New Fish And White Spots

[Clarousel]

I just got my new tank and fishes last weekend and I've noticed white spots on the fishes. Mainly the black and neon tetras. The mollies and swordtails have a few tiny spots on their tails but the cichlids looks absolutely fine.

4 neon tetras have died over the past 2 days as well however there weren't any white spots on them. Instead, their tails were gone!

I'm really confused as to what's going on. My dad has asked me to put in some medication for white spots/fungus.

Right now, all the fishes are behaving normally. They're actively feeding and as for the tetras they're still swimming together. Being a newbie to keeping fish in a tank, I'm really upset and worried that I may have done something wrong

Any ideas what I can do?

 

[Louiseness]

Are the white spots fuzzy or more like pimples? If they're fuzzy it's fungus, pimple-like lumps are whitespot/ich and that's a bit of a pain in the backside to treat.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you haven't cycled your tank either? This can make your fish ill too. Do you have any testing kits for your water? If not I'd get some ASAP.

 

[Clarousel]

What do you mean by pimples? Hmm I can't really tell... I think they look as though the fish is growing mould.

I did cycle my tank before all the fish went in though No I don't have any testing kits right now too. Alright I'll try to get that soon!

 

[Louiseness]

How did you cycle it if you didn't have any testing kits? Not trying to be rude, just trying to work out what's going on!

If it looks like mould it's probably fungus. This can come from poor water conditions so if you have no tests to check I'd change at much water as you can ASAP (replace with warm, dechlorinated water of course) and try a fungus and finrot med.

 

[Clarousel]

I thought cycling means letting the water run in the tank for a few days? Oops oh dear!

Yes I will! Ah thank you so much! I feel so relieved now!

I've some meds but I'm not sure which one's better. One says it's for "ich, fin rot, fungal/bacteria disease" and another says it's for "white spots and parasitic disease. Use immediately when white spots appear on fish".

Thank you for replying so quick!

 

[Louiseness]

I would use the fungus and fin rot one, because fluffy white patches are usually fungus, and it sounds like the tetras with missing tails could have had fin rot too.

Despite what fish shops tell you, a new filter needs time to build up bacteria which essentially 'clean' the water for the fish, removing the toxic chemicals like ammonia that come from their waste. Cycling is the process where the bacteria grow, basically. If the filter doesn't have these bacteria, the toxic chemicals stay in the water and can make the fish ill.

There's some great information in the beginners resource centre on cycling - you need to read about fish-in cycling in particular as that's what you're doing now. test kits will be really helpful to you

 

[Clarousel]

Yeah I was wondering about the missing tails too

Ah I see. I'd better read those before doing anything now. Thank you! Hope my fishies will get better soon

 

[Louiseness]

Good luck! Some frequent water changes and some meds should make a difference

 

[Tizer]

Read the beginners section about cycling a tank. You fish are dying in their own urine. You need to change at least 90% of the tank water right now then change 50% of it or more daily. Pickup a liquid test kit for ammonia and nitrite and test it daily before each water change. Set a specific time to do this and stick to it. It could take a month or more for your filter to handle the fish waste. Medication at this time is a little pointless but a big water change and then daily ones could help save them.

 

[Clarousel]

I've been observing my fish. I've lost most of my neon tetras sadly however I've noticed the white spots have started to disappear. They're still there but not as much as when I first discovered it. Can I take that as a good sign?

I'm heading out to get the water testing kits today. Just wondering if I have to get all four nitrate, nitrite, pH and ammonia tests?

 

[colleen0309]

You will need all of those tests eventually, but right now you need to be most concerned with ammonia and nitrite. Water changes have now become your best friend!