Does my Albino Pleco have ich? (Pic)

[CrawleyFC]

I am worried that my Pleco has ich! I have read that white spots are a symptom, and I think I have spotted some. I would appreciate all of the help i can get on this one!

 

[snoopy65]

Yes it does appear to be ich. I prefer the heat salt method of addressing it. Slowly raise the temp in the tank to 86F and add 1 tsp of non iodized salt per gallon of water. At 86F ich can no longer reproduce. Keep the temperature that high for a minimum of 10-14 days, which is the life cycle of ich. Once past the 10-14 day mark, slowly lower temp back down. Do water changes daily and re add salt in the amount removed....ie. if you remove 3 gallons of water, add 3 tsp of salt back with the new water. Make sure you add a bubbler or increase surface agitation as warmer water holds less O2.

Hope this helps

 

[jlk]

I agree on the heat (86-88f). Increase the heat gradually (over 2-3 days) and make sure you add lots of extra aeration because warm water holds less dissolved oxygen. Increase your water changes along with good gravel vacs. You will need to maintain the heat for one week after the last spot is gone. Then gradually reduce it back to normal (over 2-3 days). I disagree with increasing the salinity to .1% with the pleco as scaleless fish are not tolerant of high amounts of salt. Please ask if you have any questions!