I found white spots on acclimating fish...What do I do?

[FishN00b83]

I just received a fish via USPS. I opened the box and put him/her in a 5 gallon bucket and started drip acclimating. I started to look closely at the fish and I realized that he/she has 3 white spots on the left fin. What should I do at this point? I dont have a QT and he/she is going to be done acclimating in 20 mins. What is the best thing to do right now?

 

[LyndaB]

Do not put the fish into your main tank. This will only serve to infect the entire tank.

See if you can grab any kind of container, preferably 5 gallons minimum. Put some of your main tank water in it, put a bubbler and a heater in it, if you have spares. Keep this fish isolated.

Definitely let the seller know that they sold you a sick fish.

 

[FishN00b83]

I have the 5 gallon bucket im acclimating in, should I just use that? I also have a air pump and a 50w heater. The only problem is what am I going to do for lighting and filtration? If I do a 50% water change everyday would that be enough to keep the ammonia down?

 

[LyndaB]

Don't worry about lighting. I think your plan sounds good. It doesn't seem like you have many options.

 

[FishN00b83]

So I have the 50w heater set to the same temp my tank is. I have the air pump going and the fish seems to be doing ok. I have maybe 2.5 gallons in the bucket right now and I'm starting to think maybe I can do the heat/salt thing to him/her and get this over quick.

I've done a lot of research on GBRs before I got them, and now that I have them I've been researching even more. Apparently in some spots in SA they are found in water very close to 90*. If I add a teaspoon and a half of salt and get the temp up around 90, wouldnt that kill the ich right away?

**realizing that the 50w heater is way too much for this ghetto setup haha, I'm going to set the temp way lower, maybe that will help?

 

[LyndaB]

I wouldn't do 90. You want to raise the temp slowly. The fish is already stressed by the ich, raising the temp too high, too fast, might be a recipe for disaster.

If I were you, if the spots seem gone in a few days, empty the bucket entirely and refill with water from your tank. That will be the equivalent of doing a gravel vac to remove the ich spores.

 

[eco23]

Just a random thought...cichlids naturally have white spots on their fins...are you certain it's Ich?

 

[FishN00b83]

I wouldn't do 90. You want to raise the temp slowly. The fish is already stressed by the ich, raising the temp too high, too fast, might be a recipe for disaster.

If I were you, if the spots seem gone in a few days, empty the bucket entirely and refill with water from your tank. That will be the equivalent of doing a gravel vac to remove the ich spores.

Ok, I guess I'll just keep a close eye on everything for the next few days and see what happens.

Just a random thought...cichlids naturally have white spots on their fins...are you certain it's Ich?

I was looking at her closely, and I only saw 3 dots on her one pectoral fin (the left one). Maybe I can find some pictures of cichlid fins close up and see what youre talking about. Hopefully I'm wrong and she doesnt have anything.

 

[FishN00b83]

Eco, you were right! I looked really closely and it doesnt seem like it's Ich. It doesn't look like salt grains at all. I put her in the tank after realizing it wasnt Ich, but shes not doing a lot of swimming right now. Shes kind of just sitting on the bottom in the corner. Hopefully she makes a turn for the better by tomorrow.

 

[LyndaB]

Good call, Eco! Yay for your new fish...... and you, too!