Possible ich or fungus on neons

[laurieb]

Hi folks!
I have a 10 gallon community tank with 6 neons, 2 juli cories and a crowntail betta. They have all been in there for a year and a half and have been doing great. Unfortunately I slacked off on my tank maintenance recently and wasn't vaccing as I should and the neons have developed something.

On Sunday night I noticed white discs or something on 4 of the neons eyes. Then on Monday a few of them developed a white spot on that little top fin in front of their tails which looks like ick. The cories and betta are fine and everyone is acting totally normal.

My thought was that the issue was caused by poor water quality so I have been doing daily partial water changes and vaccing sections to get things cleaned up. The white spots are still there on day 4 of this and I'm starting to think I need to try something else such as salt. What do you guys think? Thanks!

 

[BBradbury]

Hello laur...

The chemistry in a small tank can change in a very short time. Your lapse in good tank management likely stressed your fish and a parasite that was likely dormant for some time has infected some of the fish. You'll need to treat the whole tank and large, frequent water changes and good vacuuming are the answer. I'd up the water changes to 50 percent every couple of days and back off on the feeding to just a little every 2 to 3 days. Fish can easily go a couple of weeks without food.

You can add a bit of salt to the replacement water, but be careful. Any plants you have can be sensitive to it. I would add a rounded teaspoon to every 5 gallons of new, treated tap water. Turn the lights out in the tank and dim those in the room. Parasites locate a host by sight.

Raise the temp in the tank to 80 degrees, but not too much more. Plants are sensitive to water that gets too warm. The combination of salt and good water conditions will help.

Consider a larger tank if possible. Larger tanks have the water volume to be more forgiving of periods of less than good tank management.

B