ohhh ich? Need diagnosis and treatment help.

[Ashes2ashes]

Ok sorry about the crap quality of the pics, but my mom got me a male black molly from pet supplies plus about a week ago and the last few days the fish has been really lethargic..just hovering in one spot mostly and now I found a white spot on the underside of him. He is eating normally, but not acting normal. My tank is still cycling but I have been keeping amonia well under .25 by doing daily water changes. If you guys could help with diagnosis and treatment plan it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2227&pictureid=18896

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2227&pictureid=18894

[Jspigs]

It might have ich but I can't tell from the pics.

[tyler79durdan]

I have NEVER seen just one protozoa before. Unless its just started to spread but NEVER that big.

That looks more like the start of a bacterial infection, IF ANYTHING and not a missing scale...

[Cerianthus]

It might be pod attached to fish. Hard to tell from pic, but most likely not an Ich .

[XanAvaloni]

This would be an excellent time for me to keep my mouth shut until one of the experts like Mel2020 weighs in, but that never stopped me before. :)

Questions, F&S: Is this the only fish in the tank, how big is the tank, has it ever had fish in it before (yours or anyone elses'), how far along in the cycle would you say you are, and what sort of substrate/plants/other flora-fauna-objects?

My policy with mollies is to treat all white spots as ich until proven otherwise. Up the temperature and start loading on the salt. Will work (eventually) if it is ich and won't do any harm if it isn't. Hit the "freshwater disease" sticky for specifics.

I've had mollies come from the lfs that croaked for no apparent reason within a week, and others that came out of tanks that looked like they were run by BP's Gulf of Mexico operations that did just fine. I guess they're like us, some are sturdy and can handle stress or difficulty, and some are frail and expire easily. That one looks like he still has "good flesh" on him so it's probably not Molly Wasting Disease. Try the heat and salt at any rate and good luck to him.

[Ashes2ashes]

there is one other fish in the tank..another molly that has been totally fine. the tank is brand new...a week old, 20 gallons. The temp in the tank is already high..it stays a little above 80 degrees in there. There is a hornwort plant in there and river stones as substrate.

[Cerianthus]

One week old? I dont know how many fish are in the tank but check pH, Ammonia and nitrite asap!!!

[Ashes2ashes]

One week old? I dont know how many fish are in the tank but check pH, Ammonia and nitrite asap!!!

Like I said, there are only 2 mollies in the tank. I test my water everyday. I also change my water daily to keep my amonia below .25. There are no nitrites or nitrates yet as it has only been one week. Ph is the same as my tap 7.4.

[BioHazard]

I would leave a note on Mel_20_20's wall. Link her to this thread. She is very good with diseases.

[Rbishop]

Doesn't look like ich to me....if it is, it should be getting progressively worse over the short time this thread has run so far. Until you know for sure, it can't hurt to bump the temp to 82 and work at bringing the tank concentration of table salt up to about 1 teaspoon per gallon...

[Ashes2ashes]

Thanks Anna. Thanks Bob. I will try the salt thing later on today. I want to pick up some tubing first so that I can introduce it slowly. The spot has not gotten any bigger or any worse, so I don't think it is Ich either. Perhaps it is something small caused by the fish being a little stressed from the tank starting to cycle? I'm not sure if that happens of not, just throwing a guess out there. I will keep an eye on it though and raise the water temp to a steady 82 and introduce table salt to the water.

[Cerianthus]

I am somewhat surprised to read that NH3 came up that fast with only 2 mollys to a point you already had to perform WC to keep NH3 below .25.

If you can, could it possible to post few more pics from different angles? I can really tell if it is on or very near his anus???

[tyler79durdan]

Thanks Anna. Thanks Bob. I will try the salt thing later on today. I want to pick up some tubing first so that I can introduce it slowly. The spot has not gotten any bigger or any worse, so I don't think it is Ich either. Perhaps it is something small caused by the fish being a little stressed from the tank starting to cycle? I'm not sure if that happens of not, just throwing a guess out there. I will keep an eye on it though and raise the water temp to a steady 82 and introduce table salt to the water.

And why are you treating for Ich if it isnt?

I would go broad spectrum antibiotic...

[tonergirl]

I have NEVER seen just one protozoa before. Unless its just started to spread but NEVER that big.

That looks more like the start of a bacterial infection, IF ANYTHING and not a missing scale...

:iagree: looks like some kind of fungal/bacterial infection to me, as well! IMO that spot is way to big for Ich!

[captaincaveman9]

And why are you treating for Ich if it isnt?

I would go broad spectrum antibiotic...


I disagree with treating with a broad spectrum antibiotic. treating with an antibiotic will make you need to recycle the tank, apart from the fact, overusing antibiotics make fighting future outbreaks very difficult as bacteria get resistant to antibiotics when you don;t know for sure it is bacterial.....

if the fish is recovering, just continue to feed, keep up on the water changes, and keep an eye on it...

[The Zigman]

Clean water is the best medicine 75% of the time.
If it is recovering, just keep the water as clean as possible, and let it heal.

If it is NOT recovering, then I would consider medicating it.

[Ashes2ashes]

Clean water is the best medicine 75% of the time.
If it is recovering, just keep the water as clean as possible, and let it heal.

If it is NOT recovering, then I would consider medicating it.


I disagree with treating with a broad spectrum antibiotic. treating with an antibiotic will make you need to recycle the tank, apart from the fact, overusing antibiotics make fighting future outbreaks very difficult as bacteria get resistant to antibiotics when you don;t know for sure it is bacterial.....

if the fish is recovering, just continue to feed, keep up on the water changes, and keep an eye on it...

Thanks for the advice guys. The water changes and salt do seem to be helping and the white spot is getting smaller. :) I also agree that antibiotics would be bad since I am trying to create BB, not kill it.