View Full Version : HELP Balas have white spots.
goalieman59
05-10-2009, 6:19 PM
My bala sharks have white spots on the top of their heads. Here is the best picture that I can get of one of them. These spots appered while I was gone for the weekend, the tank parameters went nuts this weekend Nitrates jumped to 80, nitires jumped to 1.0. I have already done a water change and have gravel vaced the the tank to remove the old food which i think was the cause. The white spot on one of the balas went away when i pulled him out of the water to try and get a picture. Please help if you can. Sorr y for the sideways picture you can see the spot on the tip of his nose. I just noticed some the of my black skirted tetras also have the spots.
excuzzzeme
05-10-2009, 7:05 PM
ummmm I don't see any fish let alone one with a white spot on it. But from what you sre saying, it sounds like you have a tank with ICH.
goalieman59
05-10-2009, 7:07 PM
Not ich I have delt with that before, this is not it. it almost looks like a fungus.
Your picture does not indicate the presence of ich however as excuzzeme kindly pointed out, your case does sound like an ich outbreak. When was the last time you added a new fish? Did you quarantine your new arrivals? Use salt and heat combination for this situation. Dose a tablespoon per 5g of table salt and be sure to dissolve it thoroughly first and add slowly to the tank.
goalieman59
05-10-2009, 7:45 PM
Your picture does not indicate the presence of ich however as excuzzeme kindly pointed out, your case does sound like an ich outbreak. When was the last time you added a new fish? Did you quarantine your new arrivals? Use salt and heat combination for this situation. Dose a tablespoon per 5g of table salt and be sure to dissolve it thoroughly first and add slowly to the tank.
No new fish. If you can see the bala in the picture, the spots are about the size of a pen cap tip.
No new fish. If you can see the bala in the picture, the spots are about the size of a pen cap tip.
Have you started treating yet? Go with salt and heat combination first and keep us updated.
CichlidWrangler
05-11-2009, 4:41 AM
is it a SPOT, or is it a little tiny sugar granual looking thing?
looks like a healing injury to me.. or the start of HITH (not sure if balas can even get that though)
excuzzzeme
05-11-2009, 1:30 PM
It does look like a fungus now that I can see it.
92091
My Bala had the same thing and warmer water with salt chased it away.
If the Bala is in a 55, it may be stressed and need a larger tank due to the need to swim and also to school. I keep mine is a 100 (6' tank) and does school with my larger cichlids.
goalieman59
05-11-2009, 1:31 PM
It is bigger than what ich looks like, it is almost like cotton.
I doubt it is fungal infection. Many bacterial infections are misdiagnosed as fungal infections. Goalieman, you could try Maracyn and Maracyn 2 combo. It does sound like bacterial infection to me now.
KarlTh
05-12-2009, 12:33 AM
Bacterial. Lower the temperature and obtain a medication effective against columnaris, aeromonas and pseudomonas.
goalieman59
05-12-2009, 9:45 AM
Could I try a melafix or primafix?
goalieman59
05-12-2009, 10:53 AM
It does look like a fungus now that I can see it.
92091
My Bala had the same thing and warmer water with salt chased it away.
If the Bala is in a 55, it may be stressed and need a larger tank due to the need to swim and also to school. I keep mine is a 100 (6' tank) and does school with my larger cichlids.
The balas are still very small the are like 4in right now, they will be getting a bigger tank after the summer.
katamaran
05-12-2009, 11:38 AM
I had the same disease on my swordtail, treated him with maracyn n maracyn 2 alongwith antibacterial food(to slow down disease progression).It halted the disease in its trac, also went ahead with my home made antibiotic remedies(yes i have a lab at home) to clear out secondaries.I would recommend using the antibiotics mentioned above but make sure to do a 25% wc atleast before each dosage(every day).
Melafix n pimafix would not resolve the issue unless your fish are infected by mycobacterium(type of bacteria melafix has been proven to be effective against) , have tried that once the treatment (antibiotics ) is succesful u could use melafix to help in healing up open sores/reduce stress etc.
Melafix is derived from the oil of the Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), which being said over doses or correct recommend doses cause oxygen content in water to go down as it prevents exchange of gases between aquatic surfaces and air(oil film effect).So if u decide to go with this option make sure u dose less and have a well airated tank, i lost 3 fish's using this option n learnt from it.
Bacterial. Lower the temperature and obtain a medication effective against columnaris, aeromonas and pseudomonas.
Hooray... beautiful advice.
Whenever facing an unknown condition, proceed with great caution when suspecting that it "might" be ich. Raising the temperature will only exacerbate any bacterial condition (one of the the most common conditions seen) and adding salt haphazardly only increases specimen stress (salt in FW systems is NOT a benign addittive).
Melafix n pimafix would not resolve the issue unless your fish are infected by mycobacterium(type of bacteria melafix has been proven to be effective against) , have tried that once the treatment (antibiotics ) is succesful u could use melafix to help in healing up open sores/reduce stress etc.
That's interesting. Where and how did you find this out? I guess we need another thread for this one.;)
Melafix n pimafix would not resolve the issue unless your fish are infected by mycobacterium(type of bacteria melafix has been proven to be effective against)....
Actually, numerous studies that show Tea Tree oil (Melafix derivative) is an effective external treatment for many many bacterium. There is almost no evidence what-so-ever re: evidence of internal effectiveness. Myobac. TB is indeed more bulletproof for purposes of the external treatment. For any internal/septic case it really doesn't do much.
goalieman59
05-13-2009, 9:56 AM
I had the same disease on my swordtail, treated him with maracyn n maracyn 2 alongwith antibacterial food(to slow down disease progression).It halted the disease in its trac, also went ahead with my home made antibiotic remedies(yes i have a lab at home) to clear out secondaries.I would recommend using the antibiotics mentioned above but make sure to do a 25% wc atleast before each dosage(every day).
Melafix n pimafix would not resolve the issue unless your fish are infected by mycobacterium(type of bacteria melafix has been proven to be effective against) , have tried that once the treatment (antibiotics ) is succesful u could use melafix to help in healing up open sores/reduce stress etc.
Melafix is derived from the oil of the Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), which being said over doses or correct recommend doses cause oxygen content in water to go down as it prevents exchange of gases between aquatic surfaces and air(oil film effect).So if u decide to go with this option make sure u dose less and have a well airated tank, i lost 3 fish's using this option n learnt from it.
Will these meds mentioned hurt any snails?