White spots on my jumbo neons...

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Mofo2713

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
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Location
Omaha, NE
I went to bed last night at 11:00pm and all my fish looked good. I woke up this morning at 6:30am and turned on my light and noticed all four of my neons have about 10 white spots on their body. What the heck are they???? I don't have a QT set up yet so I am puzzled as what to do. All my other fish look fine. All help is greatly appreciated...
 
i don't know too much about fish disease. But i do know white spots usually mean Ich, a parasite that latches on to and feeds off of your fish's body. They can be infected for a little while before the white spots (ulcers) start showing up.

I had one clown loach who seemed very lonely. So, we got another one to keep him company.... which was infected at the fish store (i didnt realize till we got home), when we went back, i looked in the tank we got him from, and alot of the fish had spots on them. I didnt want to medicate, but ended up getting "coppersafe". Within a couple days the spots were gone, and havent come back, it's been over a month now. I liked this particular medication because you dont have to shut off your filter, and it says it is safe for scales fish. Anyway... that was my experience. Good luck!
 
It does sound like ich to me, too. In the absence of a q-tank I would recommend the heat treatment. Slowy raise your temp up to 86F and keep it there for 3-4 days after the last white spot is gone. Watch the guppies, as they are not technically supposed to handle heat well, though I have treated Endler's this way without problem.

If you don't use heat, or you could do this along with the heat, is treat it with salt, 1 tbsp/10 gallons. Otherwise, I have used Rid-Ich will great success, but it has methylene blue and might stain the silicone in your tank.
 
I threw some aquarium salt in there this morning. Probably about 2 tbsp. worth. How long should I wait to notice changes. Should I add more salt after a certain time frame? Kind of hesitant to raise temp too much with the guppy fry in there. Don't know how much their little bodies could take. Will this "ich" eventually kill them or will it go away after awhile
 
Yes, the ich will spread. It is residing, in various stages, all through the tank, not just what you see on the fish.
 
I believe if the ich is not treated the fish will eventually die.... But with proper treatment, they should be fine. I had platy fry in there while i was treating the loach. They seemed to be fine, and no spots appeared on any of the other fish. they are all still alive and well.
 
I would do daily water changes and replace salt only for the amount of water you change. Be sure to dissolve the salt in tank water before putting it in. It may be 3-4 days before you see a difference, sometimes it is less time than that, but be sure to continue treatment after the fish seem clear of it. You can raise the temp up just a little, maybe 82-84F as it will speed things along.
 
As long as 82-84 is fine for the fry, I'm all for it. Normally, when I do a water change I do a 20% What % of water change do you recommend? Are you saying dissolve the salt in the water I am about to add then put it in? How long after it clears up should I continue treating the tank for? Sorry for all the questions...just a beginning newbie trying to get in the hobby :D
 
I would do about 15% daily.

When I add salt I take a cup and scoop up some tank water, and then stir in the salt, stirring until it is dissolved. That way I am not dumping it in dry, where it might sit on the bottom and not dissolve properly.

The day you wake up and see no spots on any fish, keep treating with the water changes, heat and salt, for 3-4 more days.

HTH
 
Should I just leave the temp at 82 for the whole time until 3 days after they are gone? Also, when I bring the temp back down, should I do it gradually or just turn the heater back to 78?
 
Yep, leave the temp up during the whole time. When you are done, turn the heater down to 80, leave it for a day, then turn it down to 78 to bring it down gradually.
 
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