Back at the end of December I noticed my fish (2 platys and a guppy) flicking themselves on the plants. After some research I concluded it must be ich disease as one fish in particular also had a white spot on her tail and one on her gills. I got a new heater and raised the temp to 86, did salt treatments with bi-weekly water changes, and vacuumed the gravel. I did this for about 3 weeks. The same 2 spots were still there, but the fish weren't flicking anymore, so I stopped the salt treatment and slowly lowered the temp back to around 75. A day or 2 after that I noticed a greenish-brown algae beginning to coat my gravel and decorations. I've scrubbed it off multiple times and have continued to gravel vacuum/do water changes but it keeps coming back. And now my fish are flicking themselves on the plants again! I have water testing stripped and all the parameters seem good. I'm at a loss for what to do about the possible ich disease and algae issue. Any suggestions?
Long-lasting ich and now algae?
- Thread starter VickyG
- Start date
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If the white spots are still there from December then it's not ich. The infectious stage of ich parasite, where it's feeding and visible as a white spot lasts about 3 or 4 days at 86f, then the parasites leave the fish and drops to the substrate to reproduce and the white spots should disappear, possibly leaving behind a small wound.
If you are saying that the spot cleared up and then came back a week or so later, that's a different story. That would be the parasites going through it's life cycle of infectious feeding to reproducing in the substrate to freeswimming looking for a host then back to infectious feeding. At tropical aquarium temperature this should take about a month to go through a complete cycle, at 86f about a week.
Can you post a photo of the fish?
If you are saying that the spot cleared up and then came back a week or so later, that's a different story. That would be the parasites going through it's life cycle of infectious feeding to reproducing in the substrate to freeswimming looking for a host then back to infectious feeding. At tropical aquarium temperature this should take about a month to go through a complete cycle, at 86f about a week.
Can you post a photo of the fish?
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While strips aren't known for their accuracy, what precisely are the test results? And how long has the aquarium been set up?
Ammonia is the most important parameter to know in new aquariums. Those multiple tests on a strip kits don't include ammonia which has to be bought separately.
As you are needing to get an ammonia test anyway, get a proper test kit. A liquid drop tests kit that measures pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as a minimum. API Freshwater Master Test Kit is commonly used.
Did the spots disappear and return, or did they just stick around? Some of the photos do look like ich while others don't.
As you are needing to get an ammonia test anyway, get a proper test kit. A liquid drop tests kit that measures pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as a minimum. API Freshwater Master Test Kit is commonly used.
Did the spots disappear and return, or did they just stick around? Some of the photos do look like ich while others don't.
The bigger marks on the female look more like wounds to me, while the smaller spots on the male look like an ich infection.
What might have happened is that the female was infected. The parasites progressed through it's lifecycle, exited the fish leaving behind a wound, went into the next stages of its lifecycle, ie breeding and then freeswimming. The only time that the parasites can be killed is during this freeswimming stage. The heat and salt treatment wasn't effective, and the parasites went onto infect your fish again.
Heat and salt is a traditional treatment for ich, but unfortunately different strains of the parasites are heat and salt resistant, and becoming more so. So it's not a reliable treatment, but can often work.
I would look at treating the aquarium with an ich medication. Raise the temperature again to speed up the lifecycle to manageable timescale, medicate the tank, keep the tank medicated for at least 4 days after signs of infection disappear. Daily 50% water changes and gravel vac to keep the water as pristine as possible, and remove as many breeding stage parasites from the substrate as you can. Remember to redose the medication with every water change in proportion to the amount of water changed. If we see no sign of improvement in a week, we can move on and presume its not ich.
As for the algae, algae will occur in almost every aquarium, and will proliferate in high nutrient, high light environments.
We can't be sure what the ammonia and nitrate levels are, but a week of regular water changes will control water quality to a good degree. Knowing what your ammonia is before you start on daily water changes would be useful. Take a water sample to a fish store and ask them to test for you, or get an ammonia test before you start your ich treatment.
And how long is your aquarium light on for? You want 6 to 8 hours max, if it has adjustable intensity you can keep it on longer, but on a lower intensity if you wish.
Maybe @Andy Sager will chip in. He is better at diagnosis than I am.
What might have happened is that the female was infected. The parasites progressed through it's lifecycle, exited the fish leaving behind a wound, went into the next stages of its lifecycle, ie breeding and then freeswimming. The only time that the parasites can be killed is during this freeswimming stage. The heat and salt treatment wasn't effective, and the parasites went onto infect your fish again.
Heat and salt is a traditional treatment for ich, but unfortunately different strains of the parasites are heat and salt resistant, and becoming more so. So it's not a reliable treatment, but can often work.
I would look at treating the aquarium with an ich medication. Raise the temperature again to speed up the lifecycle to manageable timescale, medicate the tank, keep the tank medicated for at least 4 days after signs of infection disappear. Daily 50% water changes and gravel vac to keep the water as pristine as possible, and remove as many breeding stage parasites from the substrate as you can. Remember to redose the medication with every water change in proportion to the amount of water changed. If we see no sign of improvement in a week, we can move on and presume its not ich.
As for the algae, algae will occur in almost every aquarium, and will proliferate in high nutrient, high light environments.
We can't be sure what the ammonia and nitrate levels are, but a week of regular water changes will control water quality to a good degree. Knowing what your ammonia is before you start on daily water changes would be useful. Take a water sample to a fish store and ask them to test for you, or get an ammonia test before you start your ich treatment.
And how long is your aquarium light on for? You want 6 to 8 hours max, if it has adjustable intensity you can keep it on longer, but on a lower intensity if you wish.
Maybe @Andy Sager will chip in. He is better at diagnosis than I am.
I would cut back on the light, and make sure that the aquarium is well away from any natural light.
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