Is it ich?

[CalvAL5]

Hey there just wondering if this looks like ich to you and if it does what steps should I take to treat it.
It's the white patch below the dorsal fin

 

[CalvAL5]

The reason I'm asking is because it appeared all at once overnight last night and I never saw and of the salt specks others have described.

 

[Abiduwhabi]

Hmm, hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a fungus to me. I definitely don't think it's ick. How are the fish acting? Any flashing (rubbing against things) or other strange behaviors?

I would definitely attempt to quarantine that fish.

 

[CalvAL5]

No the fish seems pretty normal! Very strange. After qt what should I do?

 

[mrvincent]

You mean the big white spot on the fish ? That's not a ich for sure. Maybe fungus ?

I'll start by QT the fish. Once the fish is QT, he cannot contaminate other inhabitants. So you can relax, take your time to find what he have then treat it.

 

[ren_hao]

Definitely ich. Ich spots are much smaller

QT the fish quickly

 

[TheBlackSloth93]

If it's ich then dot bother to QT him. What happens is ich is a parasite that attaches itself to the fish then spreads through out rapidly. Unless you QTd in a matter of hours then treat the tank. Use quick cure for 3-5 days, add some aquarium salt, and up your temp to 80-82 degrees. Also. Each day do a very slight water change don't dig into the gravel just sift above it. Because the parasite will fall off the fish as it dies and to be safe and since you don't want it still in the tank just sift across the top. You don't HAVE to. But that's how I've always treated ich, and how the LFS I worked in did also.
Hope it goes well.

 

[mrvincent]

Lol that's not ich, there a BIG white spot on the fish, not salt grains looking.

That look like more like a fungus or another skin disease.

 

[Abiduwhabi]

If it's ich then dot bother to QT him. What happens is ich is a parasite that attaches itself to the fish then spreads through out rapidly. Unless you QTd in a matter of hours then treat the tank. Use quick cure for 3-5 days, add some aquarium salt, and up your temp to 80-82 degrees. Also. Each day do a very slight water change don't dig into the gravel just sift above it. Because the parasite will fall off the fish as it dies and to be safe and since you don't want it still in the tank just sift across the top. You don't HAVE to. But that's how I've always treated ich, and how the LFS I worked in did also.
Hope it goes well.

It's not ich, so it should be QTd. While I have heard of people having great success out of quickcure, I would err on the side of caution. it contains formalin and malachite green which can wreak havoc on small tetras and scale less fish. Imo while ich can be deadly I don't find it to be something that needs to be treated instantly. The best and easiest way, again in my opinion, is to raise the tank temp slowly to 86 degrees Fahrenheit for a few weeks and that should take care of it. I'm also not much of a fan of aquarium salt, but I know that people also have success with that.

 

[CalvAL5]

Okay so I think I've determined it to be neon tetra disease. I flushed the first fish and another one that got the same white spot after so hopefully the problem is gone. Time to go pick up a few more tetras

 

[mrvincent]

Neon tetra disease look like this, yeah.

Don't forget to QT your new arrivals, if there's only ONE fish that look ill in the LFS tanks, don't buy.

If there's one fish with salt like white spots on them, don't buy, or prepare to treat for ich.

In my case, treating neon/cardinalis with salt was easy, so I don't bother if the cardinals i'm buying have ich. I put 0.3% salt (3 grams of salt/liters) and raise temp to 29C° for 10 days. then you WC, wait 5 more days, if ich is gone then they are ready to go to the main tank.

Salt kill plants and scaleless fishs and some parasits, like ich in the free swimming form.

 

[Abiduwhabi]

It could very well be, as that does look like the whiting on their color they get when infected. If that's the case I would watch your other fish closely and remove any that you think are infected as it can spread to fish other than neon tetras. Also, when buying more I probably wouldn't buy from the same place you got those. You may also consider getting some cardinal tetras instead. They are bigger with the same color, but I'm pretty sure they have a resistance to neon tetra disease. Either way I would quarantine all the new fish until you think it's clear. I usually quarantine for two weeks or more with new fish.

 

[mrvincent]

Yeah. This remind me, can you watch this old post, I don't know what my fish have:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/cardinal-tetra-disease-280807.html

I still have it, I didn't QT it, it's the only one infected, water parameters are perfects. I have it for 4-5 month, he always had this thing on his head.

(The white spots on him and on the fins are not ich, it's dusty window)

No special behaviours.

 

[TheBlackSloth93]

Personally I stay FARRR away from neons. Something always happens to them, perhaps wild caught ones would be better. But in my area all of the tetras I've bought since I was a kid always have some sort of issue. They either are frail, die right away, or get diseases and don't recover. I've fount that almost every other kind of tetra are much much easier. I love black tetras, red eyes, and sapphire tetras. Even cardinals do better. That's just my opinion. Hope you get it figured out.