The Puffer Forum

Well I hate to say it but in all my years of keeping fish i believe I have my very first ICH infection on my little GSP Oscar.

I notices numerous very tiny white spots (almost look like pores) on his body, but not on any of the fins.

Whats some good Ich cures?

The best cure is stickied at the top of this forum - here: http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=9

The 30 second version:
Raise temperature to 86-89F, increase aeration, and add 1tbsp of salt for ever 5 gallons (assuming your tank is FW). Hold the temperature and salinty at these levels for 12-15 days. Do 50% water changes every other day, adding back the same amount of salt you took out.

HTH

yea but...I dont have an airstone

21 days is kinda rough!

21 is overkill IMO. Continue for 10 days after the last visible signs of infestation - IF ONLY IF the temperature is above 86F. Use a trustworthy thermometer.

You can lower the water level in your tank an inch or two if you don't have an airstone. This should aerate sufficiently.

What if I already have 15 teaspoons on salt(brackish) in the tank (25g) and water temp is 81 F

Gah lowering the level will make alot of noise and I wont be able to go to sleep

perek wrote:What if I already have 15 teaspoons on salt in the tank (25g) and water temp is 81 F

If you're sure that's how much salt you have in your tank, then all you have to do now is raise that temperature.

Bred wrote:

perek wrote:What if I already have 15 teaspoons on salt in the tank (25g) and water temp is 81 F

If you're sure that's how much salt you have in your tank, then all you have to do now is raise that temperature.

what about my poor little chinese algea eater, will i cook him

I cant put him in the other tank because Turgidus will surely eat him

Look very closely at your GSP. Tt could just be it's tiny spines & not ich at all. You'll need to gat that algae eater out of there, it won't appreciate BW. The amount of salt (marine, I hope) you have in there, will barely register on a hydrometer. I use 1/2 cup of salt to raise my SG .005.

Vo;ume measures of marine mix are wasted effort except for the roughest approximation. You need to use either a hydrometer or a refractometer. You need to be able to able to accurately measure the density of brackish water.

If he's already in brackish, I find it hard to bellieve he's got ich. are the dots in random clusters or do they look regularly spaced?
If the latter, they're his little spikes.
Pami.

Pamela wrote:If he's already in brackish, I find it hard to bellieve he's got ich. are the dots in random clusters or do they look regularly spaced?
If the latter, they're his little spikes.
Pami.

yea they do look pretty normally spaced. Kinda like a chicken pox pattern. Hence why i thought they looked like pores on skin.

Wow so GSPs have tiny spines?
I guess Ill turn the heater down ASAP

They do indeed have spikes, yes. They come out more if your fish puffs up, although don't attempt that as a diagnostic test. With him being in brackish, we can probably assume it's not ich.
Pami.

Pamela wrote:They do indeed have spikes, yes. They come out more if your fish puffs up, although don't attempt that as a diagnostic test. With him being in brackish, we can probably assume it's not ich.
Pami.

Wow thanks!

I guess I can still say I've never had a problem with Ich with any of my fish.

You can make out some of the spines in these pics here: http://www.thepufferforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=356

If the white dots are raised above the surface of the skin, you have a problem. If they are recessed, then they are likely pores.