Bleeming hell - Whitespot!

My new little fishies (Neolebias philippei) that I've had for a week and a half have little white spots on them. h: This is the first time in the nearly 2 years I've been keeping fish that I've had white spot.

So far, I have dosed with metro (7mg/l). I am reluctant to turn up the heat because there isn't much info on these fish and I don't know if they can handle temps as high as 30'C? I read a post from the Prof where he said it isn't necessary to increase the temp, just dosing with metro is fine. They are in my planted tank so I have stopped ferts and CO2 for no other reason than it seems best.

So now we wait...

 

Hey @Jenn. I know cutting the lights and feeding for this period also helps. Good luck. I had White spot 3 weeks back. Luckily I got rid of it quick.

 

What method did you use?

 

I switched off my lights, upped the temp to 30deg. After 4 days I started using the lights again. Started feeding the fish small amounts. After the spots where no longer visible I kept the temp at 30 for another week. Apparently the parasite or whatever it actually is can't live in that temp for long and dies off eventually. I used ani fungus and parasite treatment.

 

Hope they get better soon!

 

@Jenn Does it discolour your water ?

 

I agree with Slomo method. It appears the white spot can't survive in high temps...

Good luck, i hope they make it

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Metro is metronidazole - it's an anti-protozoal. It's a white tablet that you crush and it dissolves in the water. Doesn't discolour the water at all. It's slightly cloudy for a few minutes.

 

@Jenn Thanks , I am always scared that the medication will discoloured the tank silicone.
All the best of luck with your fish.:bigsmile:

 

Fs wc is like a cold, I don't get why anyone would use metro to treat it ??

 

Hi @Jenn. I can recommend the heat route if your fish can take it. I added no meds but I did add a little salt. Probably didn't need it. I have had my tank at 32degrees for the last two weeks and all clear for a week. I am dropping the temperature tomorrow evening. HTH

 

@Jenn
if you do decide to up the temp,do it slowly to 30-32degrees.
Add an extra airstone or 2,because at high temp there is less oxygen!
I added 1gram of salt per liter to my tank aswell when white spot appear! !dont know if your fish can handle the salt,but you will be surprised to see how high you temp can go before it bothers fish!
Hope you removed your carbon while treating with meds!
Lights makes metro less active,so switch ligts off!
The higher the temp,the quicker the white spots cycle will go!
Hope your fish makes it!

 

Separate plecos and catfish into a quarantine tank (any scaleless fish) the treatment for them is half the dose. Turn temp up to 30, add airstones, remove carbon from filter before treating.

Also, i removed plastic plants and as many ornaments as possible. the treatments residue is apparently toxic to plecos and catfish.

its important to remember that you are not treating the fish themselves, you are treating the water and waiting for the cycle to complete. Basically, the treatment kills the disease when it detaches from the fish and sits on the floor of the tank.

Increasing the temp speeds up the cycle.

Try to identify what triggered the outbreak and prevent it from happening again. most common is a severe drop in temp. Mine happened due to my 18 month old switching off the Heater.

Hope this makes sense.

 

@Jenn i agree with most of what is said here, but i would urge that you turn the temperature up to 32deg and keep it there for 10-14 days. its at this temperature that the parasite cannot survive. anything lower than that just speeds up the life cycle of the parasite, making the problem worse. the Neolebias philippei originate from the Congo i think (???), which lies very close to the equator, so i am pretty sure they will be able to hande temperature like 32 deg and possibly even higher, especially for a short period of time like 2 weeks.

your plants might suffer a little, but they will recover.

and as the others have said, increase oxygenation of the tank with airstones or adding a venturi to your powerheads, etc

@MarcHawke has just had great success using this method very recently.

 

My fish are getting worse, despite the treatment. I am feeling quite desparate because if things carry on like this they won't make it. I am filling out the disease questionnaire. If anybody can give me any help to save these fish, I will be very grateful.

General
Where do you stay? Kensington, Jhb
How long have you been keeping tropical fishes? Since Jan, 2011
How long has the tank been running before you added fish/this fish? Tank was planted on the 9th Aug. Filter had been running on another tank for a week to seed it
What fish do you have in your Tank (type, number and size)? Had 10 Neolebias philippei, 6 Otos
When did you last buy any new fish? Bought these fish on the 25th Aug
Which food are you feeding and how often do you feed? Dirk's granules - no 2. Feed 3-4 times per day


Disease
Describe the problem that the fish is having (behaviour, breathing, excretion (droppings), food intake, colour)? White spot on all the Neolebias. Otos aren't showing any symptoms.
Is the fish eating? All the fish were eating well and very interested in food until Sunday (9th Sep)
Has the problem occurred before?: No
Have you treated the problem and how? I first saw a few spots on the Neolebias on Tues 4th Sep. A couple of days before this, one of the Neolebias died with no apparent symptoms. I don't know if this one had white spot? As soon as I saw it was white spot I immediately added 1 400mg crushed metronidazole tablet to the tank, i.e., 60l tank, less a bit for substrate, etc.; at a dosage of 7mg/l = around 400 mg. I also increased the temp to 29/30 deg C. 3 days later (7th Sep) I did a 50% water change and added the second dose. 3 days later (10 Sep), I did another 50% water change and, seeing they were getting worse, I added a 3rd dose. Yesterday (11th) 2 more fish died. All the fish are worse.
Have you had any other problems in the past? No
What were they? N/A
Did you treat for these problems? N/A
How? N/A

Your aquarium & Maintenance
How big is the tank. (L x b x h)? 60 * 30 * 36
How many litres of water? 55-60l
What type of filter do you run? Tetra ex 600
What is IN the filter? Sponge, Filter wool, bio balls, ceramic rings
How many litres per hour is the filter rated for? 600
How often do you clean your tank? Once a week
How do you clean your tank? 50% water change
How much water do you take out for Water change? 50%
Do you prepare your water for water changes? How and what do you add? We use water from our natural pool (originally from tap). The natural pool is circulated through large gravel bio-filter which is heavily planted. Pool is 90000L.
What water do you use. (Tap, bore hole, RO)? See prev.
What substrate do you have? ADA aquasoil and some PFS
What else is in the tank (Rocks, plants, fake plants, shells, anything else)? Lots of plants, wood

Water parameters in your aquarium
Describe the water (smell and colour)? Smell and colour is normal
Temperature of the water? Usually 25, increased to 29/30 as part of treatment
General hardness (GH)? 8
Carbonate hardness (KH)? 3-6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite (No2-)? 0
Nitrate (No3-)? <10
pH? 6.8/7
How did you test these? Have you checked the expiry date on the test kits? ph - Nutrafin drop test, Ammonia - sera drop test, rest - test strips. All still before expiry date.

 

your temp is to low.at least 31 up to 32 degrees.airate more.do not change the water!and add at least 1gram of salt per liter!

 

29 degrees will do nothing to the whitespot!your fish has been with the problem for a while,and you lost a couple already,put you temp on 32.im sure if you did this when it started,your problem would have been something of the past!

 

@Jenn i believe one of the critical things here is that your temperature needs to be minimum 32deg, raising the temperature to anything below that jsut means you are speeding up the life cycle of the parasite, which means the problem gets worse, quicker. the parasite cannot survive at temperatures of 32deg and above.

 

+1

 

@Jenn - How are your fish doing?