White raised bumps on one fish

sarahmax · May 3, 2024

I was wondering if I could get some help with one of my platy fish. I have noticed she seems to be a little sluggish and hanging out at the back of the tank. She also has some raised white bumps on her at first I thought it was just her tail but it now appears there are some on her body. Is this ich? What's the best treatment and should I quarantine?

Currently none of my other fish appear affected
Thank you in advance

Andy Sager · May 3, 2024

That looks more like Epistylis than Ich. Epistylis is a parasite that feeds on the bacteria on the fish which happens when the tank water or environment is dirty. What are the water parameters?

sarahmax · May 7, 2024

Thanks for your reply, the water quality wasn't great I have now performed a change and got levels back into acceptable limits. I have also added some melafix, she now appears alot better although not eating as well as the others.

Andy Sager · May 7, 2024

sarahmax said:
Thanks for your reply, the water quality wasn't great I have now performed a change and got levels back into acceptable limits. I have also added some melafix, she now appears alot better although not eating as well as the others.

For what it's worth, the " fix" medications ( Primafix, Melafix, etc) do not really do much for treating the fish. They may have some preventative value but truthfully, they do not do much. Since you are limited in using antibiotics, salt baths are going to be your best option to help kill off the parasites.( Epistylis are parasites that attach to fish but do not feed on the fish. The more of them that are present, the more holes they are making into the fish which can lead to secondary infections. ) Platies can handle salt with no issues but instead of using salt directly into the tank, do it in a separate container so that any parasites that may fall off but are still alive will not be able to attach to another fish in your tank. Do a bath of 10g/litre of aquarium salt or other non iodized salts for 3-4 days, 2 times per day. If you see all the epistylis are gone before the 3-4 days, you can stop with the baths but keep the fish separate until it's eating normally and acting more healthy.
You should also gradually lower the temperature in the tank to approx. 21 C and if you can get medicated fish food for bacterial issues, you would be best to separate the Platy to it's own tank and feed that food only as well.
Hope this helps.

White raised bumps on one fish

sarahmax

Aquarium Advice Newbie

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Andy Sager

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sarahmax

Aquarium Advice Newbie

Andy Sager

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