Mbu Puffer And Clown Loach

[mbu man]

Got a Mbu puffer. Had for a good few months now (about 4 inches long from head to end of tail, still a baby!! ahhhhh) and all has been going well. Also got two clown loach which have grown considerably and doing well as well as other fish.

All tank tests are normal, do regular water changes etc but for some strange reason some fish have developed white spot! one clown loach has got it and the other has not? The puffer has also got white spot (not bad just a few spots), he is eating well still and looks ok.

Got a UV, internal & external filter.

Does anyone have any good suggestions to get rid of it without putting chemicals in the tank (which i am not fond of doing unless absolutely necessary).

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Fella]

Ok, a few questions


tank size?
Current tankmates?
Last time the tube in the UV steriliser was replaced?
Last additions to the tank?
exact parameters?

it seems very odd that you should have white spot contaminating throughout your tank when you have a UV steriliser?

 

[mbu man]

Ok, a few questions


tank size?
Current tankmates?
Last time the tube in the UV steriliser was replaced?
Last additions to the tank?
exact parameters?

it seems very odd that you should have white spot contaminating throughout your tank when you have a UV steriliser?

5ft, 300 litres. neons,plecs,ruby shark. uv only 2 months old. black ghost knife fish,that hasnt got spot got 2 weeks ago. parameters r spot on

 

[Fella]

Ok, a few questions


tank size?
Current tankmates?
Last time the tube in the UV steriliser was replaced?
Last additions to the tank?
exact parameters?

it seems very odd that you should have white spot contaminating throughout your tank when you have a UV steriliser?

5ft, 300 litres. neons,plecs,ruby shark. uv only 2 months old. black ghost knife fish,that hasnt got spot got 2 weeks ago. parameters r spot on

300 litres isn't much big enough for an Mbu's full lifespan, the puffer list recommends 1000 gallons for these fish which reach 2 feet in length, but IMHO (which of course is an opinion and not fact) 300 gallons is more appropriate.

What are the exact parameters? You say water is spot on, what are the precise readings? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH.

I've added fish before to a tank with a puffer in, and the puffer contracted whitespot, yet the added fish were immune. This seems to me what has happened here, the fish added seem immune to the outbreak, but the puffer is ill.

Is the UV steriliser brand new? It does seem very weird that the fish should be contracting white spot when you have means in place to prevent the parasite. Is it definitely installed correctly? It of course isn't impossible for the fish to contract whitespot, a UV steriliser will only affect the water that passes through it.

 

[mbu man]

Ok, a few questions


tank size?
Current tankmates?
Last time the tube in the UV steriliser was replaced?
Last additions to the tank?
exact parameters?

it seems very odd that you should have white spot contaminating throughout your tank when you have a UV steriliser?

5ft, 300 litres. neons,plecs,ruby shark. uv only 2 months old. black ghost knife fish,that hasnt got spot got 2 weeks ago. parameters r spot on

300 litres isn't much big enough for an Mbu's full lifespan, the puffer list recommends 1000 gallons for these fish which reach 2 feet in length, but IMHO (which of course is an opinion and not fact) 300 gallons is more appropriate.

What are the exact parameters? You say water is spot on, what are the precise readings? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH.

I've added fish before to a tank with a puffer in, and the puffer contracted whitespot, yet the added fish were immune. This seems to me what has happened here, the fish added seem immune to the outbreak, but the puffer is ill.

Is the UV steriliser brand new? It does seem very weird that the fish should be contracting white spot when you have means in place to prevent the parasite. Is it definitely installed correctly? It of course isn't impossible for the fish to contract whitespot, a UV steriliser will only affect the water that passes through it.

nitrate omgl, nitrite 0mgl ammonia o.1-0.4 inbetween both, but the temp in tank is 27.4 at the mo.

 

[SirMinion]

Now there's a quandry. The puffer cannot tollerate a full dose of whitespot meds but would respond well to tonic salt, but the loaches who respond well to meds cannot tollerate salt very well.

Do you have a hospital tank?

 

[Fella]

If there is ammonia in the tank, then the water parameters aren't fine, you are either cycling the tank, or are having an ammonia spike, or a mini cycle. How long has the tank been setup? The fish will be more susceptible to illness because of the ammonia in the water.

If you take a look in the FAQ topics about cycling it would be a great way to get these fish back on the road to recovery, the fish can only be as healthy as their water in my experience.