41 replies to this topic

[MONSTAF1SH]

Hey guys,

My Tigerfish is scratching itself on the sand and wood (feeder barbs also scratching) the irritation seems to be close to its gills at first i suspected flukes after keeping a close eye on the fish ive noticed that the baby oscar in the tank has some small white spots on its fins.

Ive checked water parameters and they seem to be fine the oscar and tiger fish are new to the tank. I have recently done a water change
and going to start a white spot treatment.

Could i be super unlucky and have both?
Any advice?

Cheers

[Mintox]

Well, I would tackle the whitespot problem first, since it is perhaps the more deadly. If after treatment they're still scratching you could try fluke treatment. Looks like one of your new arrivals had some excess baggage.

[Tucunare]

at a guess mate id say white spot, cause fish will scratch off things with early stages of whitspot aswell, though as mentioned dont rule out flukes

[MONSTAF1SH]

Started a treatment of a Waterlife product protozin this morning, when i came back from work it looked a bit happier i'll continue the treatment over the recommended 4 days and hope the problems clear up.
Hope i dont have to start treating for flukes fingers crossed.

[benckie]

feeder barbs is the best way to get white spot and flukes into your tank imo

[MONSTAF1SH]

Yeah i'm thinking that, thought they would of been safer than gambusia.

[benckie]

a uv sterilizer would help with that !

[MONSTAF1SH]

Yeah ive read in one of these threads that youve been going on about these uv sterilizers what other benefits do they offer and how much do they start at?

[madasa]

Sorry benks but i think UVs are totally unnecessary - you, like myself, are just totally anal about water quality except that you go that bit further and use UV.

Sounds like whitespot Monsta - treat with salt and heat (heat only would suffice) and maintain treatment for two weeks to be sure its all gone. Remember increased water temp = decreased oxygen in water and allow accordingly for this.

[benckie]

Well have you ever use one Pete ? I know the answer, it's no! Have you done comparisons to tanks with white spot and tanks with white spot with a uv? I have and i wouldnt bother typing all this if i didnt think it would help. I see people use the same white spot treatment and they loose their fish and when ive used it ive lost fish, where I have used and seen seen people use my whitespot treatment and not loose any fish and it works in less then 4 days, even for bgks, catfish and loaches so i know im right and i know your not educated in uv treatment for white spot or flukes ! sorry for the strong post but i feel very strongly about this cheers shane

[benckie]

Other benefits are crystal clear water, and they kill harmfull bacteria (& white spot/flukesmany others) less cleaning of the tank and glass, no algae brown or green and as i said before ive used them on tanks and havnt had to clean the tanks for over 7 months and counting cause they stay clean as. There is a reason ive been going on about these as they work and because it saves time and money (once you buy one) it kills harmful bacteria, cleaner water, happier, healthier fish. They range from $70 to $300 you can get them from pcs sponsers (http://www.ageofaquariums.com.au) or on ebay. You can connect them to the return pipes on your canister filters or by the cheap internal power head type. I use UV's on all my large tanks with canister filters and i find the benefits are huge, but you do have to out lay hard earnt cash first but then clean tanks is the benefit and being able to treat white spot and flukes is an added bonus.

If you have your tank near natural sun light and it is heavly stocked you might get slightly green water from too much direct sunlight, a uv will help with that too. People who have taken my advice on getting a uv sterilizer cannot beleive how clean and clear their tank water and glass is when they thought it was clean and clear before the uv.

Once you have tried them you'll know what i mean ! There is even more benefits but what more do you need? Clean, happy, healthy tanks and if you happen to get white spot or flukes there is no worries with a UV.

I see so many people giving advice to people who have been unlucky and have got white spot, they say put salt in, turn up temp, do this do that and their fish die, when i say leave the temp as is and use a uv light you will not stress the fish out, you will not cause deaths due to high temps and or salt, you will not take all the oxygen out of the water. If you realy want to use a 1/4 or half dose of white spot remover and your fish will not be dieing as you watch helplessly !. IMO turning the temp up makes white spot reproduce faster so it attacks the fish harder and faster causing stress and death. I do understand white spot treatment only works in certain parts of the life cycle so thats why the bottle says turn up the temp but IME thats even worse !.

I do alot of long distance traveling with fish and i always run the risk of getting white spot but i know i have UV's to back me up so there is no stress.

My advice would be, get the slightly larger UV then recommended, for the size of your tank, casue this helps with the treatment of white spot and flukes, not just algae!

Cheers Shane

[MONSTAF1SH]

From my understanding White spot goes through three stages in its life cycle from being dormant in your substrate to free swimming through your tank to finally sticking to your fish and back around again.
Raising your temp is just to speed up its life cycle so you can kill it with either meds, salt or with the uv sterilizer, White spot can only be treated when it is in the free swimming stage.

The uv sterilizer sounds pretty interesting and beneficial in the long run think i'll look into it.

Thanks for the advice guys

[benckie]

uv imo its good for more then one cycle.

long term its good i wouldnt use it once then sell it i would leave them on for aslong as you have tanks ill post some befor and after shots with a uv befor shots will be with external canister 10x an hour filtration and after shots with 10x an hour with a 36 watt uv on a 3 foot tank and bigger tanks

[madasa]

LOL Shane - that was a strong response! But i do appreciate and acknowledge how strongly oyu feel about UV.

Thats what forums are for - people give information and the recipient makes an informed choice from that info and other research.

I have never used UV and have no problems but I am anal about my water and my tank maintenance is stringent with larger than normal water changes.

White spot is preventable with good tank hygiene.

[benckie]

sorry pete it was a bit strong i wasnt targeting you more the white spot treatment

[Fish Antics]

I have to agree with Pete in this. To me with the right care and maintenance you will not develop whitespot and a lot of the other contitions that effect your fish. UV sterilizers are an overkill in my opinion and infact mask the underlying problems.
Monstafish, you are correct in the lifecycle of the parasite that causes whitespot and understanding this gives you the means to kill it. Heat does both increase the methabolism of the fish and weakens the parasite as it does not like the warmer water.
UV sterilisers can be an effective tool in quarantining and algae control in ponds or tanks exposed to sunlight. The UV light kills every living organism both good and bad. Bulbs also need to be replaced regularly to remain effective. They also do not need to be on all the time.

As was also stated you are free to investigate all the options and make up your mind to what suits your situation best.

Good luck in what ever way you go.

Tony

[benckie]

But they are good for clean tanks are they not and uv is natural.

And it just so happens it can help with problems in tanks such as white spot.

I use them for algee i found they work well for white spot aswell i would recomend any one to used them ! for clean tanks, glass and less work maintaining and to help treat tanks if you ever happen to get white spot.

I would leave them on all the time so it stay on top of algee problem so it doesnt come and go i found even after a few days a well filtered tank does not tank long to have algee come back.

Uv light are good for healthy clean tanks and any thing that improves water condition and tank cleanliness for our fish can not be an over kill in my mind.

Uv light is natural and is a lot better for fish then harsh chemicals unnatural temperatures, salt and excess stress on the fish.

This is all in my opinion, make up your own mind, but i know which is best for my fish, thank you

cheers shane

[MONSTAF1SH]

Its been a few days now and no real improvement of my fish, still scratching the crap out of itself and no whitespots wondering if i should move to fluke treatment I'm starting to get a little worried now.

The tigerfish swims crazily around the tank and then stops in one corner sought of paddling in one spot or in front of the filter outlet its fins are not clear but cloudy there are also redness on parts of its body around the fins which could be from scratching.

When do you think its safe to move on to the next treatment? I'm fearing that i could have both Flukes and Whitespot in my tank.

:? :?:

[MONSTAF1SH]

Ok then.... no reply hmmm.

Its been i think 5 days now tiger fish is still scratching the crap out of itself mostly on one side of its gills, the oscar is looking very happy healing well from his whitespot.

I'm now going to rule out whitespot or velvet for the tigerfish. I have done a water change put in some stress coat, added salt and placed carbon into my filter, after a few days i'm going to try sterazin another waterlife product and attempt to treat my fish for flukes.

Anyone got any opinions?

[madasa]

A few days isnt really long enough.

Can you see white spots?

Are the fish gasping for air?

What do your ammonia and nitrites read as?

Do the gills move rapidly?

Dont treaqt for flukes just yet - add the salt as you said (1TBSP to 10G) and up the heat to 30 C.

If it does turn out to be gill flukes as well (pretty unlucky to get both) then remove carbon from filter when medicating.

Addit: Carbon is only really good for a few days to two weeks and should only be used for removing meds. It actually can mask poor water quality and there is talk of it actually being a cause for HITH (personally I wouldnt use it).

Pete