White Spot Or Poor Water Quality?

[Thuggerz]

Hi there, i've got a problem with my fish and i think it's to do with white spot, they keep flicking onto the plants and stones as if they need to scratch themsleves and also they keep on swimming to the top and back down again all the time. I went out to the shops yesterday and bought a product which kills white spot, then someone told me that it could be poor water quality as i dont do water changes. I did a 25% water change on saturday 19th but i'm not sure if it's gonna help...does anyone have any ideas or info

THANX FOR THE HELP!!!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Flashing (scratching on objects) means their skin is in some way irritated. The two most common causes of this are poor water quality and parasite infections. The easiest way to rule out poor water quality is to test your water. If you don't already own a test kit, i strongly recomend you buy one, they are very useful when things begin to go wrong (look for a liquid based one). Important things to check are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. with the pH, consistancy is more important than the number value. If you can't afford a test kit, many LPS/LFS will check your water for free.

As for if its a parasite, look for grains of salt, a gold/brown dusting, excessive slime production, grey patches, land ittle strings hanging off the fish, to name a few symptoms.

 

[Thuggerz]

Flashing (scratching on objects) means their skin is in some way irritated. The two most common causes of this are poor water quality and parasite infections. The easiest way to rule out poor water quality is to test your water. If you don't already own a test kit, i strongly recomend you buy one, they are very useful when things begin to go wrong (look for a liquid based one). Important things to check are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. with the pH, consistancy is more important than the number value. If you can't afford a test kit, many LPS/LFS will check your water for free.

As for if its a parasite, look for grains of salt, a gold/brown dusting, excessive slime production, grey patches, land ittle strings hanging off the fish, to name a few symptoms.

When you mean little strings hanging off the fish do you mean when they poo? ) because they do seem to have stringy poo's, also i can see 3 tiny little spots on one of the plattys fins. I will go to my local pet shop tomorrow and let you know what happens if you dont mind...cheers!

 

[tttnjfttt]

no, i was refering to anchor worm, where the fish have little worms hanging off of their bodies.

Are the spots like little grains of salt?

As for the stringy poop, try increasing the fiber in their diet. Peas are a good source of fiber, and my fish love them. I boil some water (maybe half a cup), toss in peas, then shell them and cut them up. Fish go crazy!

 

[Thuggerz]

i'm not to sure...i'll go ahead with the water check and i'll leave a reply tomorrow


Cheers!