5 replies to this topic

[Meghan]

Hello everyone,
I just noticed that one of the fish in my 6x2x2 tank has white spot. I've just read the white spot pinned article here and I had a question about the suggested medications:
When talking about the first suggested treatment, Tri Sulphate, the post doesn't say to half the dosage if you have loaches or other scaleless fish, but the second suggested treatment does make a note of this.

So I just wanted to check, if I go with Tri Sulphate, should I use half of the recommended dosage? I have 3 Clown loaches and 4 Synodontis Polli in the tank.

Also, I can only visibly see the parasite on one fish. I know I should dose the whole tank anyway, but is there any benefit in taking that one fish out and putting him in a hospital tank?

And can anyone tell me how long it usually takes for white spot to go away? I was just thinking today about how lucky I'd been with diseases... Aww.

Thanks very much!
Meghan

[Jaraqui]

Hi Meghan. I would refrain from using any medication as it will add unnecessary stress to the fish and could possibly lead to deaths. Simply increase the temperature to 30°C+, which will be fatal to the parasite. The trophozoites you already see on the fish will fall off and develop into tomonts. This free swimming stage of the parasites life is where it adheres to various ornaments and fish. The heat will kill the free swimming parasites before they can undergo binary fission. The entire life cycle of the parasite is heat dependant, allowing the fish to recover more quickly due to the increased temperature.

[Meghan]

Thanks very much for the advice!
How quickly do you normally raise the water temperature? Over a few hours, or days?
Would you stay away from aquarium salt as well?

Thanks again!

[Jaraqui]

You're welcome. The time it should take for your heater to raise the temperature should be ample. In regards to salt - Clown Loaches come primarily from high flowing freshwater rivers, therefore the addition of salt wouldn't be recommended, albeit benefitial against Ich. You should continue the treatment for 2 weeks, to accurately ascertain whether the parasite has been completely eradicated.

[Barf]

I agree, after the couple weeks just gradually take it back to your normal running temp (say 1° a day)(at least thats what I do)

[Meghan]

Should I still do water changes every three days or so if I'm just raising the temperature to 30C?

Thanks so much for your advice guys! I really appreciate it.