White Spots On Tails - Appear And Then Dissappear ? Ich??

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Hey,
My platy's have white spots on their tails, they appear and then disappear, like a sand looking white spots.
i can buy a water based liquid treatment from my LPS will they work??

Please help,
I will get the service kits along with the ich treatment tomorrow -
Keep you posted, thanks for all the advice in other posts.

HollieDahhrlinn x

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

My fish now have more white spots, just 3 hours after posting that last message,
I can only go to the pet store on sunday - its friday now,
Will this be an acceptable time to wait or is this too long?
Please help me

HollieDahhrlinn x

 

[fort384]

If it is ich, you can start to gradually raise your tank temp to ~86 and leave it there for about 2 weeks after you see the last white spot disappear. Most people prefer the heat treatment to using any medications.

 

[dkpate]

Yeah, what Fort said. You can use the heat and salt treatment I think. You can for bettas anyway. Salt helps them keep their slime coat, and the heat speeds up the ich cycle, and I don't believe the ich can reproduce in that high of temps. I used QuIck cure on my bettas that I got at WalMart, but that was only because, at the time, I only had a heater in there, no thermostat, so I could not do the higher temps treatment, or I would have.
Good luck!

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

If it is ich, you can start to gradually raise your tank temp to ~86 and leave it there for about 2 weeks after you see the last white spot disappear. Most people prefer the heat treatment to using any medications.

Hey,
My platy's live in a 'coldwater' its more like room temp. tank.
I have no heater or i would do the heater treatment.
Is it my fault my fish have ich? Or is it something beyond my control?
So, could i use the salt method in my tank?
And if so, how do i use this method??

Thanks for your swift reply.
HollieDahhrlinn x

 

[dkpate]

Check this site out:

http://www.thepetadvantage.com/assets/files/caresheets/Ich.pdf

I used QuIck Cure on my betta and he was cleared up in a week. Make sure you do the full treatment, even though you might not see the ich parasite, it can still be present.
Good luck!

 

[Blueiz]

Hey,
My platy's live in a 'coldwater' its more like room temp. tank.
I have no heater or i would do the heater treatment.
Is it my fault my fish have ich? Or is it something beyond my control?
So, could i use the salt method in my tank?
And if so, how do i use this method??

Thanks for your swift reply.
HollieDahhrlinn x

Slowly add the 2tsp per g. I do not have heaters on my tanks either. It will take longer for the ich to clear without raising the heat. Heat can be is an advantage when treating ich in two ways, it will kill ich at high temps (most documents state 86 and above) and it speeds up the life cycle, however it is not a necessity. Be sure to add the salt slowly, dissolving it before putting it in the tank. 1 tsp every hour should work. Dissolve the salt in a cup of tank water before putting it in. Be sure to leave the salt in for at least 5 days after the last spot is off your fish. If you need to do a water change, make sure that you add the salt back that you take out with the water. For example, if you take out 1 gallon of tank water for a water change, put 2 tsp of salt in the 1 gallon of water you put back in the tank. Also, remember that salt does not evaporate, so if you need to top off your tank without doing a water change, add plain water.

 

[Blueiz]

Check this site out:

http://www.thepetadvantage.com/assets/files/caresheets/Ich.pdf

I used QuIck Cure on my betta and he was cleared up in a week. Make sure you do the full treatment, even though you might not see the ich parasite, it can still be present.
Good luck!

The link posted is full of myths and inaccuracies.

 

[dkpate]

What part of that article was a myth or inaccuracy?

 

[Blueiz]

Just like germs that make humans sick, parasites are always present to attack fish.​

This isn't true in home aquaria.​

People usually want to blame the new fish, or say a new fish was ill. In most
cases a new fish will get Ich first because the water in its new home is different
than what it was used to and they have just been through the stress of being​

transported.

Not true, goes with the myth of it being present in the tank all the time.​

1) General water quality, ammonia in particular. High ammonia level is the #1
cause of “stress”, ich and death.
2) Temperature drop of more than 3º as in transporting the fish. Keeping fish too
cold (below 75°) will increase the chances of ich.
3) Fighting between fish, especially new fish and old fish will increase the
chances of ich.​

While all of these things will stress fish, stress does not cause ich. It can make a fish more susceptible to ich IF it is already in your tank, but sense it doesn't live in your tank all the time, its a moot point. Stress weakens a fish's immunune system making it more susceptible to many diseases, ich isn't a disease, it is a parasite.​

This will make the Ich​

parasite grow quicker which will make it more sensitive to medication.

The only true part about that statement is raising the heat will make ich grow quicker.​

Treat until you have not seen any spots on the fish for 48 hours.

3 days is the normal treat time after the last spot of ich to make sure all of it is gotten.​

Overall the article is based on ich living in your tank all the time, which simply is not true. If this was the case, the fish that you already have in your tank would not get ich if you introduce a new fish and it does get ich. Which means that the new fish would be the only one with ich, and that is not the case 95 percent of the time. Ich can be eradicated from your tank, while it is possible for it to go into a dorminant stage, it does not live in your tank all the time.
.​

 

[dkpate]

Here is another article:

How did Ich get in the tank? Ich has often been attributed to poor water quality, and this is true. However, water quality alone is not the only cause, since it is a parasite it had to come from somewhere. Ich often enters the aquarium on plants, driftwood, or even newly added fish. Poor water quality, however, does create an environment that is much more conducive to the growth of ich. For this reason it is important to keep your water quality high regardless of what fish you have.

A marine form of the disease also exists however treatment is different. For obvious reasons the salt method does not work. Many of the medications that exist for treatment of marine ich are copper based and thus are unable to be used in a system where invertebrates are present. If nor inverts are present then these meds can be added directly to the tank. If inverts are present then a non-copper based product must be used for the tank.

Ich prevention Prevention is fairly simple. Keep you tank clean with regular water changes and gravel vacuuming, and examine new fish carefully. To prevent Ich from getting into your large system a smaller quarantine tank should be established and new fish should be held there for 2 weeks to allow any possible problems to come out.
Sources:
Fish disease: White spot  (Ich), protozoan parasite.
Page 1

 

[jim692]

Hollie,
If you have more than one tank, keep your nets, equipment, etc. used on the infected tank separate from the other tanks. (especially the gravel siphon) Treating one tank is bad enough.
There are many treatment options available. Pick one right for you and your type of fish. The sooner you identify and treat the better.

Here are some articles to help.
CIR920/FA006: Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis (White Spot) Infections in Fish

Cause, Treatment, and Prevention of Ich in Freshwater Fish

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

 

[An t-iasg]

Some posts have been removed that didn't directly pertain to the OP's situation.

I tend to find inaccuracies in this site also. http://www.thepetadvantage.com/assets/files/caresheets/Ich.pdf

Ich isn't always around to attack fish. I have had a period of about 4 years with no ich.

Ich can often develop when new fish (that carry the parasite) are added to an existing aquarium. Also, for that matter, new driftwood or plants can carry ich. The effort spent to quarantine fish and plants is well worth it. New fish can have ich not because of the stress of being transported and put in your tank, but probably because the stores have shared water and filtration systems - it's just much easier for a parasite to spread in shared conditions. Stress doesn't automatically cause ich to develop. If the parasite isn't present then ich won't appear.

Hollie, it isn't your fault that the fish have ich. The heat treatment is probably the least stressful on your fish but the salt and medicine treatments can be used as well. Check out the links that jim692 posted.

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Heyah,
I purchased and added my first dose of ich treatment,
My tank is blue and everything is well (so far)
One question - can i feed bloodworm and brine shrimp whilst treating the tank with this treatment?

Should i just feed my fish food aswell and as normal?
HollieDahhrlinn x

 

[An t-iasg]

The tank silicone may be stained blue as well - you may not be able to tell until the medicine is removed with water changes and carbon. I used a medicine treatment one time that stained my silicone but that won't affect the tank itself - it will just be a bit unsightly until it fades a bit. Be careful not to stain countertops or clothing with this medicine.

Yes, feed your fish as you normally do during treatment.

 

[dkpate]

Yeah, it will stain. It stained all of my airline tubes too. I fed normally when I was treating also, he didn't seem to mind that his water was blue lol. Maybe because he came in blue water lol.