Does this look like Ich?

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frogsNpigs

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
31
My platy, Sir Yellow Bellyious, has a white spot ontop of her head. It isn't spreading to any of the other fish and she doesn't really look like the pictures of Ich I've seen. We haven't added any more fish into the tank since probably november/december. I got some pictures, it's kind of hard to tell, but these were the best I could get.
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I bought some Copper Sulfate just incase, should I be using it?
 
No that does not look like ich. Need a bit more information to offer you help. Answer these questions to help us help you better. It seems as though it is a fungus but may be a bacterial infection as well.


1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
 
1. Platy. Looks like a thin fuzzy layer of white ontop of her head. Otherwise, acting completely normal.
2. Ammonia- .3 ppm.
Nitrites- 1 ppm
Nitrates- 80 ppm
Temperature- 76 F
PH- 6
Everything is a little out of whack.
3. 29 gallons. Set up 8 months.
4. Top Fin 30. I don't have the box right now, so not sure of the gallons per hour.
5. 17 fish
2 hatchet fish- about an inch long
2 bleeding eye tetras- about an inch
1 platy- about 1 1/2-2 inches
2 threadfin rainbows- about 3/4 inch
3 neon tetras- about 1/2 inch
5 rasboras- about 1/2 inch
1 Pleco- about 3 1/2 inches
1 bumblebee goby- last I saw him, around 1 inch. I've only seen him about 3 times since we got him.
6. Partial water change 1 week ago. Vaccum gravel when changing water. Do it about twice a month, remove about 1/4 water.
7. One of the first fish we added to tank. Had since August '06.
8. Nope.
9. TetraMin Tropical Flakes. Same diet as always.
 
frogsNpigs said:
2. Ammonia- .3 ppm.
Nitrites- 1 ppm
Nitrates- 80 ppm
Temperature- 76 F
PH- 6
Everything is a little out of whack.
3. 29 gallons. Set up 8 months.
......

An 8 month old tank should read 0 ammonia & nitrites, plus your nitrates is really too high. This is prob a combination of too high bioload &/or too much feeding ... and you are not completing your cycle .... <...that pleco, for one, unless a dwarf will get way too big for that tank.>

The fuzzy stuff sounds like "body fungus" (actually a surface bacterial disease) or maybe columnaris. Chances are that the fish's immunity is down from bad water & a surface super-infection sets in. Treatment is always to clean up the water first, before reaching for drugs.

You should change enough water to bring all your levels down. Ideally, your NO3 should never be more than 20. You'd need a 90% water change to achieve that .... not all at once - too stressful for sick fish .... maybe 3 or 4 50% changes every day until you get the levels down, then you will need to increase your PWC amount & frequency to keep water quality acceptable. As a guess, I'd think you will need 25-50% weekly PWC with your stocking list, and prob more frequently as the fishies grow.

Once the water parameters are fixed, most minor infections will clear up on their own. You can consider something like Maracyn, but only after fixing the water parameters.
 
Ok, thanks. I'll start with the water changes now.
The water parameters may be just a little off from normal. Two days ago, my brother was feeding them and accidentally dropped way too many flakes in the tank.

that pleco, for one, unless a dwarf will get way too big for that tank

Yeah my dad came home with him and I got worried. The people at Petco (never trusted them myself) said he would only grow to fit the size of the tank.
 
frogsNpigs said:
The people at Petco (never trusted them myself) said he would only grow to fit the size of the tank.

Sure, plecos will only grow so big in a small tank ... they can only grow till they foul the water enough that they die, taking everyone else with them! :twisted:
 
Definately keep doing pwcs until parameters stablilize. Don't clean your filter or media. If the infection doesn't clear up you can either use Maracyn or Jungle's fungus eliminator.
Good luck.
 
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