white specs on fish tails.

[JWALK2828]

just noticed today that one silver molly and three other fish have white almost clear spots on their tails. any help!?

 

[peaceablegarden]

It sounds like it could be Ich. Could you please post your water parameters? Often water chemistry plays a part as you probably know. It can also help the real experts here to tell what you've got and how to treat it. And here is an article that might help...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articl...ck-/Page1.html

 

[JWALK2828]

yeah they def have ich, i didnt get a water tester in the early stages. i feel that i indrduced two fish from a store that may have come with ich. my water may be out of wack which may have sped up the process. either way im prolly going to have to get rid of all my fish and start over. i know now that i need to get my "parameters" in order next time. can i keep my pleco if i do the change/clean/disinfect within a few hours to get him back in the tank or should i dr.kevorkian tem all? ... i feel like such a jerk

 

[jim692]

Just treat the tank and the fish.
No reason to lose them unnecessarily.
If you take the appropriate steps most should make it through.

 

[peaceablegarden]

Oh gosh! No, don't euthanize your fish just because they have Ich, you can totally treat for it. The link to the article I gave you will explain pretty thoroughly the hows and whys. Get an API Master Test Kit (they are the most accurate) and begin testing your water. How long has your tank been running? Once you test your water, you'll need to post the results. That helps determine if the water is the issue which it may not be. But if you are having water quality issues, then you'll need to work on those or you have other problems. Starting over will only prolong getting your water quality to the point where it will be healthy for the fish.

 

[JWALK2828]

well i only have a pleco now. im going to get one of those testers. i took out all my deco and scrubbed them with a brush with hot water just because i didnt want any of the parasites left around. i did a 20% water change yesterday and this morning. i wish i would have read your post last night. i just hope my tank isnt mangled.... does my pleco need any alternitive food because he's in there by himself? and btw my fish were going crazy with the Ich, ramming into the glass for no reason and scrapping themselves, white dots all on there eye balls. iuno i just didnt like it... my bad!

 

[fort384]

That is unfortunate. Almost all tanks/fish will get ich at one time or another... and it is very treatable. Ich takes some time to get out of the tank. I don't think just a PWC and scrubbing the decor will have much effect. You may still have to treat the tank/pleco if he exhibits any signs. I would wait for a few weeks before adding any other fish to the tank, to make sure it is gone.

 

[JWALK2828]

alright man cool thanks... but will my pleco survive with the absence of the other fish ? like what do i feed him - anything? and

 

[Kasei]

I would say feeding him algae disks would be advisable. Just go buy some at your local pet store and follow the feeding instructions on the back.

I recently dealt with treating ick and what I would do if I were you would be to go buy some ick treatment for sensitive fish because catfish (your pleco) are considered more delicate as far as medication goes (I used Wardley Ick Out sensitive but any bottle for sensitive fish should be fine) and follow the instructions on the bottle. When I was treating I did 50% water changes every three days, I would reccomend treating as advised by the ick bottle and doing a water change a few days after treatment. This should kill any parisites still swimming around in your tank, I would imagine.

 

[kamo87]

I would just raise temperature to 86(gradually), wait for 2 weeks and the ick will be out of your tank.

 

[JWALK2828]

Oh gosh! No, don't euthanize your fish just because they have Ich, you can totally treat for it. The link to the article I gave you will explain pretty thoroughly the hows and whys. Get an API Master Test Kit (they are the most accurate) and begin testing your water. How long has your tank been running? Once you test your water, you'll need to post the results. That helps determine if the water is the issue which it may not be. But if you are having water quality issues, then you'll need to work on those or you have other problems. Starting over will only prolong getting your water quality to the point where it will be healthy for the fish.

Amonia - between 0 and .5, very light yellow tinge, more pale than the chart starts at ".5 - .1"
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0, in the "safe" zone on the chart.
Hardness - 75 "soft"
Chlorine - 0
Alkalinity - 80 "moderate or ideal"
Freshwater pH - 7.2

After I ran this test, I emptied out my charcoal filter and re installed it into my EX30. I was told when when using medication in your tank (for the ICH) you must stop usuing the charcoal because it ubsorbs the meds.

How long should I wait untill testing the water again - Will the meds effect the results?

 

[peaceablegarden]

How long has your tank been running. It looks like your cycling.

 

[JWALK2828]

just over a month

 

[peaceablegarden]

Ah ha. It seems your tank is not quite cycled which could explain why you had the problem with ich. Water quality is often the culprit of disease. I found this out the hard way early on. I would suggest a couple of things and I'd happily be open to hearing from some of the real pros on here. Don't add any new fish. Treat for ich using the heat method and continue to monitor your parameters daily. If your ammonia goes over .25 or if your nitrIte goes up, do a 50% water change. You could easily also do a 10-20% daily water change which will also keep levels down while the tank cycles. You'll know your tank is cycled when the ammonia and nitrItes are 0 and the nitrAte comes up a bit (I personally keep mine as low as possible - generally about 5ppm with weekly water changes and a low fish population since I don't have real plants). If you do have real plants I don't think it's unusal to have 0 nitrAtes since the plants filter them out. Here are a couple of good links. The first one is about getting rid of ich (the heat method doesn't require meds which is best for your pleco). The second article explains the nitrogen cycle that your tank is going through if you don't already know about it.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/29/1/Freshwater-Ich-Yuck-/Page1.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/24/1/Nitrogen-Cycle-/Page1.html