# Black neon tetra with white dots



## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

My black neon tetras have small white dots on their bodies and fins, what is this? Ill try to get some pictures up


----------



## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

Darn, my camera isn't good enough to see the white dots, you'll have to stick with the description.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Like so?


----------



## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

not sure if this will help, but it sounds like ich to me. though, we don't have much to work with at this point. are the fish a recent addition to the tank, and when was the last water change?

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/skin_disorders.html


----------



## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

the black neons have the exact same dots as the one in the picture. Should i get ich medicine?


----------



## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

well, there are many schools of thought on what to do with this situation. 

you could medicate. 

or you can raise the temp, and increase the salt concentration in the tank.


----------



## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

if you have plants dont use it in your tank, if you have a extra breeder you can put them in that and give it treatment there


----------



## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I personally go with the med right away technique. I use to just do the high temp non med technique, but the med technique worked for me for years and even used it on my sensitive plecos and havent lost one fish. 

Here is my protocol:

Day1:
raise temp to 86F (usually not a prob since all of my tanks are usually around 82-84 anyways).
add 1 Tsp of salt per 5 gals of water (I usually divide this in half, so if I have a 20 gal, I would put in 2 Tsp at one time, and then wait like 2 hours and put in another 2 TSP).

Day2: 
Add the same amount of salt as Day1
add 1 teaspoon of Kordan's Rid-Ich+ per 10gals of water (again, if you have a large tank, divide dosing in half).

Day3:
Add same amount of salt and Rid-Ich

Day4:
Stop the salt
Keep dosing the Rid-Ich

Day5-8:
Dose Rid-Ich

I usually see all of the spots gone by day 4-5, but I dose the extra few days just to make sure I got every last one.

Like I said, I have used this in tanks with my plecos, and shrimp in fact. And havent even lost 1 shrimp during the process. During the treatment I usually dont change water, but in the event that you need do, just calculate how much salt/med you removed and add it back.

Like others said before me, there are many philosophies about treating ich, this is just what has worked for me. 

Best of Luck


----------



## bae (May 11, 2007)

aln said:


> if you have plants dont use it in your tank, if you have a extra breeder you can put them in that and give it treatment there


The problem with this advice is that if ich has progressed to this point, the tank is full of parasites in the non-infective part of their life cycle. If you don't treat the tank, when these protozoa reach the infective stage they will clobber the other fish. Ich is only susceptible to drugs when in the infective form. When on the fish, or in the tomite form multiplying in the tank, it's pretty resistant. The purpose of raising the water temperature is to get them off the fish and into the infective form where the drugs are effective ASAP. Salt is helpful in preventing secondary infections when the lesions on the fish break open to release the parasites for their next stage. It can also promote a thicker slime coat which could make it a bit harder for the infective forms to attach to the fish.

If you have loaches in the tank, you have to be careful about which meds you use since some are much more toxic to loaches than to other fish.

Like Hitch says, keep dosing for several days after the last lesions disappear from the fish, since the stage after they drop off is still resistant to meds. The instructions that come with the meds should say how long to continue.

IMO opinion you should act fast, since it sounds like the disease is really ramping up, and heavily infested fish can die of it. The parasite attaches to gills as well as skin, which causes more serious injury.

Ich life cycle:
(1) infective form attaches to fish, and grows into the 'salt grain' visible lesion.
(2) lesion breaks open and parasite is released. It settles and divides into thousands of new parasites. This form is also resistant to drugs.
(3) These new parasites are released into the water where they float and swim around until they find a new host. This is the only stage where drugs are effective.

Since each generation is about 1000 times more numerous than the previous one, it's important to act as soon as it's noticed.

Most ich meds are harmless to plants, and the amount of salt Hitch is recommended is too low to do any real damage to them.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Medications are superfluous in this situation. The common strain of Ich in Toronto is quite wussy. Just raise the temp to 86 (make sure this is done fast. Set it to 86 and get it up within 3 hours if possible). You're shocking the parasite. If you do it too slowly the parasite won't be killed as effectively. 

After about 3 days there should be no more white spots. After five days you're 100% safe to bring the temp back down. Make sure you put an airpump in there if you don't have one already and keep the surface moving as much as possible. Hot water does not hold oxygen well.


----------



## duckyser (Oct 4, 2009)

should i use epsom or aquarium salt?


----------



## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I use the API salts that you get in like large milk cartons for like 6 bucks or something.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

It's a tetra. You can't really exceed 1tsp/5 gal and keep it happy. Just jack the temp... That's all you need to do.


----------



## w_boughner (Mar 18, 2010)

dont med . most meds will killyour benificial bacteria and put your tank in to cycle.the combo of cycle and meds can overwhelm and kill your fish hais the temp to 86 and do a gravel vav every day for 2 weeks. and use warm tap water with conditioner so the water dosent fluctuate


----------

