white spots! Ich?

[Peteisrad]

Ok

I'm in the first week of cycling. Half my fish have white spots all over them. Is this Ich? Or is it the ammonia poisoning? The water also has a bit of foam around the edge. My Ph is aorund 7 and The Ammonia level is still 0. So I'm not sure what it is.

Pete

 

[Faramir]

Small white spots like salt crystals? Probably ick.

Does it look like this?

If so, yes, this is ick. Ammonia poisioning does not cause spots.

 

[Peteisrad]

hey there

nah, the spots actually look bigger than that. The spots look more like they are part of the skin rather than an actual growth. But what abuot the bubbles (foam) around the edges of the tank?

Pete

 

[pinballqueen]

White spots, bigger than ich...

It could be a fungus, are the spots slimy-looking or fuzzy?

Of course it could also be a very bad case of ich...those white "freckles" tend to run together after a couple of days...

Just so you'll know what ammonia poisoning does (for if/when you ever have to recognize it): Your fish will gasp at the surface, their gills will be inflamed and red looking, and they will not eat normally. Ammonia basically puts caustic burns on their mucous membranes, like you had poured lye or baking soda on them. Diluting the ammonia is the only way to cure this, and only if you take care of it quickly.

As for your spot problem, try raising the water temp. to around 82 or so, and add a little aquarium salt to your tank. If it's ich, it will speed up its life cycle and the spots will "fall off" within a couple days (you still have to treat the water or they'll come back. The spots are the parasite in its cyst form, they have a free-swimming stage also). If it's fungus, it will start to clear as well. Do a google search for fish disease id and see if you can find a pic that looks like what you have (or snap one yourself and post it, and we'll take a guess).

Good luck!

 

[Peteisrad]

Thanks for the replies guys!

The spots actually look more fuzzy when they are in bigger concentrations. I think I might take a one of them to the LFS and see if they can diganose it. Oh, can you even do that? or will it raise the stress level too much?

PEte

 

[Faramir]

Velvet? Columnaris? A piccy would help.

 

[Erynn]

How much aquarium salt do you add per gallon????

 

[pinballqueen]

depends on what you're using it for. If you're just using it as a "tonic", i.e. just going to keep a salted tank, use 1 tbsp. for every 5 gallons or so. (1/2 tsp./gal). The measurements are pretty similar for disease treatment I think.

Fuzzy white spots are usually a fungus. Try the salt and 80+ degrees for a day and see if it improves. Don't worry with trying to catch the fish and going to the lfs, it'll just stress you and the fish.

I have found that Fungus Eliminator by Jungle does a great job, but it's a little harsh. Be sure to use the correct dosage for the type of fish you have.

 

[dragonfish]

My fish have ich, and i recently treated them with this product call Nox Ich which i got from my LFS, it says to used one drop per gallon of water, for three consecutive days. I took this to mean that i should put 60 drops in my aquarium (60 gal.) every day for three days straight. Is that right?! AFter the treatment, i read that i should disinfect the aquarium. Is this absolutely neccessary? Or can i just leave it the way it is, and just continue with my partial water changes every month? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Orbitorly]

You don't have to realy disanfect the tank, put some carbon in your filters to clean the med out of the tank, and countinue with your water changes.