Is it Ich, or something else?

[namukoby]

I'm sorry for asking more ich questions. I'm new at this, and none of the threads I've searched have helped.

One of our cardinal tetras has a few white spots on it, as well as something that looks like a white mold, or fuzz. The spots could look like grains of salt, but they are smaller - I think, and there are only a few on it's head, sides and tail. I noticed the spots last thursday as I was feeding the fish just before we left for a week long vacation. When we came home today, nothing had changed. The cardinal still has the spots, but no one else does. It has no curved spine, and it is not flashing.

The cardinals were "refugees" from a friend who had them for at least 2 years before we got them the end of May. The tank has been set up, with fish, for just over 6 months. It was cycled properly, and today the ammonia and nitrites are at 0, and nitrates are somewhere between 5 and 10. I just added another upside-down catfish and a snail on August 9 - other than that, nothing has changed since May, when the cardinals and angels were added.

I was planning on increasing the temp and adding salt, but I'm not sure I want to do it unless it is necessary. Plus, that is going to take a lot of salt.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lotus]

Don't increase the temp, and I wouldn't recommend salt unless it's ich. If it's fungal or bacterial, the higher temp will only make the bacteria or fungus grow.

I would recommend treating the tetra outside the main tank with Melafix and Pimafix, and see how it goes. Cardinals are pretty sensitive to stronger meds, so I wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary.

 

[namukoby]

Thanks,Lotus.

I removed the cardinal - my they are fast! It is just in a big jar, though, cuz I'm still looking for a used Q-tank.

I started treating it with PimaFix - the "L"FS (60+ miles away) always seems to be out of Melafix when I'm there.

Will the Pimafix work on ich too? Now that the cardinal is out of the tank, it looks more like pictures I've seen of ich. Should I treat the big tank, or just wait and see if any more fish get spots?

 

[Iggy]

If it's Ick, you need to treat the whole tank. If it's fungal/bacterial, using the QT tank is a better option.

I would be very leary of keeping your cardinal in a big jar if it's not heated and has no filter. Cardinals need clean water, with lots of O2 - so add an airstone for now.

 

[namukoby]

I would be very leary of keeping your cardinal in a big jar if it's not heated and has no filter. Cardinals need clean water, with lots of O2 - so add an airstone for now.

I know, but I'd rather lose one old fish than 35! There is an airstone in it, and I made a coat hanger into a hook to hang the jar in the tank to keep it close to the same temp as the tank. It's not the best, but are there any other options?

 

[Iggy]

Coat hanger to hold the QT jar in the main tank.... nice idea! Very ingenious of you!

I would keep the airstone running, and do a water change every day to keep the water cleaner - but depends on the medicine your using.

I use Jungle Brand Anti-Fungus when I see cottony growths. Its a yellow crystal and does a good job of both removing the fungus and anti-biotic to prevent re-infection.

 

[svetlana]

This Jungle stuff is working for me very well. I had two occurences of fungus growth on 2 different black neons. Each time i took one neon out, put him in a betta bowl (usually snail rescue operation) and added 1/6 of the tablet. I incubated the fish for about 24 hr and then returned him to main tank healthy. By the look of the fish you can bet that he forgot whole ordeal in a few minutes. Actually they are not that stressed - they are sort of freezing while alone and appeared to be sleeping whole time, even hardly breathing.

 

[namukoby]

Well, the cardinal didn't make it. I found her floating on Sunday morning. I'm not sure what my next step should be, though. The cottony white stuff disappeared quickly, but she still had small white spots on her. (Maybe I got both a fungus and ich from that upside down catfish?) I don't see any spots on any other fish, but I hardly ever see the upside down catfish, except at night, and even then it is too dark to get a good look at them.

Do I wait to see if any other fish get spots, and then treat, or should I try to treat the whole tank now for ich? Also, I was planning on using salt (it's all I have, and my "lfs" is a long drive away . . .60+ miles . . .) but I have no idea if all of my fish can handle salt. I am planning on making a trip to the city in 2 weeks - then I can get some different meds, but can my fish wait that long?