Guppy Help! - Is This Ich?

[Mr Bee]

I have just noticed white spots on one of my guppies, is this what people mean by Ich (or ick)??

Is this bad/deadly and how do I get rid of it??

A little extra information
Started with 7 Neons, added 3 male Guppies a week later.
One Guppy has died last week, with a swollen belly and black stripes (posted on here somewhere, maybe dropsy?)
That was end of last week, so I've been dosing rest of them with Pimafix, as I didn't want them to catch anything.

Now I notice what could be Ich or white spot (is it?)

Also, the fish is not showing any difference in behaviour, and not rubbing or scraping at all.


So what do I do now, bearing in mind there is already some Pimafix in the water, but only 5 days doses (not finished the week long dosing yet).....

Should I carry on with Pimafix, or get some white spot treatment - please recommend brands, or something else?

If using anything else, is it safe with the Pimafix thats already in the water?

Please help!!!!




Tank stats are normal : Ammonia + Nitrite zero, Nitrate ~20 - 30ppm, temp varies 22.5 - 23.5C

Its a 60L tank, and I do a weekly 25% water change.

 

[blue acara]

Yeah that is whitespot. I'd do a 50% water change then add some ich med. Ive used interpets anti white spot plus and it worked well. Turn the temp in the tank to 25-26 oC when treating. Make sure there is plenty of water surface movement-for good levels of 02.

 

[Attar]

A salt bath is often used to treat ich. You can try this first before trying any potentially harmful chemicals (ie: malachite green, formalin, copper sulfate etc.). Here is an article that might be of interest to you.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml


Good Luck!

 

[Mr Bee]

Righto, I did a 50% water change, and added some Interpet anti whitespot meds, and tweaked the temp on the heater up a bit too.

The meds bottle said to use 5ml per 50L which is the dosage I gave, but I was quite alarmed at how green its coloured the tank water - is this normal?!?!?!


It says to add another dose (same amount I assume?) on day 4 - do I count today (first dose) as Day 1 or Day zero??

 

[Mr Bee]

BUMP!

Just wanted to bump this back up.

And also ask, for those that have used Interpet anti ich before, I add second dose on day 4, then leave another 7 days...then what after that time?? - Do i do a water change? - how much; 20%, 30%, 50%?? ........And can I put carbon back in then?


Does the green colour fade, or will it only get diluted out via water changes?

Cheers....

 

[blue acara]

The meds bottle said to use 5ml per 50L which is the dosage I gave, but I was quite alarmed at how green its coloured the tank water - is this normal?!?!?!

Yes this normal, the green haze should go fairly soon. Tomorrow morning it should be much clearer.

I would count the first dose as day 1. So you need to add the 2nd on Saturday.

I'd do a 40-50% w/c 7 days after 2nd dose. Put the carbon back on that day too.

 

[rust81]

The meds bottle said to use 5ml per 50L which is the dosage I gave, but I was quite alarmed at how green its coloured the tank water - is this normal?!?!?!

Yes this normal, the green haze should go fairly soon. Tomorrow morning it should be much clearer.

I would count the first dose as day 1. So you need to add the 2nd on Saturday.

I'd do a 40-50% w/c 7 days after 2nd dose. Put the carbon back on that day too.

You need to keep on treating after the 7 days is up. If you dont then it is likely to come back - from reading other posts on here. This is because the meds will only kill the ich in certain stages of its life cycle. You should keep on treating for a further 5 -7 days AFTER you see the last white spots on the fish

 

[blue acara]

The meds bottle said to use 5ml per 50L which is the dosage I gave, but I was quite alarmed at how green its coloured the tank water - is this normal?!?!?!

Yes this normal, the green haze should go fairly soon. Tomorrow morning it should be much clearer.

I would count the first dose as day 1. So you need to add the 2nd on Saturday.

I'd do a 40-50% w/c 7 days after 2nd dose. Put the carbon back on that day too.

You need to keep on treating after the 7 days is up. If you dont then it is likely to come back - from reading other posts on here. This is because the meds will only kill the ich in certain stages of its life cycle. You should keep on treating for a further 5 -7 days AFTER you see the last white spots on the fish

The two doses that you will be adding should be enough to kill all of them- it was in my tank. Remember the med will be in the tank for 11 days, long enough to kill the ich.
The reason for upping the temperature is that their lifecycle speed is increased making sure the med has access to the parasite at its tomite stage, which is the only stage where the med is effective.

Dose as the med bottle suggests, after this time keep checking for any signs of the ich returning.

 

[Mr Bee]

Just got up and had a look, and yes the tank is a more normal colour already, and I've just spent 5 mins studying the guppy, and I'm convinced he has less spots on him, certainly none on his fins which he had last night. Is this the meds working on the body spots, or is it that they've been released from his body into the water now?


I noticed his tail looked a bit rough, as in the shape of the edge is normally a smoothish curve (see 3rd pic down in my starting post), and it looks like there's a couple of 'chunks' missing. Could this just be stress? and will it heal itself?


So, I'll dose them again on saturday then, and then do a w/c saturday after (which is 1st December). Is there anything else specifically I should be doing in the meantime to help at all.

 

[sarah86]

Just got up and had a look, and yes the tank is a more normal colour already, and I've just spent 5 mins studying the guppy, and I'm convinced he has less spots on him, certainly none on his fins which he had last night. Is this the meds working on the body spots, or is it that they've been released from his body into the water now?


I noticed his tail looked a bit rough, as in the shape of the edge is normally a smoothish curve (see 3rd pic down in my starting post), and it looks like there's a couple of 'chunks' missing. Could this just be stress? and will it heal itself?


So, I'll dose them again on saturday then, and then do a w/c saturday after (which is 1st December). Is there anything else specifically I should be doing in the meantime to help at all.

sounds like youre doing everything right to me. his fin might have been nipped which may be why its looking different, it also may be finrot either from nipping or poor water. keep an eye on it, if hes being bullied then thats probably the cause. ive nearly had a whole tail lost on a krib due to nipping then finrot but it grew back fully with treatment, hope this helps

 

[MHunt]

The biggest thing to remember with Ich is once you notice infected fish, the tank is pretty much infected too. There's no point trying to treat individual fish separately that are showing symptoms as the whole tank will still harbour the ich spores without treatment. The biggest mistake you can make with ich is to delay treatment and hope it goes away as you are only increasing the risk to your fish from a more serious infestation.