Using white spot treatment with filter

Hi there,

I have a 3 week old 180L tank with 18 small fish. I have noticed my 5 black neon tetras have got white spot. I bought some Interpet Anti white spot treatment and on the bottle it says “Remove all carbon and Zeolite filter media, rocks and decor from the aquarium.”

Does this really mean I need to remove my entire rock display, any plastic plants? And my decor? I haven’t seen this being done in videos I’ve seen so I’m just wondering whether it’s totally necessary.

Also I am not sure if my Aqua One Aquis 750 filter has any Carbon or Zeolite filter media. Is there anything I need to remove from my filter before treating?

Thanks in advance for any help!

@Colin_T?

The reason they advise to remove carbon and zeolite is because they can absorb the medication and remove it from the water, thus rendering it a waste of money for you. It looks like you have a canister filter, you will know if you have zeolite or carbon if you have any media that is contained in mesh bags that is like a powder or sand. Carbon is usually black and can also be in small pellets. I believe zeolite is a lighter color and is also a hard sand-like material, but may also be in pellets (not sure about that). Don't confuse that with any ceramic media you may have, which are usually cylider shaped or star shaped and bigger.

Regarding the decorations, there may be two reasons that the manufacturer recommends removing them: 1) it is possible that they may get discolored if they absorb or chemically react with the medication. 2) if you remove all the decorations from your tank, your water level will decrease, and when you top off your tank back to the maximum water level, the volume inside the tank will be closer to the "advertised volume" of the tank, making the dosing you apply to the water more reliable.

Is white spot disease the same as ich? Ich can also be treated with salt and a water temperature increase, let me see if I can find the instructions on that for you.

This may also be a helpful thread to read up on: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-ich.7092/

The best treatment for whitespot is heat. This much safer for fish than the harsh chemicals in whitespot medication.
Thoroughly clean the tank, including the bottom, to remove as many 'cysts' as possible, and refil the tank with water warmer than usual. Turn the heater up to get the water temperature to 30 deg C. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature not the setting on the heater as they can be inaccurate. Leave the temperature there for two weeks, then turn the heater back down and let the temperature drop slowly.
Did you cycle the tank with ammonia before getting the fish? if you didn't, you are doing a fish-in cycle. You don't have many fish for the size of the tank, but you still need to test for ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change whenever either read above zero. Make sure the new water is heated to 30 deg C so the tank temp doesn't fall.
Your filter shouldn't have zeolite - that's found mainly in small filters and it's purpose is to remove ammonia. The instructions don't say whether the black sponge is impregnated with carbon, but the fact they don't say to change it every month suggests it is not a carbon sponge.
If you still want to use the medication, you do need to also check for ammonia and nitrite. On days when you need to do a water change because one or both are above zero, you'll need to add more medication. If it's day when you are supposed to add the med, do the water change, then add the dose. If it's a day when the med isn't dosed, after the water change add enough med to treat the amount of new water only to replace the med you've just taken out. Make sure you complete the treatment even though the spots have gone or the whitespot will come back.



Whitespot is a protozoan parasite with a three stage lifecycle.
Stage 1 is when it is attached to the fish and we see it as the spots. It feeds on the fishes' tissues. When it has fed enough it falls off the fish.
Stage 2 is where the parasite remains inside a sort of cyst on the bottom of the tank and divides and divides to make hundreds of new baby parasites.
Stage 3 is where the cyst opens and all those baby parasites go swimming off looking for a fish to infect.

The parasite can only be killed in stage 3, either by heat or medication. If even one cyst is left after the heat is turned down or the med is finished, the tank will be re-infected. This is why the temp must be raised for 2 weeks, or the med instructions folowed to the letter.

here are the instructions for salt, this particular post is for a different fish ailment, but it contains the salt instructions. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/sick-corys.466258/page-2#post-3990317

Hi and welcome to the forum

DanFable said:

I have a 3 week old 180L tank with 18 small fish. I have noticed my 5 black neon tetras have got white spot. I bought some Interpet Anti white spot treatment and on the bottle it says “Remove all carbon and Zeolite filter media, rocks and decor from the aquarium.”

Does this really mean I need to remove my entire rock display, any plastic plants? And my decor? I haven’t seen this being done in videos I’ve seen so I’m just wondering whether it’s totally necessary.

Click to expand...

Essjay covered it pretty well.

Don't use chemicals unless you have to because they harm the fish as well as the disease organisms.

The best treatment for white spot is raising the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keeping it there for 2 weeks. No chemicals needed and you don't have to remove anything from the tank. The warmer water will also help the tank cycle faster.

Just do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Increase aeration and let the heat do the work.

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The reason you remove big rocks, driftwood and other ornaments is to get an accurate measurement of the tank volume (how much water is in the tank). The following information can be used to work out how much water is in the tank.

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To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these so you get a more accurate water volume.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.