Planaria, Algae, & Possible Ich ?

[Faythee]

Okay it appears I have Planaria, little wormy things on glass. Also been dealing with bad outbreak of brown algae. One of my fish may have Ich but I am not positive. His fins are rather tattered too (like that when I bought him). I see a few spots...then their gone, then see new ones

Here are my options:

1. Medicate for Ich

2. Turn up heater and do water changes every other day while vacuuming gravel.

3. Same as #2 but also put an algae eater in there.

4. #1 and #3 and add 1 tblsp. salt per 10 gal. (I do have a Pictus catfish)

I am wondering if I should go ahead and treat for Ich since it will likely also get rid of the Planeria, BUT am wondering how harsh it is on my fish ?

 

[Colin_T]

Whitespot has a lifecycle that lasts for a few days. One stage is the little white dots on the fish. Then the dots fall onto the gravel and develop before ruptering and releasing thousands more whitespot parasites. Then the fish get covered in whitespot.
If you do a big water change and gravel clean every day you can control it but it doesn't always get rid of it. Make sure any new water going in the tank is free of chlorine and has a similar temp and PH to the tank.
You are better off medicating the tank with copper or another whitespot remedy. If you have catfish or scaleless fish in the tank make sure you follow the directions on the packaging. Many medications recommend half dose for catfish.
Planaria are commonly called arrowhead worms because they have an arrow shaped head. They are often associated with dirty tank conditions. Some medications will kill them, others won't. Cleaning up the tank, (gravel cleans and water changes) will reduce their numbers a bit.

 

[Faythee]

Thank you. I just did a 25% water change and did approx. 25% a couple days ago. I removed the decs and scrubbed them...not all of them but the ones covered in the algae. I cannot do larger water changes due to ammonia in my tap water.

My tank is pretty clean...so I am perplexed.

I will treat for Ich.

Should I wait til done treating the tank before adding an algae eater ?

 

[Colin_T]

yep wait till after you have finished the whitespot treatment, and do a few water changes before treating with an algae killer.

Algae can also be controlled by reducing the lighting period, (have the lights on for less time), and doing more water changes, which you are doing now. Adding more plants will help as well because they use the extra light and nutrients, and if you use floating plants they will shade the tank and limit the light getting into the tank. Also try moving the light unit towards the back of the tank if possible. That will limit the algae growing on the front glass. Try doing these things before using the algicide.

 

[Amunet]

Planaria become a problem if there is a good food source for them. Are you overfeeding by any chance? Or maybe not doing enough gravel vacs?
They can also get bad if there is alot of ammonia in the water.

They're easy to get under control though. Just do some really good gravel vacs, clean off the inside of the tank and that should reduce them greatly to where you won't notice them (or notice them so well )
They're harmless though and if your fish spot them, they'll be gobbled up.

 

[Faythee]

I went and bought Copper Safe today. By the time I got back home, sure enough the spots are all over his fins. I treated the tank. How long do I wait to see any results/if it is working ? He is staying in the back of the tank. I also seen another medicine called Quick Cure with a picture on it of protozoan fin damage. That is how his side fins look, "opaque and eroded". They were like that when I bought him 2 weeks ago. I thought from a previous illness....now not so sure. I went ahead and bought it just in case. It is malachite green and formalin and is also for Ich. Should I use it as well if I don't see results in a day or so ?

 

[WILDER]

If scales are sticking out its dropsy, organ failure when scales stick out, they rarely make it once scales stick out.
Epson salt baths to help draw the fluids out, bacterial med.
<a href="http/www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/dropsy.php" target="_blank">http/www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/dropsy.php</a>

Whitespot can take two rounds of meds sometimes to get rid of whitespot.
Don't add anymore meds than the whitespot med to the tank.
Raise temp to 30.
Increase aeration as the high temp and med reduce 02 in the water.
Remove black carbon if you use it.
Finrot common on top of whitespot.I
f the fins were erroded before the whitespot you will have to wait till you have gotten rid of the whitespot before you treat the fins.

 

[Faythee]

Thank you ! I upped the temp 2 degrees and have a bubbler in there. The instructions in the Copper Safe say to use Maracyn to prevent secondary infections. It does not say when ? Do I wait until all spots are gone ? How many days to I wait to see if this is working ?

 

[WILDER]

Can't say to be honest every tank different.
Once spots have gone best to treat another week.
I would add the maracyn once the meds have been taken out of the tank by water changes and black carbon.
http/www.nunnie.com/ick.html

 

[Faythee]

It says the medication lasts for 1 month. To add when doing water changes. Should I do changes every other day. I suppose if he starts going downhill I can put him in a hospital tank. He is begging for food. I fed lightly last night and none today. Should I feed him ?

Thanks

He is a large beautiful fish...my pet. Pray for my Bubba

 

[Colin_T]

you don't normally do water changes when treating for whitespot but it depends on what the instructions say on the bottle. Normally you put the medication in each day for a few days, or maybe each week, then leave it to do its job. The whitespots will fall off the fish in a few days time and a bit after that they will hatch out. If there is medication in the water when that happens the whitespot parasites will be killed off. As mentioned above keep the whitespot medication going for at least a week after the spots drop off.

Don't bother using other medications while you are treating for whitespot because you will probably poison the fish. It's hard enough on the fish dealing with one medication let alone two at the same time.
See how the fish look in a couple of weeks and if they have bacteria or fungal infections on their fins then use the Maracyn, otherwise don't bother about it.

 

[liz2]

you don't normally do water changes when treating for whitespot but it depends on what the instructions say on the bottle. Normally you put the medication in each day for a few days, or maybe each week, then leave it to do its job. The whitespots will fall off the fish in a few days time and a bit after that they will hatch out. If there is medication in the water when that happens the whitespot parasites will be killed off. As mentioned above keep the whitespot medication going for at least a week after the spots drop off.

Don't bother using other medications while you are treating for whitespot because you will probably poison the fish. It's hard enough on the fish dealing with one medication let alone two at the same time.
See how the fish look in a couple of weeks and if they have bacteria or fungal infections on their fins then use the Maracyn, otherwise don't bother about it.

I have just treated one of my girls for white spot, with that blue stuff that stains everything. She seems fine I put meds in for first 3 days, now I am putting half dose in every other day. When I have done I shall do a 100% water change. She seemed fine after first dose but the disease can continue so you need to be careful