Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: pollydoodle on July 13, 2018, 06:53:25 PM
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Just noticed one of the fish, its been a bit sluggish, is covered in white spots and some of the others have them as well ☹️😢 I did look at the ones that died but didn't see any thing untoward, other than they were dead!!
I will go and get some medication tomorrow morning. What else can I do. I knew I should have got a hamster instead
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You could slowly start to increase the temperature to speed up the lifecycle of the whitespot. I would also recommend a thorough gravel vaccing to remove as many spores as possible. This will also do a water change of course which is also advisable in this circumstance to maximise water quality.
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Do the fish look as though they've been sprinkled with salt?
Follow the med instructions to the letter. If you stop too soon, you won't have killed all the parasites.
http://www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa006
Increase aeration as well, as the warmer the water, the less oxygen it can hold. Something as simple as raising the filter higher or altering the angle of the filter outlet so that there are ripples on the water surface is good enough.
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I knew I should have got a hamster instead
Having been bitten by a hamster (not my own pet), and had it hanging off my hand with its teeth sunken into my fingers and blood spurting out, I think fish are a much preferable option, despite the misfortune you're currently experiencing. Best of luck; good advice above.
:fishy1:
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Having been bitten by a hamster (not my own pet), and had it hanging off my hand with its teeth sunken into my fingers and blood spurting out, I think fish are a much preferable option, despite the misfortune you're currently experiencing. Best of luck; good advice above.
:fishy1:
Cant be any worse than a ferret!! (my sons, he left 6 for to me to look after when he went away) They don't let go and I've had to choke them to get them off. :yikes:
Definitely Friday the 13th!!!! Water change didn't go right either, can now swim in my carpet :rotfl: :vcross:
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The same thing happened to me when I kept ferrets. It wouldn’t let go when one bit me. I ended up pulling it off my finger and some skin with it. Ouch !!!!
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Can't see the fish with white spot now, although my granddaughter saw it as well. Will it do any harm if I dose the tank anyway, just to be safe
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It sounded like more than one fish had the spots from your first post. If this is the case then it is definitely worth dosing. Can you not see any fish with spots now?
Which med have you bought?
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Haven't got any yet, going this morning
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It is known that just heat alone can kill the parasites. If you raise the temperature slowly to 29 to 30 dec C, that could be enough. The higher temp will also speed up the bug's life cycle, so if it is whitespot, the spots should reappear faster.
What I would do is get some med (I like Waterlife's Protozin, eSHa Exit or when there are shrimps in the tank King British original formula WS3) but don't add it the minute you get back. Take some time to look at the tank temperature to see if you can increase it to 29 deg, and examine every fish you can see with a magnifying glass if necessary. If none of them have any white spots at all, hold off on the med. Check the fish every day for a week. If it is white spot, the spots will come back. As soon as you see this, add the med. If the spots don't come back, don't add any med, keep it in the cupboard. If unopened, it will keep to the use by date. (If you open the bottle it will keep for only 12 months or until the use by if that's sooner)
What was the species of the fish that had spots?
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The ability to take a paddle on the carpet post-water change is very common for me. ::)
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Platy Sue. All those that have died were platies
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Found the fish with white spot lurking in the undergrowth, a platy. Looks like it's been sprinkled in salt! All I need now is vinegar and chips :yikes:
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In that case, add the med as soon as you get it. It will probably say to dose on this day, then that day, then another day. Follow the instructions.
If you need to do a water change -
On dose days, do the water change, then add the med
On non-dose days, do the water change than add enough med to treat the amount of water you changed - in other words enough med to replace the amount you just removed.
It is possible that the first platies did die of whitespot. It often infects the gills where we can't see it. And for future reference, this is why it is a good idea to quarantine all new fish. At the moment all you fish are new so it doesn't matter but in a few months or years if you add an infected fish all the existing fish will catch it too. I've been caught out by not quarantining new fish :(
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It is possible that the first platies did die of whitespot. It often infects the gills where we can't see it. And for future reference, this is why it is a good idea to quarantine all new fish. At the moment all you fish are new so it doesn't matter but in a few months or years if you add an infected fish all the existing fish will catch it too. I've been caught out by not quarantining new fish :(
Does this mean I need another tank!!! I'm only just getting the hang of this one :o
The only med I could get locally was Interpet. I had a chat with the lovely lady who owns the shop ( I overcame my embarrassment not buying my set up there!) so its nice to know I can just pop down the road in future
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It's not to say you need another tank, but simply that it's a good idea to have one. It wouldn't need to be up and running full time, but if that's the case, you'll probably need to cycle it before putting new fish in.
It's just a small, simple tank, to house fish temporarily to ensure that they have no infections (such as whitespot) and so that you can give medication to any fish that do become ill.
Practical Fishkeeping have a "budget" guide here (https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/how-to-set-up-a-quarantine-tank).
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I have the tank in Fishbeard's link as my quarantine tank ;D It's a basic 25 litre tank which lives in the glass shed (aka greenhouse). There is a 25 w heater in my fish tank cupboard and a small filter which I fill with media from the main tank's filter. I also have a few 4 inch lengths of drainpipe for caves and a few plastic plants in a box in the greenhouse. The reason for the drainpipe and plastic plants is because they are easily sterilised with bleach should the worst happen.
Since I now have a lot of real plants, there are not really enough bacteria in my filter media to support a lot of fish in the QT so should I need to set it up I'll just steal some hornwort from the main tank, then if I have to use any med I'll throw it away. I can't return any plants contaminated with meds to the main tank as it'll kill the shrimps and/or snails.
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Has anyone used the Interpet anti white spot treatment? According to the instructions, I should remove all silk plants and stones. Seems an awful lot of work
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That's probably because it will dye them green. Most whitespot meds contain copper which is lethal to the free swimming stage, and all copper containing things are blue or green. If you don't mind the plants & stones turning green or greenish blue, leave them in. Maybe remove the stones and any non-green plants but leave the green plants in?
It's the copper that is also the problem with shrimps and snails - it kills them too.
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Oh wo is me! :sick:
Another fish with white spot, I've just given 2nd dose of Interpet.
In addition I have some very pretty fern-like algae growing on plants . Now what do I do.
Does every newbie have these problems, am I doing things wrong or just unlucky :'(
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Not just newbies, we all encounter problems occasionally.
Keep a close eye on your water parameters and make sure that nothing is out of range, as this will stress the fish and make them more vulnerable.
As for the algae, if it's growing on something that can be removed (decor/silk plants), take the item(s) out and give them a scrub. Otherwise, reducing your lighting period, or cutting out light altogether for a few days, should help.
Could you post a pic of the algae so we can work out what sort it is.
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It is not unusual to find spots appearing after the med has started. They are very tiny, microscopically tiny, when they first attach to the fish so they have some growing to do before they become visible. The latest fish was already infected when you added the first dose.
As for this being a problem encountered by new fish keepers, sit down with a cup of tea/coffee and read this https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/fish-medicines/whitespot-and-quarantine-conundrum/
Edit:
Please don't let my experience frighten you! I've had whitespot several times but nothing like this before. It's just an example of how people who have kept fish for 20 years can get caught out.
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Thank you for that Sue. It's reassuring to know. At the moment I cant run to a quarantine tank, but am looking on ebay and gumtree for a bargain
Doing a bit of online research, the algae looks like cladophora, rather pretty it is, although unwanted!
The water parameters look ok. the lights are on for about 4 hrs. Go on 7am - fish know its feed time then!! I turn off when they go blue and on again briefly for the evening feed - each time a small pinch and gone in seconds.
Can I take things out and clean under the tap and put back in or do they have to go into de-chlorinated water first
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If you give the things a good shake before putting them back in the tank there will be very little water in them so the amount of chlorine will be negligible.
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Good luck, and please keep us updated.
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Did the 2nd dose Tuesday, but lost another fish overnight, I knew it was going to happen.
How soon do I need to wait before I can get some more fish.
Went to maidenhead aquatics in Shepton mallet yesterday. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. So disappointed I couldn't buy 😕
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I would wait a week to 10 days after the last spot has disappeared. If you have raised the temp to the upper 20s that should give plenty time for every last bug to be killed - or if some escape the med, enough time for more spots to appear.
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When should I start lowering the temp back down to 25°
Everything seems okay at the moment. Hope to get r few more fish at weekend, all being well
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Wait a week after you saw the last spot.
Though you may not get it down to 25 deg at the moment. Just turn the heater off and see how low the weather lets it drop. Don't forget to reset the heater and turn it back on once the tank temp has stabilised though. The hot weather will have to end one day ;D