14 replies to this topic

[Donna]

Hi everyone, especially Oliver,

The unthinkable has happened and Mrs Krib has white spot. I am not surprised because I have not been monitoring my fish so well with my dad on life support etc etc but have not missed a water change or anything like that.

Anyway, I have never had white spot before, so this is what I have done

Day One: Immediate 50% water change, Triple Sulfa at recommended dose for 40 litres, tried to feed

Day two: added salt, but stuffed up the dose, used teaspoons instead of tablespoons, lights off, lots of reading, tried to feed again

Day three: Treated again with Triple Sulfa in the morning and temp up to 30C although the temp gauge is showing 28C, I have set the heater to 30C

50 percent water change in the afternoon then Salt into the 40 litre tank at the suggested rate this time (all plants out)

Aeration up

Tomorrow will be Day Four can I go for it and treat with Triple Sulfa again? Or can I even go for it tonight:

She looks terrible, he is not so bad and I have kept him in the tank, I have no choice as I am out of room anyway, and I am scared to spread the infection to any other tank. She was just hanging near the bottom, but is now swimming around a bit but near the top (not normal for her) so I am really worried.

Also, they haven't eaten properly for about 4 days? Should I force the issue or just not feed for now. I am getting desperate as I am really worried and don't want to lose these fish. They are the first fish I ever had. They had lovely, healthy fry and were so fun to watch.

Is there anything I can do to increase her chances? Is the swimming around a good sign or bad? She is upright and stable, however she has the beginnings of a little sore on one of her sides, it is not open, but you can see it is compromised and may open.
Is there a last ditch effort I can launch? Or is she on track for recovery? Should I take Mr Krib out? I can get Ben to baby sit him, or can he just sit out this aggressive treatment, or is the treatment aggressive enough?

I have some fin rot medication that I bought once, just in case. i think it contains formalin and malachite should I try that?

Thanks a lot,

Donna

[Sazabi]

Triple sulfa should do the trick, but just need to follow the directions given on the bottle

EDITED*

Hope everything works out for you, seems like this have not been your week

[STEVEGREEN]

hope all goes well Donna , my fingers are crossed for you

have you thought about the cause , or are you too busy worrying about the cure?

you seem to fuss over your fish and have a few issues , have you got small kids who may be doing the unthinkable , have you had your tap water tested , did you buy your tank new , how old are your plants and did you clean them ?

are you sure there isnt another reason for these problems??

let us know how you go.

cheers
Steve Green

[Donna]

Hi Steve,

I am almost certain the disease came in with new plants. I noticed that the LFS had added mollies etc to their plant aquarium. I bought over sixty dollars worth of plants and just really didn't think about it and put them in the aquarium in the pots to start with because I didn't have time to plant them immediately because I had to go to the hospital everyday which is a 90k round trip for me in Rocko.

It wasn't til Mrs Krib got sick that I thought about it. I usually wash plants that I get, shake off all the gravel and let them soak in chlorinated water before planting them. I don't know what I was thinking????

You are right, I do fuss, but I have dropped the ball a little lately due to illness in the family.

I am really devasted. I know people think Kribs are the rabbits of the aquarium world, but I really admire my kribs and have done nothing but try and make the best conditions for them. I am just a couple of days short of setting up a four foot tank just for them with a couple of synodontis and some great plants. With dad sick as well, I am sort of referring to the fish if you know what I mean.

Thanks for your reply.

Regards,

Donna

[Donna]

Hi everyone especially Oliver,

Still no comment from anyone on the treatment I am giving.

Temp 30C, heater has finally risen to the occasion (24 hours so far at this temp)

Salt at prescribed dose for 40 litre tank after a 50% water change

Triple Sulfa I have used it at the prescribed dose now for three days in a row

I have been tempted, very tempted to use the acriflavine 2.0mg/ml and malachite 0.4mg/ml medication that I have but have resisted this as I am not sure if it will harm the filter and I can't risk adding insult to injury.

I would really appreciate any comments regarding the use of the acriflavine and malachite in conjunction with what I am already doing.

Thanks,

Donna

[Mudjimba]

G'day Donna,

sorry can't help much with chemicals, havn't had much to do with them, except with work

I believe your temp and salt treatment with water changes is the way to go for whitespot. Increased oxygen maybe required. This should sort out the whitespot,if you end up with further problems, then maybe the meds, and Oliver are required.

The triple sulpha will definately help, but it, and the others can be scary stuff.

If you do a search on here you'll find many discussions re: whitespot (just for some light reading and future reference).

sorry can't help more

cheers
Mudjimba

[dazzabozza]

Hi Donna

Not much else I can suggest on top of your current treatment regime. With the raised temp make sure you increase your aeration. No need to feed the fish as they should be ok fasting for a week or two and the uneaten food make encourage bad bacteria to recolonise quicker.

Levamisole ( http://www.perthcich...showtopic=12291 ) also worthwhile considering as well as Aquotix's Spot Stop.


Daz

[Donna]

Thanks guys,

I have looked at Mrs Krib today of course, several hundred times, and although very spotty she is looking better. I have dosed as I said with triple sulfa everyday but today without a waterchange first. Her skin has not broken out into ulcers or anything, probably due to the triple sulfa.

Temp is holding at 30C and salt is unchanged due to not changing any water today.

I have held off on the melachite and acriflavine unless someone advises me otherwise.

I have read all the comments on this website and 2.1 million others. I have never had or seen white spot before other than in pics.

I have some questions like...

How long to keep the temp up for?
Am I supposed to treat with the triple sulfa everyday? (or can I?)
Should I add the malachite and acriflavine?

Should I just sit it out now?

I will read everything again.

Still would appreciate as many comments as possible. I understand its a bit like when the kids get nits (lice) no one wants to admit they have had it or seen it before! I feel it came in with a big pile of plants I bought, but I will never know.

Anyway, any comment on my treatment or additions would be very welcome.

thanks,

Donna

[Mudjimba]

G'day Donna,

Tri sulpha I've used is dosed at 1 tablet/ 40 litres predissolved, then 'repeat treatment in 3 days IF necessary.'
Severe cases 1 tab/20 litres ....etc . Used it years ago whilst breeding bettas to assist healing of injuries, better dispose of it, only expired in 2001.


cheers

[Gavin]

Salt and some meds will be harmful to your plants and even if you are not worried about them they may start to rot and ruin your water quality. I have only had to deal with FW whitespot once (with loaches) and just increasing the temp seemed to sort it out. From what I read most strains can't survive in temperatures that high. Ideally you would continue it for 4 weeks after you see the white spot disappear to be sure you have killed all the stages of development.

[Mr_docfish]

Hi Donna, sorry I have not replied earlier - too much work and not enough sleep... waiting to get a bout of mouth fungus on myself considering the amount of stress I've put myself under lately... but my treatment for that is copious amounts of alcohol

in your case, you have done everything right to date, and the advice from others is all 'spot on'.

Increased temp is ideal (my favourite is 31-32C, but this will vary according to your thermometers, they are all out by at least one degree either way, but it is neither here nor there unless you have touchy fish/plants that cant handle these temps)
Tri/Triple sulpha is great because it can control the white spot and the secondary bacterial infections.... BUT do not overdose, it can knock back the filter bacteria and make things worse (so dont feed for now as advised just in case) and redose the sulpha every 2 days at that temp after a 30% water change.
Considering that these two methods combined will do the trick (it will take about 7 days, and spots might get better then get worse again before it goes away, so be patient) I would not add anything else to the tank for now. Adding dyes like malachite green would not be good if you are using sulpha, the stained filter media will discourage the regrowth of bacteria. If it were a 'fish tank only' and no plants, like in a quarantine tank, then the malachite green/acriflavine products are great on their own or in conjunction with increased temp. They can be left like that with one dose for 7-10 days and the white spot will be gone.

BTW. salt at 1g per 1-2liters is good with any white spot treatment, though some plants cant handle that level for too long... mind you, there are still quite a few that can.

Im sure in a weeks time it will all be over, as long as there are no secondary bacterial infections, just keep up with what you are doing if that is the case.



Oliver

[Donna]

Hi Oliver and everyone,

Thanks for the replies

I am partial to a touch of alcohol myself

So, I have actually overdosed with the sulfa today because I did a treatment yesterday....

I will do a 30% water change and then treat again in two days.

I guess the important thing to do is not panic.

Thanks again, I'm going for a water change and a couple of glasses of wine


Regards,

Donna

[Mr_docfish]

.....So, I have actually overdosed with the sulfa today because I did a treatment yesterday....

I will do a 30% water change and then treat again in two days.

I guess the important thing to do is not panic.

Thanks again, I'm going for a water change and a couple of glasses of wine


Regards,

Donna

Don't worry about the water change, the dosage I mentioned is only speculative, I do not know how long the sulpha remains active in the water at those temperatures... if the packet says redose every 3 days, then at higher temps, I would assume that it would break down faster. An anyway, it will remain in the fishes body for some time, so daily is not necessary.

[Donna]

Hi Everyone,

Update. Mrs Krib still alive. Her eyes look a bit clearer. She is still very spotty, still no ulcers. I am not daring to hope yet, but for the benefit of others like me who may be reading this down the track, the abovementioned treatment appears to be working or at the very least, preventing mortality (for now).

I will keep people updated. I have hit the tri sulfa fairly hard in the last two days.

Hardest part is, Mr Krib is alive, and disease free in the tank. He is hungry and suffering a little from the elevated temp, but I dare not move him. He has also "chased" poor Mrs Krib on occasion when I have been checking the temp (lights on). So I have gone to lights out and blanket around the tank so he won't stress her.

So only treatment in a 40 litre tank with all plants removed and eco complete substrate:

30% Water change adding water at the same temp using a conditioner everday or every other day
Tri sulfa (dosed a little more than recommended see above)
Salt at prescribed rate (rounded tablespoon per 20 litres)
Heat treatment tank is hovering between 28C and 30C
Increased surface agitation (one airstone, two filters with the duck beak outlet just above the surface like a waterfall)
Lights out for a lot of the day

I hope no one ever has to endure this, but this might help.

Thanks to everyone who has helped,

Regards,

Donna

[Donna]

Hi Everyone,

Update on the white spot. All fish are fine and have been finally removed from their temporary housing in small emergency tanks and are now in a big 4 foot with lots of caves, plants and air. I have kept the temp high and added salt just in case.

Tank has

Mr and Mrs Krib
Two of their sons (different spawnings still juveniles) both trying to get it on with Mrs Krib
One firemouth
6 tetra

All good at last.

Ahhhh, smell the serenity.

Thanks again to all those who helped and gave support while I totally panicked. there is definitely life after white spot.

Regards,

Donna