sick ram?

[travis74]

Hey all -
My GBR developed these strange white dots in the last day or two... totally unfamiliar to me... any thoughts?

 

[Pleco]

Looks like you have Ick, i know this from seeing many of LWB's GBR's with it in photos

-Pleco

 

[JustOneMore20]

Definitely Ick...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
You should read that article.

Raise the temp slowly to around 82-84F.

What other fish are in the tank? Because you'll need to treat the whole tank. You can either use salt or ich meds. Some fish won't tolerate salt though.

 

[Jchillin]

Well, LWB's rams aside, that fish is definitely stricken with ick. If you need some suggestions on treatment, start with heat first. 86F should be enough and let it run at that temp for two weeks after the spots disappear.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Moved to the Unhealthy Fish forum.

It's definitely ich. Raise the temp in the tank to 87 degrees over a few days. Since it appears that you have live plants, to be safe I'd just use the heat method. Skip any ich meds.

 

[Zagz]

Agree with FF. Also don't add any salt with your plants. Heat treatment will work fine. Also either lower the water level a bit or add an airstone for extra aeration.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Well, if the heat doesn't work for some reason...there are some ich meds that I have used with plants and they didn't affect them. I like Kent Marine RX-P. It is for parasites and is totally safe for scaleless fish and plants...and even though its called Marine...it is safe for FW. It was recommended to me before by someone that has used it with Discus fry. I have used it with success a couple times. If you can't find that and still need meds...Kordon's Rid-Ich is another natural, safe one for plants and sensitive fish. I have used it with success also.

Try the heat first. And while you are raising the temp up, watch the fish to make sure everyone is ok. I raised the temp to 84F safely before but went up to 86F once and killed a few panda cories...so I don't go above 84F now. Just watch how the fish are acting and add an airstone when the temp gets high and you should be fine!

 

[travis74]

thanks for the quick responses... I have initiated the heat treatment... will my inverts be ok with this? mysteries and ghost shrimp?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

He's definitely got ick. Looks just like my male with ick, lol, except mine is a little worse, lol.

Treatment:
Slowly turn temp up over 2-3 days to 89 degrees. The GBR will be fine, they are a warmer water fish. Just have extra surface aggitation to keep the O2 levels good. Once you see that all the spots are gone, leave the temp up for 2 more weeks. Do a 14 day count-down, then on day 15, slowly turn the temp back down to normal over a 2-3 day period. No salt required.

 

[Pleco]

Do not under any circumstances use salt or any medication with copper in it. Either one of those two will kill your snails and your shrimp. The heat shouldn't effect them too much but the snails may seem a bit more dormant than usual until the water cools off.

-Pleco

 

[CaptnIgnit]

I didn't think salt affected inverts, only plant life?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Salt can affect inverts if too much is used.They aren't as hardy as fish when it comes to salt. As for the plants, I've used salt with plants with no ill-effects to the plants. Many plants can handle some salt, and plants like java ferns, java moss, etc, can handle brackish conditions.