rival81 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I noticed last night a few of my cichlids have a few white spots, and were flashing etc. I knew right away it was white spot, i had it a couple years ago when i first set up my 2 foot tank. The two clown loaches are fine so far *touch wood*. I suspect one of the reasons was my Fluval Tronic Heater... it seems terribly inaccurate and i'm wishing I had spent an extra 10 bucks and got the Jager heater! I had the Fluval heater set to 27 degrees since i set up this tank around 5 weeks ago, but the themometer read 24 degrees... i believed the heater but i should have believed the thermometer because i've now tested it with two thermometers and both give the same reading. So the Fluval heater was WAY OFF!!! 3 or 4 degrees off. Anyway... not wanting to stain my entire tank green i've decided to try the salt and temperature treatment. Temp was up to 29 this morning (the fluval claims it's 33 but it's wrong). I've upped it an extra degree to hopefully reach 30 degrees. Also added an extra 25Watt heater to help it along - again this confirmed my suspicions that the Fluval temperature accuracy was way off as i was able to get another temp reading. Added salt last night (non-iodized, plain sea salt with no additives), 12 tablespoons for the 250L tank. I had read widely varying instructions on amount of salt per volume of water so i hope i got it right. When i first added the salt, the fish went a bit crazy for about 5 mins, then they got used to it and have been fine since. They're much more active now at the higher temp too, but seem quite happy and are feeding as normal. Will update here over the coming weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Any thoughts on using Melafix and/or Pimafix during white spot treatment? This might help prevent any secondary infections and heal the entry point of the parasite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 After reading up on this i've decided against using Mela or Pimafix during white spot treatment. Since my fish (about 5 of them) only have a few white spots i think i have a decent chance of them recovering fully anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Forgot to mention i already have an airstone running in the tank and the spray bar pointed at the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 Day 2 of salt treatment. Added another 5 tablespoons. Now at full salt dosage approx 2g salt per Litre of aquarium water. ( i have added 500g and the tank is 250L) A few fish showing white spot visibly (1 - 2 spots per fish). The rest not showing at all. All fish seem fine. Fish with spot/s rubbing against substrate about once per 30 mins. Temp sitting at 30 degrees. Clown loaches seem to be handling the salt fine, though a bit less active than usual. No white spot on loaches. Cichlids still hungry as ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbozed Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 hang in there if the loaches are still ok,then you are fine read here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Day 7, there has been no flashing or signs of white spot for 2 or 3 days now. Did a 10% water change. Will continue that each day and start slowly reducing temp to 26. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Day 8 and i've declared the tank white spot free... another small water change and decreased temp. The salt and temp treatment seems to have worked very well, i didn't lose a fish and none of the fish seemed to mind the temperature or the salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
