# white spots



## heyhi (May 10, 2008)

I have 3 red and 3 black tailed tetras, 3 kuhli loaches,1 golden loach,3 panda corys 2 ghost shrimp, 1 florecent, 2 upside down cat fish,a pleco and a Semaprochilodus taeniurus. 1 irradecent shark


The shark got very lasey few days ago and i see white spots on it.. like 15 spots, very small. it swims around and lays in the corner for a while

is this ich and what do i do.. I also see a bunch of tiny white spots on tails of the red tetras.. ive never looked at them so closely so i dunno if its normal


i feed them flakes 2 or 3 times a day, vaccume the gravel 5 or 6 times a month


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Irradecent sharks are prone to ick and are also sensitive to ick meds. I would treat with the heat/salt method.
Add a tablespoon of salt for each 5 gallons. Best to add the salt over a couple days to give them a chance to adapt.
Slowly raise the temp. of the tank to 86 deg. Raise no more than one deg a day. 1/2 deg every 12 hrs would be best. Once the tempt hits 86, leave it there for one week after all signs of ick are gone. Then slowly decrease tempt to your normal setting.
Be sure to provide extra air, higher tempts decrease oxygen levels.
At 82 deg, it is to warm for the ick to live on the fish. 86 deg will kill the free swimming ick.
Water changes through out the treatment will help remove the free swimming ick, just replace whatever salt was removed during the water change.
Good luck!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Twistersmom's suggested treatment works, but I'd be careful using salt with the panda corys. Also, they do not like temperatures much above 80F; I once lost all mine when the tank got up to 86F due to the heater malfunctioning overnight--the tetras and pencilfish were fine, but all the corys died within a day.

I've had good success curing ich several times (more times than I should have had ich in my tanks!) using Aquari-sol. It is safer to use with sensitive fish (catfish and tetras are particularly sensitive to salt and chemicals including copper and several ich remedies contain copper). While it recommends raising the temp I have never done so, and the ich is gone in one week. 

Whatever you do, the treatment must be maintained for a week at the least, due to the life cycle of the parasite; it can only be killed during the free swimming stage. I would not make water changes during the week of treatment, since that dilutes the medication as Twistersmom correctly said.


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## heyhi (May 10, 2008)

I got ich med called tank buddy...something like that. its a tablet and says to change water before puting another tablet in. i thoght i should lower the temp..

How do i know if its working...


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

What temp is your tank set at now?
I have not used tank buddy, but you should start to see the spots start to fall off. Continue treating for a few days after all visible signs are gone.


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## heyhi (May 10, 2008)

Its about 77degrees f . Should I change the water each use. I did the first 2 days but not yesterday. 
The shark swims around more but still just lays in a corner once in a while for a few min, and i dont see any spots falling off. Now a few more fish have spots


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

heyhi said:


> Its about 77degrees f . Should I change the water each use. I did the first 2 days but not yesterday.
> The shark swims around more but still just lays in a corner once in a while for a few min, and i dont see any spots falling off. Now a few more fish have spots


I also don't know what "tank buddy" is, but I suspect it is not the best. I have not heard of changing water every day when using ich remedies. Mind you, this may work, perhaps someone on here has used it and can tell us.

All ich remedies I have read of or used require continued treatment for a week and the medication must be kept at full strength throughout because of the life cycle of the parasite, it can only be killed in the free swimming stage. The white spots you see are cysts with the parasite imbedded in the fish and nothing can attack it there. When it falls off, the cyst breaks and dozens (hundreds, not sure) of parasites go swimming looking for a host; it is at this stage that they can be killed. When one manages to get through and infect a fish, it buries itself in the fish and remains there for a couple of days. So you will see spots for a few days once you start medication, and sometimes one may get through afterwards. I have had spots disappear completely by day 5 or 6 most times.

Many ich remedies are copper-based, and copper is lethal to fish (and plants) in sufficient quantity. Which is why many recommend half dose with sensitive fish (catfish, tetras). Aquari-sol is said to be safe for these fish, and in my experience the fish still do not like it, but it has far less effect on them than other copper-based medications I have used before.

Re temp, most say to raise it, and Aquari-sol also suggests raising it if the fish can tolerate it (some fish can't tolerate high temperatures so you have to balance this out). Personally, I leave the temp at 78-79 which is where my tanks normally are, and Aquari-sol has done the job with no fish loss.

There are other ways of curing ich, and its up to you which you follow. Those of us on this forum can offer what has worked for us, and I would be the last to say that my method is "the" method. But it does work and has for me, several times (I'm ashamed to admit I have had ich more frequently than I should).


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## heyhi (May 10, 2008)

What should I use then. I wanna use something that wont hurt and will work. I havent lost a fish in a long time and ive put alot of money and hours on hours taking care of these fish .Id really be pissed if I loose any


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

I think it would be fine to keep using it, but at half dose. I would not turn the heat down, maybe raise it to 80 deg. 
I did use the heat treatment once on a tank with cories, no deaths, but the heat never went above 86 deg, and lots of air was made available. It was in a 65 gal tank with two power heads turned up all the way and the water line dropped for extra air from the filter. Air bubbles every where.
Like Bryon said, there are many options to cure ick. Your way may work. I lost a catfish at one time treating for ick at half dose with Quick Cure (the cat did not even have ick), that made me afraid to use meds for treatment on sensitive fish, but many people have used meds with good results.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

My comment on raising the heat was just that I've never bothered because it is sometimes difficult to get heaters to re-adjust. If you've ever put a fair bit of effort into getting a heater to settle in at the right temp in the first place, you may not want to go tinkering with it again. Raising the temp does speed up the parasite's life cycle, that is the only reason for raising the temp. So in my personal view, I'd rather take the extra couple of days in treatment and not fiddle with the heaters. That's all.

Re what to use, I mentioned Aquari-Sol as the best product I have used, and it is stated on the label that it is "safe" and in my experience the sensitive fish (corys and tetras, of which I have many) certainly did not seem so bothered by Aquari-Sol as they did when I used "Rid Ick" or something similar. Whatever you use, just follow the directions on the label.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Good info on the Aquari-Sol. I once, after attempting the heat & salt treatment for over two weeks, had to resort to meds to eliminate ich. Byron is right on as far as fiddling with the heater. While using the heat/salt method I must have made a mistake on the turn on the adjustment. I came home to find the tank temp at 90! It's amazing I didn't lose anybody. (I'm sure they all suffered...who knows what the long term effects will end up being) The heat & salt was shredding my plants and the white spots on my clowns refused to budge. I used Kordon's Rid Ich at 1/2 strength. I was happy I didn't lose a single fish in what turned out to be a month long process. The Kordon's did the trick but my poor pictus ended up with thin, shortened and curled barbels. Poor guy. Luckily they grew back. If (not when) there is a next time I'll go with Aquari-Sol. 

HeyHi: How are your fish doing today??
_________________________________


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

aunt kymmie said:


> Good info on the Aquari-Sol. I once, after attempting the heat & salt treatment for over two weeks, had to resort to meds to eliminate ich. Byron is right on as far as fiddling with the heater. While using the heat/salt method I must have made a mistake on the turn on the adjustment. I came home to find the tank temp at 90! It's amazing I didn't lose anybody. (I'm sure they all suffered...who knows what the long term effects will end up being) The heat & salt was shredding my plants and the white spots on my clowns refused to budge. I used Kordon's Rid Ich at 1/2 strength. I was happy I didn't lose a single fish in what turned out to be a month long process. The Kordon's did the trick but my poor pictus ended up with thin, shortened and curled barbels. Poor guy. Luckily they grew back. If (not when) there is a next time I'll go with Aquari-Sol.
> 
> HeyHi: How are your fish doing today??
> _________________________________


Good point on the plants Kym, I forgot that. Salt and warmth are not good on aquatic plants. And Aquari-Sol has never affected any of my plants. I've also used Kordon's Rid-Ich and also recommend it. It is biological as opposed to chemical, and it clouds the water, but that's no problem when the fish are being attacked by a parasite. No affect on plants that I could notice.

Yes, high temps can be fatal; I lost all the corys in my 33g last fall when the heater malfunctioned and remained on overnight, temp was at or above 86F and in two days the corys were all dead. Tetras and pencilfish were fine, looked no different than before, but they can withstand higher temps at least in the short term.


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