White spots/film on fish, need help identifying what it is

Jlictro24

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Last night I noticed these white areas on two of my fish that were not there before, one of them has already died. My first thought was ich but these white areas appear to protrude off the fish and are not perfectly round, so I feel like it might be something else. It appears currently on the fish's fins and tail. I think the video makes it fairly visible, especially how it protrudes off of the fish. The other pictures are not great because it is still currently small. Any tips on what this may be/how to treat it would be incredibly helpful, as I don't want to put Ich-X or antibiotics into the water without knowing what this is.

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It is probably some sort of parasite.
I need to know some things before I can say anymore.
What are the water parameters?
Could I see some pictures of the whole tank?
How old is the tank?
Have you got any new fish recently?
Do you have a quarantine tank?
What do you feed them and how often?
What other fish are in the tank?
What size is the tank?
 
It is probably some sort of parasite.
I need to know some things before I can say anymore.
What are the water parameters?
Last I checked was 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, not sure about nitrate. Just did a water change so I can update this soon
Could I see some pictures of the whole tank?
How old is the tank?
I've only had it going for like 2-3 months
Have you got any new fish recently?
Just my Zebra Danios, and I got them 2.5 weeks ago
Do you have a quarantine tank?
I currently do not, I don't really have room for it
What do you feed them and how often?
Fish flakes, occasionally dried blood worms, just once a day
What other fish are in the tank?
Currently it is 4 zebra danios, due to 1 dying
What size is the tank?
20 Gallons
 
probably excess mucous caused by something in the water irritating the fish.

test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH

do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
 
Ok. What temperature is the water?
And are there many plants in the tank?
 
probably excess mucous caused by something in the water irritating the fish.

test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH

do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
Okay, thank you for the advice, just did a 75% water change and vacuumed. Will do it again tomorrow, do you think there is anything I should try to dose the water with? Ich-X, Kanaplex/Metroplex? Or just water changes and wait
 
Since it isn't a bacterial infection, there is no point adding antibiotics like Kanaplex or Metroplex. These should only be used on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, animals, fish and reptiles.

It's not an external protozoan infection so there is no point adding Ich-X.

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If there's no improvement after a couple of big water changes, you can add some salt. It treats a number of ailments and is considerably safer than most fish medications.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
Since it isn't a bacterial infection, there is no point adding antibiotics like Kanaplex or Metroplex. These should only be used on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, animals, fish and reptiles.

It's not an external protozoan infection so there is no point adding Ich-X.

--------------------
If there's no improvement after a couple of big water changes, you can add some salt. It treats a number of ailments and is considerably safer than most fish medications.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Thank you so much for the advice, I will try this
 
Since it isn't a bacterial infection, there is no point adding antibiotics like Kanaplex or Metroplex. These should only be used on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, animals, fish and reptiles.

It's not an external protozoan infection so there is no point adding Ich-X.

--------------------
If there's no improvement after a couple of big water changes, you can add some salt. It treats a number of ailments and is considerably safer than most fish medications.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
I captured another video in lighting that I think better highlights the white spots on the fins and tail. As far as I can tell they have not multiplied, there are the same number as there have been since yesterday, and to my knowledge ich rapidly grows, but I'm not sure. Do you still think it is not ich based on the video?
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How strong is your filter, do you have lots of plants? This guy looks stressed. A picture of the whole tank will help.
 
It looks too big for white spot.

If you want to treat them for white spot, you simply raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks, or at least 1 week after all the spots have gone.

The following link has all the information you need to know about white spot. Post #1 and #16 are worth a read.
 

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