What Wrong ?

[JohnBull]

One of my Gouramis has got small with spots along its back and in its fins.
He wont feed properly and wants to shy away from the other fish who for the most part seem ok.

What to do ?

 

[micko]

More information is needed,
Tank mates?
Water readings?
Anything recently added to the tank?
When was the last time you did a water change?
What exactly is on it? I think you missed out a word or two.

 

[Devilish Angelfish]

Small white spots (which is what I'm guessing you meant) is "White Spot" (Surprise!!LOL) - a fungal disease and very very contagious. You need to separate all the fish that are showing signs of it and put them in a hospital tank with Malachite green or another fungal cure mix and keep them in there til all the spots are gone

 

[JohnBull]

50 gallon tank,do 25% water changes every 5 or 6 days. 18 fish,including Mollies,sword tails and tetras. Only thing added in last 6 weeks is 2 Bristle nosed plecs. No live plants as yet.

AMM is 0
Nitite is 0
Nitrate is 60ppm (always high)
PH is 7.6

 

[the_lock_man]

Small white spots (which is what I'm guessing you meant) is "White Spot" (Surprise!!LOL) - a fungal disease and very very contagious. You need to separate all the fish that are showing signs of it and put them in a hospital tank with Malachite green or another fungal cure mix and keep them in there til all the spots are gone

IMHO, you've just contradicted yourself - since it's so contagious, it's better to treat the whole tank - I believe it's parasitic, not fungal, and the parasites are only vulnerable to treatment whilst in the free-swimming lifestage, not whilst they're attached to the fish.

If you treat affected fish in a quarantine tank, any of the parasites that are currently free swimming in the main tank will infect the remaining stock.

Further, since this is the case, you need to keep treating for a while after the spots have gone, to get the last batch of spots once they have detached from the fish, and gone (via another stage) into free-swimming. But your medication should tell you that. I use Protozin by Waterlife.

Just to check, though, these spots look like little grains of salt or sugar on the body of the fish?

 

[creeker]

Small white spots (which is what I'm guessing you meant) is "White Spot" (Surprise!!LOL) - a fungal disease and very very contagious. You need to separate all the fish that are showing signs of it and put them in a hospital tank with Malachite green or another fungal cure mix and keep them in there til all the spots are gone

Actually, it sounds more like Ich (also called white spot disease) which is a protozoan infection. You need to treat the whole tank, since one fish is showing the spots it is now present and your tank is contaminated. Moving the one fish to a treatment tank will not solve the problem, especially since you cannot kill the spots when they are on the fish. First step would be to raise the temperature of your water to about 82 F. This will speed up the life cycle of Ich, and cause it to enter the free swimming stage where it can be killed using a number of Ich medications, including the above mentioned Malachite Green. There are other meds out there for it. Malachite Green is actually pretty old school. It works, but might stain the sealant in your tank, and is hard on scaleless fish. You might need to go a lighter dose of any Ich Med, depending on what fish you have. You mention tetras. Neons, Cardinals, and such would require a lesser dose. So would your BN Plecos. Ich often infects the gills, and is not visible when it does, so your other fish may have it without showing. So first step would be to slowly get the temperature up there. Then go get your medication. There are many out there just for this problem. At the higher temperature it will probably take four days or so to go away.

EDIT: I notice in the time I took to type this Lock has responded. I would use the medication he recommends.

 

[JohnBull]

ONE MAD DASH TO MY LOCAL FISH SHOP LATER.

Tank has now been dosed with WS3 which contains 'Malachite Green'. Tank temp now set to 30degrees,tank to be re-dosed every other day for 4 days max as per LFS instuctions.


Fingers crossed.

 

[colleen0309]

Well, sorry for your troubles. Listen to the_lock_man. You need to treat the whole tank. Good morning and welcome to the forum!

 

[creeker]

ONE MAD DASH TO MY LOCAL FISH SHOP LATER.

Tank has now been dosed with WS3 which contains 'Malachite Green'. Tank temp now set to 30degrees,tank to be re-dosed every other day for 4 days max as per LFS instuctions.


Fingers crossed.

Just beware you may have to exceed the four days. I would do 20% water changes between the doses, unless the instructions on the bottle call for more than that.

 

[Neomeris]

Yes, do the water changes. When I had ich in my tank I did fifty percent water changes every other day, raised the temperature to 82of and added 1 Tablespoon of marine salt ( not table salt, which contains iodine) per five gallons. After a week it worked.

 

[colleen0309]

I also use the salt and temp method, but with the plecos, be very careful what you use and how much. Scaleless fish do not tolerate medication well. I usually use the meds and salt at half dose when treating a tank with scaleless fish.

 

[JohnBull]

On closer inspection it looks like around 30-40% of our fish are showing signs of this virus. Lost a small Guppy fish last night,just done a large water change.will redose tomorrow as per instructions followed by another water change on Monday night.

 

[JohnBull]

Small white spots (which is what I'm guessing you meant) is "White Spot" (Surprise!!LOL) - a fungal disease and very very contagious. You need to separate all the fish that are showing signs of it and put them in a hospital tank with Malachite green or another fungal cure mix and keep them in there til all the spots are gone

Actually, it sounds more like Ich (also called white spot disease) which is a protozoan infection. You need to treat the whole tank, since one fish is showing the spots it is now present and your tank is contaminated. Moving the one fish to a treatment tank will not solve the problem, especially since you cannot kill the spots when they are on the fish. First step would be to raise the temperature of your water to about 82 F. This will speed up the life cycle of Ich, and cause it to enter the free swimming stage where it can be killed using a number of Ich medications, including the above mentioned Malachite Green. There are other meds out there for it. Malachite Green is actually pretty old school. It works, but might stain the sealant in your tank, and is hard on scaleless fish. You might need to go a lighter dose of any Ich Med, depending on what fish you have. You mention tetras. Neons, Cardinals, and such would require a lesser dose. So would your BN Plecos. Ich often infects the gills, and is not visible when it does, so your other fish may have it without showing. So first step would be to slowly get the temperature up there. Then go get your medication. There are many out there just for this problem. At the higher temperature it will probably take four days or so to go away.

EDIT: I notice in the time I took to type this Lock has responded. I would use the medication he recommends.




How long can I leave the temprature as high as 82 degrees without harming the fish ?

 

[creeker]

Keep the temp up until they are cured, then lower it very gradually. Your fish will be fine.

 

[JohnBull]

Keep the temp up until they are cured, then lower it very gradually. Your fish will be fine.

Some of the fish where going crazy yesterday,they were rubbing up against rocks and stuff. My main worry is our only male Gurami,he has not eaten anything really for 3 days or more. He looks a bit better tonight though,he does not seem to have as many tiny spots.


Fingers crossed, and thanks for all the help.