Hi! I am new to this forum and new to fish keeping. I have a question about one of my fish. I noticed these white spots, I did some googling but figured it would be best to ask some experts. I’m going to attach a photo, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Spots on fish
- Thread starter Ryan715
- Start date
TNG
Fishaholic
That is white spot or ich. You need to treat the whole tank with white spot / ich medication immediately. Follow instructions on the bottle to the letter and let us know how you go.
@TNG s correct - that is a soon to be fatal parasite, Ich. It is already very established, and time is of the essence. With a good Malachite green based medication you can still save the fish but you will have to move fast. Ignore the advice on heat alone or salt, as that infestation is past the point where they'd be advised.
You're in the US, so any decent aquarium store will have a number of ich remedies with malachite green or victoria green in them. They are copper based dyes that kill the parasites after the white spot (a cyst) has burst to send them spreading. While they are in the cyst the parasites feed on your fish, and you can't get to them. So you have to stay the course for a few weeks and follow the medication instructions.
Online, you will read people saying the med killed their fish, as the fish can die after the treatment. They overlook the fact that millions of parasites were draining the fluids out of their fish before they medicated. Unchecked ich is a killer, and even left too long but cured infestations can weaken and harm their victims. The parasite is only fatal if it has time to kill, and those ones in the photos have a head start.
You're in the US, so any decent aquarium store will have a number of ich remedies with malachite green or victoria green in them. They are copper based dyes that kill the parasites after the white spot (a cyst) has burst to send them spreading. While they are in the cyst the parasites feed on your fish, and you can't get to them. So you have to stay the course for a few weeks and follow the medication instructions.
Online, you will read people saying the med killed their fish, as the fish can die after the treatment. They overlook the fact that millions of parasites were draining the fluids out of their fish before they medicated. Unchecked ich is a killer, and even left too long but cured infestations can weaken and harm their victims. The parasite is only fatal if it has time to kill, and those ones in the photos have a head start.
I hope you're in time to treat this fish or even its tankmates. The risks by just leaving it this way has already been mentioned by my fellow members...
Aquaria Pro Aquatics
New Member
Ouch, thoughts and prayers. I hate hate hate this. I have several tanks all stained from these meds. I learned to quarantine everything before adding. If you don't have one, get a quarantine tank, and never add fish to the main tank without watching them for a few weeks. Dont delay, get to treating them today. Yesterday would be better. Im afraid its probably already too late.
Dominick
Aquaria Pro Aquatics
Dominick
Aquaria Pro Aquatics
Last edited:
Aquaria Pro Aquatics
New Member
Glad you treated both tanks. Which ich treatment did you wind up with? It would be odd for one fish to be that intensely affected and not see any parasites on the tank mates. I suspect if you look closely, especially the fins, you will see a few spots on the others.
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