Is this Ich?

Hello, we have had our fish tank for a couple of months now and have noticed today that this neon tetra has white spots. Could this be Ich? If so, how could it have happened as we haven't introduced anything new to the tank in over a month? It also seems to just be this one tetra as we haven't noticed any spots on the others yet. Would it be best to quarantine this tetra somehow or is it already too late for the others?

Yes that is ich. And it is obviously present in the tank so quarantine is useless (it always is with ich, or velvet, or similar spreadable diseases).

Treatment is easy, and effective when caught early. Raise the tank temperature to 86F (30 C); adjust the heater but also a water change or two with warmer water each time is OK. I always do a major water change when I start treatments, so here I would increase the water temperature several degrees and then rely on the heater to complete the task. Maintain the higher temp for two weeks; one may be sufficient, but ich can be stubborn and just one parasite getting through will reinfest all the tank and fish, so two weeks is best. Then simply lower the heater temp setting and allow the tank to cool back to its regular temperature (which for neons should not be above 76-77F (24-25C). I don't know what other species you have, but most are OK with the higher temperature for this brief a period.

The heat should be sufficient, but if this doesn't seem to work aquarium salt can be used; it is much safer than any so-called ich medication for most all fish.

Ich is now believed to be present in many of our aquariums. Fish are able to resist it if they are in good health and not stressed. It is stress that causes ich to become problematic, always. Newly acquired fish frequently carry it as they are under sometimes severe stress in the store tank, not to mention being chased around with a net and bagged and introduced to a totally new environment. Even if you do not see it, it may be in the aquarium but as I said it is stress that causes the fish to succumb. Flashing is frequently the first sign as ich attacks fish in the gills first; if it is successfully fought off, that is as far as it will go. I have seen this with many new fish in the quarantine tank.

Thank you for your swift response Byron. We only have red cherry shrimp and neons in this tank as we have been building at a slow pace. Our only concern is that we thought RCS don't like anything above 80F and being as shrimp are quite fragile, we don't want to stress them out too much. Do you think 80F would be enough for the two week duration?

ShrimpNfish said:

Thank you for your swift response Byron. We only have red cherry shrimp and neons in this tank as we have been building at a slow pace. Our only concern is that we thought RCS don't like anything above 80F and being as shrimp are quite fragile, we don't want to stress them out too much. Do you think 80F would be enough for the two week duration?

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No, 80F will certainly not kill ich, it has to be 86F or higher. The neons will be OK for two weeks, but increase surface disturbance from the filter to ensure good oxygen/CO2 exchange as warmer water holds less oxygen. The heat will stress them a bit, but this is one of those cases where the benefit outweighs the detriment. And heat is certainly much safer than any medications to which all characins (tetras, pencilfish, hatchetfish) are highly sensitive.

Re the shrimp, I will leave that for members with more experience with shrimp. Perhaps remove the shrimp? I suppose salt with less heat might work, but I would prefer not stressing the neons even more as salt will do this. No idea about shrimp and salt.

In summer my tank with RCS stayed at 30C for several weeks with no problems. I believe these are unable to tolerate salt but raising the temp should be enough for the ich.