Millions of white dots......can anyone help!!??

[AngelKay]

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with my big problem. Here's my story...I have a 75 gallon freshwater tank, it has been full of fish for 5 years now, however 2 years ago I purchased some Angels and 2 mos. later my water started to look very cloudy, I tested the water & everything was fine so I got a magnifying glass & took a closer look, the cloudiness was not a haze like when you start a new tank but it was hundreds of little white dots floating around, they were not on the fish just floating in the tank. The fish did not appear to be acting differently like something was wrong. So.... for the past 2 years I have been fighting these things & I'm afraid their gonna win because now there are millions of these & the cloudiness is getting so thick because there's so many!!! One of the Angel fish will develop oval & pointy oval shaped lumps on it's body & around it's head every few days then their gone & reappear, today I noticed a different Angel is developing blood streaks in his tail fin. I have not had any fish die yet. I have taken water samples to 4 different fish stores and they were all stumped, they all said they had never seen anything like it before and each one suggested a different med. to use. Over the past two years I have tried: E.m. Tablets, Quick Cure, Melafix, Parasite Clear, Ickguard, Fungus Cure, Clout, Fluke Tabs, Aquarium Salt, Hex-A-Mit, and I'm sure a few more that I can't remember!! Each time I followed directions to a T, they would appear to go away but then they'd come right back.
Info. about my tank: 75 gallon freshwater, 2 filters: Magnum 350 canister & D.A.S. H29 Internal, 1 bubble blower, NO live plants, 1/3 partial water changes every 2-3 weeks (vaccuming gravel each time) unless using meds. then they are done between doses and after meds.
Fish in tank: 2-Plecos, 3-Angels, 2-Blue 3spot gouramis, 5-black tetras, 6-yellow tetras, 2-red eye tetras, 4-rasbora tetras, 4-striped barbs of some sort.
Test results from 2 days ago: Ammonia=0, Nitrate=10, P.H.=7.2, Temp.=82, Alkalinity=120, Hardness=150(hard),I'm not sure how to get the water softer if I need to, it's always been hard.
I can try to post pictures for anyone who is interested or up to the challenge of saving my fish!!! I need help A.S.A.P please!!!!!! If I need to add extra info. that might help or give a better picture just let me know. Thanks so much
AngelKay

 

[Angel Lady]

hi andwelcome to the forum I have never heard of anything like this before have you tried a product that is made by mardel i think it is called maroxy or mabey coppersafe that is made by mardel.it is for parasites. Why dont you PM william or cm one and see if they mabey can help you out any.

 

[cool_jool]

Hi Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your problems. Have you looked at them under magnification? Are they creatures? cool_jool

 

[baseballfan111]

could it be like water lice i dont know if that is quite the right name, i dont know a thing how 2 treat it sorry maby there is a med for it good luck

 

[Mogo]

Hi AngelKay,

Do you have access to a microscope or know anyone who does? If not, you could try contacting vets in your area and ask if they could put a water sample under the scope. You'll need to get some photos of the slides under the scope, this can be done with a digital camera. Most vets who deal with dogs and cats probably wont be able to tell you what you got, as they are not trained for aquatic environments/fish, but if you get the photos you can post them here. Chances are that your fish are getting sick because the water conditions may be deteriorating if these things are starting to over run your tank.

 

[Wasserpest]

Before medicating any further, you should try to find out what it really is, just as Mogo suggests.

You might try weekly water changes for a while, this could improve the situation.

How is your filtration reacting to this? Do those things get stuck in the sponges and you clean them out every so often?

Sure sounds interesting...

 

[AngelKay]

THANK YOU ALL WHO REPLIED, I AM GETTING A MICROSCOPE TODAY, THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA, THE VETS IN MY AREA DON'T CHECK FOR STUFF LIKE THAT. I WAS THINKING THAT THEY COULD BE IN THE TAP WATER, WE DRINK BOTTLED WATER BUT I USE TAP WATER FOR MY TANK, I COULD LOOK AT BOTH UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AND COMPARE. HAS ANYONE HEARD OF A WATER YOU CAN BUY FOR FISH TANKS, OR WHAT TYPE OF BOTTLED WATER COULD I USE IF IT IS IN THE TAP WATER? THESE THINGS ARE SO SMALL THAT IF THEY DO GET STUCK IN THE FILTER MEDIA, I CAN'T TELL AND THEY DON'T CLOG IT UP, THE CANISTER FILTER/MEDIA, I THROW AWAY WHEN I DO WATER CHANGES BUT THE INTERNAL FILTER, I RINSE OFF AND PUT BACK IN, IT IS JUST THE FOAM, THE CHARCOAL GOES IN A BAG IN A SEPERATE COMPARTMENT AND I DO THROW THAT AWAY AND PUT NEW STUFF. I COULD BE THE ONE KEEPING THE THINGS AROUND AND NOT EVEN KN0W IT. I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AND HOPEFULLY GET A PICTURE UP!! THANKS AGAIN!!!

 

[Ginger726]

I agree with everyone you definately need to magnify these guys. If they are living you could rig up a u.v. sterilizer, although it may be a little expensive. As for your alternative water source you can use rainwater if you don't live in an area with a lot of pollution and providing that it rains every once in a while. You would have to have some means of capturing it though. Welcome to the forum, I have found lots of great information here. If you have a university close by take a water sample to the biology department and look for the invertebrate professor. Or maybe the water treatment plant but I don't know. Good Luck and keep us all posted. I agree also to try to do weekly water changes. Maybe you should get a report from your water department anyway to make sure all the other specifications are in check like metals, minerals and other chemicals that aren't usually tested for. Good luck again!

 

[Alien Anna]

Could it be some of these guys? The Virtual Fieldguide (UK)

 

[baseballfan111]

ugly little buggers

 

[Wasserpest]

Could it be some of these guys? The Virtual Fieldguide (UK)

I doubt that. These are pretty big and an excellent food for smaller fishies, like tetras. I would love to have masses of those!
They are pretty easy to identify since they jump all over the place, and the females have eggs on them.

 

[AngelKay]

I just wanted to let yal know that I did go get a microscope (from Wal-Mart) and it quit working while I was trying to zoom in on the little buggers, so I went on line and ordered a really good one, I'm just waiting for it to come in!! I don't think these things are like any of those things in the pictures, I think they look like little tornadoes, they might have some little legs, I can't wait to get the microscope!! I have been doing water changes but they are not going away, some white things form on some of the fish, kinda like ICH then their gone the next day, am I getting ICH also?? Should I go ahead and try the Copper Sulfate?? It says it will last a month in the tank. All my tests are still o.k. except I am showing slightly high Ammonia, I've done Ammo chips etc. to lower it. I will keep you posted, I did have 1 fish die 3 days ago, this fish never had any white on it, I don't know why it died! I noticed that one of my Angels & one long finned black tetra had blood spots in a couple places on the end of the tails, like something was chewing on them.... I think it's the bugs biting them.... Thank you all for allyour input, I will keep you posted!!!
AngelKay

 

[reg2k2]

'like little tornadoes'...do they look like anemones?
Is hydra a possiblilty..or have u looked into that?

 

[AndrewRenard]

i had things like triops in my tank...i suppose my firemouth ate 'em...(RIP)...but now that i dont have Jaques anymore (my firemouth) (RIP)...they all cleared up...and they havent come back...go figure...i now raise triops and brine shrimp in the separate tanks..(triops make GREAT community "fish") they grow to 3" long...not bad..adn my fish just love the brine shrimp...they're delicious!..the thing i found wierd...is that convicts are herbivores i read...but they like meat...o well

 

[AngelKay]

STILL WAITING ON THE MICROSCOPE!! HYDRA, WHAT'S THAT?? IT IS SO HARD TO TELL WHAT THEY ARE, THEIR JUST LITTLE WHITE DOTS FLOATING AROUND, THEY KINDA LOOK LIKE THE TANK IS FULL OF DUST (THAT'S HOW LITTLE THEY ARE) WITH MY MAGNIFYING GLASS, I CAN SEE THEIR SHAPE A LITTLE BETTER, THAT'S WHERE I GOT THE TORNADO SHAPE. THE FISH DO NOT EAT THEM, THERE'S SO MANY, THE WATER CHANGES WILL DIMINISH THEM A LITTLE BUT THE NEXT DAY, THERE'S MILLIONS AGAIN. MY ANGELS ARE GETTING WHITE BUMPS ON THEM, KINDA LIKE A SMALL EGG STICKING HALF OUT OF ONES BODY, THE OTHER TWO HAVE MORE ON THEIR TAIL FINS AND THEIR NOT AS SMOOTH LOOKING AS THE ONES ON THE BODY PARTS, THE ONES ON THE TAIL FINS LOOK LIKE THEIR IN THE FIN (NOT GROWING ON THE OUTSIDE OF IT) SO YOU SEE IT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FINS. STILL NONE OF THE FISH ARE DARTING AROUND OR GASPING FOR AIR OR STAYING AT THE BOTTOM, THEIR ACTING NORMAL!! BUT... THE ANGELS HAVE BEEN TWITCHING THEIR FINS WHEN I SEE THESE BUMPS SHOW UP SO I KNOW WHATEVER IT IS IT IS TRYING TO GET IT OFF BUT THEY DON'T TRY TO RUB IT OFF! I WANT TO PUT THE COPPER TREATMENT IN SO BAD TO SEE IF IT WILL KILL THESE THINGS, I KEEP SAYING THE MICROSCOPE WILL COME TODAY SO I DON'T!!! UUGGHH!!! WHAT IS THIS UV TREATMENT?? WOULD IT REALLY WORK??
ANGELKAY