Ich?

[FishWhisperer]

As requested by TurbineSurgeon: I have a total of twelve tetras: six neon and six glowlight. One of the neon's has two spots (flat) but I did notice last night that there was a "grain of salt" attached to the fish on the spots. I think now the fish has Ich. I treated the one fish for ich by dipping him in water with salt. I will treat him three times a day until it goes away. Let me know if this is incorrect. When I am dipping the fish in the bowl, it does not seem to cause him too much distress. He stays in the bowl for about two minutes. Is this enough time to cure the ich? Thanks for any and every one's help.

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

That sounds more like a salt dip method that I used to hear about for parasites, but I haven't heard anyone doing that for at least 10 years. The heat and salt ich cure typically involves raising the temperature in the tank to 84-85 degrees, adding 1 Tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons, and maintaining that for 2 weeks. One of the problems with ich is that it has a complex life cycle and treating the entire tank is essential to prevent re-infection.

There have been a couple of good responses in the other thread where we were talking about this situation. I enlisted the help of a couple of people that I have great respect for and they came through yet again.

I was leaning towards either injury or a bacterial infection, and Lotus and Purple seem to be heading that way, too. This post reinforces that idea. I think what is going on is that the original fairly large flat white spots were the result of an injury that could have happened anywhere, including when they were netted at the store (that's not uncommon). The whitish coloration could have been signs of a bacterial infection starting, but injuries often just look like white areas because the scales that contain the pigments are damaged or missing. I think the white protrusion you see coming from the original spots is the first sign of a secondary fungal infection. This is also quite common.

There are several products available that tackle both bacterial and fungal infections. I have heard good things about Junle Labs Fungus Clear. Others probably have better first-hand knowledge than I. Don't hesitate to PM me (or others) if we can be of further assistance.

 

[FishWhisperer]

Thanks for your helpful information. I am sad to report that the fish did not make it. The final look was that his tail fin was about to fall off. The tail had two tears in front on both the top and bottome of the fish. (I wish I could explain it better.) It must have been some kind of fungus. I guess I wasn't soon enough other than the wrong treatment. Thanks for all you help.

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

Sorry to hear about that. It is often hard to accurately diagnose what is wrong with fish before it is too late to do much for them. Keep an eye out for anything amiss with the other guys. I have a hunch this could very well be isolated to just this single occurance, but I have been wrong before and probably will be again.

 

[Purple]

Torn fins that seem to be "dissolving" indicate a fungal infection - though to confuse matters further, fin rot is often reffered to as a bacterial condition. This is where the combi-meds come into play.

There are many people who regard meds as a last resort - and equal numbers who med at the least sign of trouble. Personally I fall somewhere in the middle, and in this case (having lost a fish) I would probably med the tank anyway.

Salt baths such as the type you tried are a good way to treat individual fish suffering from external parasites. And yes - Ich is an external parasite - unfortunately it is more vulnerable in its free floating stage, and when it's on a fish it protects itself quite well - so the salt bath wouldn't have worked much even if it was ich. Also - once the fish goes back into the tank, the Ich in the tank would have claimed the fish once more. Don't discount salt baths as a treatment - they work well - but only for the right things - large visible external parasites such as anchor worm and gill flukes etc.

With Ich (which this wasn't but for future ref...) add salt to the whole tank (I forget the ratio, but can look that up on the net) and up the temp to 82 - 84 for over a week - (or simply use an Ich med)

Water conditions are not always associated with fin rot - but are often a contributory facor - so tighten up on your water changes and cleaning rituals as a precaution against further outbreaks - even if you do med the tank (the jungle labs med mentioned has a good rep for this sort of thing)

 

[FishWhisperer]

Thanks for all your helpful information TurbineSurgeon. If I can print your comments, I will do that for reference. Appreciate it.

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

If you only remember one thing, it should be this:

I have been wrong before and probably will be again.