Does my fish have dandruff?

[Vicentismybetta]

Hu all. Ithe tank in question is a 15 gallon and it only has 3 fish in it at the moment. Its going to eventually be a mystery snail tank but I havent had time to move all my snails into that tank yet.:headbang2: Well this morning i was feeding all my fish when i noticed the female platy in the tank was vissible. so i tapped on the side of the tank to see if she would come out and she does, covered in white stuff. :omg:She also looks beat up and ive notice little white3 things seeming to move around against the glass at the bottem of the tank, things about the size of a head of a pin. Ive had 2 guppies up and die in this tank.:cry: Please help me!

[petluvr]

Sounds like ich to me, and the little white things crawling on the tank sound like they could be planaria.

[Vicentismybetta]

How do i treat the planeria? or does it mater if theyre in there?

[wespastor]

How do i treat the planeria? or does it mater if theyre in there?

The debate goes on about their usefulness. However, I have read recently that there are some types that are carnivorous. I could be wrong on that point. I've been wrong b4.
So, you may not want them in there. If you don't want them there. Vaccuum the gravel more frequently.

Best wishes,
Wes

[Vicentismybetta]

Thanks for all the help. Im going to try the salt heat treatment. Any recomendations on how to do it?

[fish-n-chips]

Here is a link for treating ich http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1657382&postcount=2
Hope this helps, best of luck to you and your fish.

[dannyboiiii]

also for future prevention,
pick up a big jar of minced garlic, goyas like 3 bucks ...
if u feed frozen foods like brine shrimp,
put like half a teaspoon of just the juice in a cup wit some tank water and let the food dethaw and infuse in there for like 5 mins,
u can also do it with dried foods to(not flakes)...
tubiflex worms and those brine shrimp things u stick on the side of the glass,
just put that in a small bowl or cup and put some juice in there so the food soaks it up then feed!!!
garlic gives there immune systems a major boost, and also kills and prevents internal and external parasites ...
i feed using this method 2 times a week,
and i never loose fish to any parasite



and let the food dethaw in there with the garlic,

[platytudes]

You are probably overfeeding the tank if you are indeed seeing planaria. Garlic is good but makes your tank water smell, I wouldn't advise this method to a newbie. If anything just use New Life Spectrum Thera-A pellets.

Have you tested your water? Your tank may not be all the way cycled. 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrite is a must, also for guppies and platies you need water that is on the hard side. Don't give your water to pet stores to test, they almost never say anything useful, instead get your own test kit. Strips are cheap, not as accurate but if you're on a budget 5-in-1 strip kits are $11 at Walmart for 25.

Do some water changes and vacuum the gravel while you treat for ich, it will help cut down on the multiplying pf the ich parasites, which breed in the gravel. I wouldn't use much salt unless you can remove the snail(s) temporarily.

I like this article for ich treatment suggestions:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

Your tank sounds out of whack, you need to figure out what you're doing wrong. Are you overfeeding, not changing enough water? Adding dechlorinator with each water change? Is the filter pumping enough water, does it have enough biological media? These are the questions I want to ask.

Adding some live floating plants such as hornwort or anacharis can help balance things out. They don't need extra light to grow fairly well, if you let them float.

[jpappy789]

Planaria are pretty harmless. Just a visual nuisance.

[Vicentismybetta]

Ok i think i know what the problem is for all the info you guys gave me. I moved 2 months ago and just set this tank up 3 weeks ago. I put the fish in after about a week of cycling. Well the whater here is is at least 2 time softer here and i think i put them in the tank to soon. Oh the planaria if it was that is gone. cant find any thing moving even if i stir up the rocks. Anyway I have only one fish left and the snails have not been put in that tank yet. Should i continue with the salt heat treatment?