The Puffer Forum

paddy, 1 of the saps in the tank i was trying 2 get rid of whitespot in has got some kinda worm thing on his fin like white, and really thin. hes the only fish in the tank who has whitespot still,n now thats happened tried whitespot meds (which i now know wasnt the best plan) and ive got the temp turned right up. what else can i do?? he dont look ill or anything, and is still eating normally, just loads of white spots and the worm should i take it off? ill try and get a pic, if he sit still long enough

Sorry to hear you're having more trouble. Is it actually a worm? Or perhaps a bit of fin coming away? A pic would be good, but I know how difficult it is to get a good one.

yep its defo a worm. since i got them, pady has always had like a white spot thing on his fin...cos its always been there, iassumed it was just an individual mark thing if that makes sense? but 2day that has become a worm small n white n this, kinda like a tiny piece of white thread twisted up

i couldnt get a pic, but theres a short vid here, not best quality but ya can see it!! can see his spots aswell http://www7.zippyshare.com/v/83416431/file.html

Can see a white area in the clip, but nothing in detail - they really are the worst fish to photograph! I have heard of something in the past called anchor worms, but I'm afraid I have no experience of them, so could not really advise on the seriousness of them or what to use to treat. Hopefully there will be someone along soon, who can help.

thanks for having a look anyways yeh, they are very hard 2 photograph lol!

Can you try & pull it off?

Pufferpunk wrote:Can you try & pull it off?

i did try just now, but hes so wriggly man!! is it ok 2 hold him with 1 hand 2 keep him a bit still?

right have managed 2 get the worm or whatever it is off him, cept for a tiny bit.but now his spots are looking much worse what is the highest i can safely turn the temp up to?

still not the greatest pic, but u can see his spots theyve got so much worse 2day man

You want to get your temperature at least to 86F, that's when the whitespot/ich stops reproducing and if you can get it safely to 89.5F, it will actually kill the parasite. Try your best, I've had to put my SAP's in temps that high, but make sure you also have an airstone going because it's hard for them to breathe in higher temperatures, there's less oxygen.

SAP's get stressed and then they actually cause themselves to have more whitespot and yours probably freaked out when you pulled the worm off.

that is probs what happened, cos they dont seem quite so bad now am turning the temp up a bit higher thanks for help again!

Do you have an airstone going? Make sure to provide them with extra oxygen when turning up the temperature. I hope they get better, poor little SAP's.

yep they got an airstone might change it for a bigger 1 like. also have put another filter in, not really 2 filter but 2 put more air in for them for now. i hope he gets better aswell

Another definite add along with raising the water temp is plain aquarium salt, 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons tank volume. This helps lyse the cells of the ich parasite and if there is a worm there it will have the same effect and help kill the worm.

oo cheers for that dadof4!! ill go get some 2moro