Can white spots be something other than ick?

[cb93lx]

I have had this convict for about a year now and he seems to keep getting ick. I treat it with deferent types of meds but it always comes back to just him. None of my other fish have showed any symptoms. A few days ago I started using Melafix for nipped fis and he has come down bad with the small white spots pertruding from his sides. Should I again treat for ick? Could it be something else since the others never get it? What can I try? Thanks in advance

[Tetratastic]

could be a parasite or a fungus I think...

[Tetratastic]

I had a problem once with what I thought was ich, (they looked sorta 'flaky') ended up finally clearing it up with Jungle Fungus Clear.

[cb93lx]

That was a fast reply. Thanks. He has all the symptoms of ick. Scratches his sides on rocks, looks like salt hanging on to the side of his body. Will Melafix take care of the problem? Should I try that Fungus clear? Thanks again

[Tetratastic]

I don't know about melafix, as I didn't use it on my fish.

I first tried ich medicine, then two different broad spectrum antibiotics, and the fish just kept dying... the last one that got sick with the same symptoms was the one that I used the fungus clear on (I put it in a separate tank to medicate). He was nearly dead - like floating on his side at the top of the tank - then in about a day he two in the medicine he perked up. I was able to put him back with the rest of my fish after about two weeks.

None of them has been sick since. Whether or not this will work for you though, I'm not sure.

[ScottoMacD]

Hello.

A few things.
If your fish is getting ich that often you should be concerned.
Ich comes directly from stress. It could be a number of things that cause it.
1- bad or less than great water quaility.
2- the fish is getting picked on.
3- the tank is in a highly traveled area which is causing the fish stress from all the activity going on.

That being said. To answer your question. No. Melafix will not solve or cure ich.

Now a couple of things that you can do right away to help with the ich is
1- do water change right away. 20% minimum. Vaccum the gravel.
2- raise your tank tempurature to above 82 degrees.
3- Add some aquarium salt to the tank. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons should suffice. Mix some tank water and the right amount of salt in a bucket and add it slowly to the tank. Do NOT put the salt in directly. *note* if you have scaleless fish or bottom feeders they will not like the salt. So cut the salt dosage in half.

Now a couple of questions. Lets see if we can nip this in bud for you in the future.

What size is the tank?
What is the current filtration?
What is the water changing/ maintanence schedule that you are using right now?
What are all the tank inhabitants?
What temp do you keep the tank at normally?
Where is the tank located? High traffic area?

Sorry for all the questions but they are necessary to help you out.

[cb93lx]

I understand and will give it a try. I appreciate it. Thanks. Any other ideas on whats going on or suggestions for treatment?

[wetmanNY]

I hope you'll have the patience to read up on the life-cycle of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, the "Ich" parasite, at www.skepticalaquarist.com

If you know about one parasitic ciliate, this is the one to know about.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by ScottoMacD
.......... Ich comes directly from stress. It could be a number of things that cause it.
1- bad or less than great water quaility.
2- the fish is getting picked on.
3- the tank is in a highly traveled area which is causing the fish stress from all the activity going on.
........ http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
4- improper water change temperatures! Water changes must be made with water of the same, or very close to same temperature. It's very easy to overlook this and stress the fish.

I know many of you here have heard me mention this many times, but it is important, and 'new' people stop in here all the time.. ;)

[cb93lx]

ScottoMacD, I must of been posting my replt at the same time as you cause I didnt even see you post before I last responded.
To answer some of the questions,
1, 100 gallon, 72X18X18
2, 2 AC 300s and a Tetratec PF500
3, I change about 15-20% every week while cleaning the gravel with the Python
4, 1 6' Texas Cichlid, 8" Pleco, 5" convict, and 5" JD. The texas doesnt bully anyone and no one bothers him. Pleco is the same. If anything the convict (the one with the problem) bullies the JD from time to time.
5, Tank stays at 78 degrees
6, Its in the Living Room but no one home during the day and its not really in a high traffic area.

That being said, I am not sure that it is ich. It looks more like small peices of cotton ( about the same size as a salt grain) pertruding from his sides. He is scratching against objects in the tank. It just became this apparant after starting to use the Melafix a couple of days ago. No other fish has the symptoms and never have. Thanks for any help. Ill be glad to answer any questions that may help diagnose the problem. Thanks again

[cb93lx]

How can i tell the difference between ich and fungus infections?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by cb93lx
How can i tell the difference between ich and fungus infections? http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
This is a good question. Maybe you ought to start a new topic. :)

[ScottoMacD]

Question?

Do you have allot of small bubbles in the tank?

I have seen incidents where the small bubbles in a tank can attach themselves to the fish and look an awful lot like ich.

It drives the fish crazy and they will dart and scratch like they do when they have ich.

I also think that your texas might not be as innocent as you think.
The Herichthys cyanoguttatus (as well as most of the Herichthys genus) are notoriously SOB's. It wouldn't surprise me at all that the texas is taking pot shots at you apparent dominant fish during the night time. Setting the tone in the tank. His tone.

Like I mentioned before. Raise the temp to around 82 degrees. Give yourself a nice big water change to eliminate those to factors and we can see from there.

A couple of more things?
Does the fish hide allot?
Is it eating OK?
What are your water parameters like?

[Faramir]

Originally posted by cb93lx
How can i tell the difference between ich and fungus infections?

They are completely different.

Ich is tiny white spots like grains of salts. Fungus looks like a mass of cotton wool.

Some bacterial infections might resemble ick in early stages - costia, columnaris, but not fungus. However, even with the bacterial infections the difference is quite clear - they produce white patches rather than spots.

There is a tendancy to call any skin infection on a fish that isn't clearly Ich or Velvet "fungus" but it ain't so. Most sources imply that true fungal infections are actually quite rare.

[cb93lx]

Thanks for still trying to help. It is definatly not bubbles attached to the side of the body. I swear it looks like symptoms of both ich and fungus to me. Its a bunch of white spots about the size of salt but looks like cotton balls. They are pertruding from the body and some look as though they are coming unraveiled. Like a strand of cotton pulling off the side of his body.

He doesnt hide at all. He is eating fine, as much as always. Still chases the JD around the tank from time to time. All the tests show good. nitrite,ph,ammon, hardness.

Temp has been upped to 82 for 2 days and no real change yet.
He started showing these symptoms the day after I started the Melafix treatment and worsened until today when I noticed the fish doesnt look to have quite as many white spots but still has alot.
Thanks again

[ScottoMacD]

Hello again cb93lx.

Have you added the aquarium salt yet?

Being the anti med guy that I am. Prefering not to use them unless absolutely necessary. Even though I like melafix and have used it I would suggest this.

First stop using the melafix all together for now.
If you haven't added the salt....add some. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons using the method I mentioned before.

One other thing that you can do and it won't hurt the tank at all is to add COPPERSAFE. It can be a very handy med when needed. Just make sure that you follow the instructions to the "T" for the fish that you have.

Keep the temp at or above 82 degrees.

Can you take a picture and post it up here for us to see?

I know of 2 different meds that can be used if the salt and temp do not help. But I am not going to mention them until we have run out of ideas. This way it keeps the itch of using them right away.

Keep us posted.

[cb93lx]

Added salt last night... I agree that it would be alot easier if you guys could actually see the fish. But unfortunatly, I dont have a camera.
So, you are saying to stop using the Melafix. On the bottle it sayd for fungus infections to use for 7 days and Im on day #5. I will stop if you think i should though. How long does it usually take the salt to work and what should I look for? I appreciate the help

[Faramir]

looks like cotton balls. They are pertruding from the body and some look as though they are coming unraveiled. Like a strand of cotton pulling off the side of his body.

This really sounds like some kind of fungal or bacterial infection, but not ich. There's no way the ich parasite could do this strand of cotton stuff.

Unless - unless the fish had started to produce excess slime... if these strands are actually slime, then it could still be ich. If they are white strands, part of the spot as it were, then you've got a fungal and/or bacterial infection.