Hi so I noticed one of my fish have white spots on them, I attached photos below. I have a 20 gallon tank of 5 Glofish tetras and only one of them has these spots on it. Is it ich, if so I don’t have a quarantine tank. What should I do?
Is this ich?
- Thread starter ddp_58
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Are you refering to the white spots on the fins? I dont there is enough there to diagnose ich. Monitor it, if things get worse then report back. It may just be fin damage.
No point quarantining, if its ich its already in the tank.
No point quarantining, if its ich its already in the tank.
Could be. You will just have to wait and see if it develops into worse symptoms.
How can I raise the temperature of my tank safely. Do I increase it by one or two degrees every couples or can I just set it to the desired temperature right away?
I notice you are concerned on another forum that you are getting mixed information, so im not sure that anything i tell you wont make things more confusing for you. All i can do is give you my opinion which will again be different to some of the opinions you are getting elsewhere and you have no way of knowing whos opinion is right. And with ich there are many thoughts about what is the best way to deal with it. There probably isnt one right answer here, and everyone is telling what has worked for them and you have to find what works for you.
First off, im not 100% sure it is ich. Thats why i suggested you monitor it for a while first. But lets assume it is ich.
Ich is a parasite that has a lifecycle. The infected stage is where you see the classic signs like grains of salt on the bodies and fins of the fish. After that the parasite drops off the fish and goes to the substrate to reproduce. The next generation of parasites then becomes free swimming and goes into the water to look for new fish hosts. Its only during this free swimming stage that your medication can kill the ich. While your fish is visibly infected your medication will do nothing. Your fish will either die or survive regardless of medication. You need the medication in the tank during the free swimming stage.
The length of time for the life cycle to go full circle is dependant on water temperature. The higher the temperature the quicker the parasite goes from one stage to another. In cold water the entire life cycle takes a couple of months, at tropical tank temperatures 2 or 3 weeks. At 30c/86f about a week. This is why temperature is important and why you need to medicate for a week after the visible signs of ich have gone. The temperature speeds up the ich life cycle so that you dont need to medicate the tank for several weeks and ensures the water is still medicated during the free swimming stage when the ich can be killed.
In answer to your question here. Raise the temperature a couple of degrees every 6 hours.
My response to some of your questions on the other forum. Medication and raised temperature is very stressful for fish. If they arent infected then you are putting fish through stress for no reason and this will be detrimental to their health. If it is ich though and its not treated then all your fish will become infected. They probably already are if it is ich. This is a judgement you will have to make yourself, they are your fish. Do you assume it is ich right now and proceed with treatment, or hold off a little bit and see how things progress?
You have been recommended not to use heat and medication together. My opinion is thats wrong. The ich will disappear as the parasite goes to the substrate. But without temperature to speed up the life cycle the parasite will still be in the substrate a week later when you stop medicating and it wont be killed. It will then become free swimming and still be in your tank and reappear some time in the future. Heat and medication together will be more stressful to the fish and may lead to fatality. But you want to kill off the ich for the long term health of your tank.
Im really sorry this has happened to you. Its worse that its happening while you are trying to cycle your tank too. That will make treating all the more difficult. One thing you will always find with keeping fish is that ask a group of fishkeepers a question and you will get a myriad of different answers.
Maybe some of the information ive given you about what ich actually is will help you decide what your solution to your issue is going to be.
First off, im not 100% sure it is ich. Thats why i suggested you monitor it for a while first. But lets assume it is ich.
Ich is a parasite that has a lifecycle. The infected stage is where you see the classic signs like grains of salt on the bodies and fins of the fish. After that the parasite drops off the fish and goes to the substrate to reproduce. The next generation of parasites then becomes free swimming and goes into the water to look for new fish hosts. Its only during this free swimming stage that your medication can kill the ich. While your fish is visibly infected your medication will do nothing. Your fish will either die or survive regardless of medication. You need the medication in the tank during the free swimming stage.
The length of time for the life cycle to go full circle is dependant on water temperature. The higher the temperature the quicker the parasite goes from one stage to another. In cold water the entire life cycle takes a couple of months, at tropical tank temperatures 2 or 3 weeks. At 30c/86f about a week. This is why temperature is important and why you need to medicate for a week after the visible signs of ich have gone. The temperature speeds up the ich life cycle so that you dont need to medicate the tank for several weeks and ensures the water is still medicated during the free swimming stage when the ich can be killed.
In answer to your question here. Raise the temperature a couple of degrees every 6 hours.
My response to some of your questions on the other forum. Medication and raised temperature is very stressful for fish. If they arent infected then you are putting fish through stress for no reason and this will be detrimental to their health. If it is ich though and its not treated then all your fish will become infected. They probably already are if it is ich. This is a judgement you will have to make yourself, they are your fish. Do you assume it is ich right now and proceed with treatment, or hold off a little bit and see how things progress?
You have been recommended not to use heat and medication together. My opinion is thats wrong. The ich will disappear as the parasite goes to the substrate. But without temperature to speed up the life cycle the parasite will still be in the substrate a week later when you stop medicating and it wont be killed. It will then become free swimming and still be in your tank and reappear some time in the future. Heat and medication together will be more stressful to the fish and may lead to fatality. But you want to kill off the ich for the long term health of your tank.
Im really sorry this has happened to you. Its worse that its happening while you are trying to cycle your tank too. That will make treating all the more difficult. One thing you will always find with keeping fish is that ask a group of fishkeepers a question and you will get a myriad of different answers.
Maybe some of the information ive given you about what ich actually is will help you decide what your solution to your issue is going to be.
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