the same time. I would like to use both medications at the same time just incase it is ich or fin rot. I was reading fin rot or fungus is usualy caused from a parasite.

 

[MattM1124]

Do the white spots look like grains of salt? Complete this course of medication to see if it will do the trick. Is the carbon out of your filter? If it's not, the carbon is absorbing the medication out of the water. What type of filter do you use? What is your water changing schedule? What are your water stats? What size tank is it?

Hey, I don't have any carbon in the filter. I have a whisper tetra 40 power filter and I have a 20 gallon tank. On my swordtail, the whiteness looks like it's blended together but he does have a few grains of salt looking things on his tail. Some of the other tetras have what looks like white grains of salt on their fins also. Do you think it could be fin rot? And if so could I use the malachite green and melafix to treat both at the same time? Should I keep the temp up at 80 for now also?

If it is ich then i heard it was good to use it for about a week after the spots are gone so even though the meds only say to use on days 1, 3, and 5 I would want to use longer.

water stats

amonnia 0
nitirite 0
nitrate 10-20
ph 7.4-7.6
temp 80f

 

[MattM1124]

Matt, there's a type of bacterial infection called Fin Rot. Here's what I clipped from over in the Emergency section. Have no idea if this diagnosis is correct.

"Fin Rot Can be either bacterial (fins rot with red [blood] outline on edge) or fungal (white, cottony grows on edge of fin)

Symptoms The fins will have a ragged, uneven appearance that will eventually, if left untreated, disintegrate to the point where only a stub remains.

Treatment There is a range of medication including penecilin."

Hopefully one of the fishkeepers with direct experience will come along and help you more,

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks waterdrop..I'm thinking it may be both then..fin rot and ich possibly. Do you know if it would be ok to use both meds to treat both things at the same time?