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Ichthyophthirius incoming?

Niwils

Seedling
Joined
5 Sep 2020
Messages
9
Location
Saint-Etienne, France
Good evening there :)

I just discovered one of my CPD has a 1 to 2 mm wide spot on its body.

Two things in my mind comes first:
- He scratched against the rocks of the aquascape,
- Ichthyophthirius is my new nightmare.

Ichthyophthirius.png


I am using Voogle every week with my water changes. What do you think about? In your opinion, shall I go for the big antibiotic combo?

Also, I am still at war with BBAs. I introduced Seachem Excel since a week, by their guidelines. Can it be a side effect?

Thanks for your assistance :)

--
Niels
 
That doesn't look like ich, it looks like a fungal infection. Antibiotics would be contraindicated. I would isolate the affected fish, as for treatment I'll admit to never having cured this (though I haven't seen it for years). Maybe others have.

I also use Voogle weekly. I don't know if it really does anything besides making me feel like I'm doing something. I bought a 5l bottle a year ago and feel compelled to use it as I have paid for it. 🤷‍♀️
 
What access do you have to antibiotics etc?

Seachem offers some specific antibiotic medications - I’d suggest having KanaPlex, NeoPlex, NeoPlex on hand (you may need to do some trail and error with antibiotics unless you have access to a fish vet that can do screening etc)

Hikari BiFuran+ is an excellent antibacterial medication

(Quality and purity of the about brands/products is at top of industry standard)

Are you able to isolate the affected fish (strongly encouraged at this stage), though you will also need to continue some treatment of the main tank as well

Daily water changes of 50% - 75% will help (especially in terms of limiting infection of other fish)

How is this fish acting otherwise?
- actively swimming etc
- good food response

What other livestock is present in the tank?
How do they appear?



Note that most of the medications I listed above may have some impact on filter bacteria etc, so daily water changes are recommended when medicating (fish veterinary studies as opposed to the least work aquarium hobby medication procedures) and may negatively impact shrimp (especially if they’ve just moulted - shrimp are very sensitive to any changes in water parameters until the new shell hardens)

Most antibiotics are also not recommended for plants - 1-2 days of treatment is usually fine, but 5-7 days (and longer) may impact plants (ranging from mild to complete melt depending upon plant sensitivity)
 
Thank you very much @alto .

What access do you have to antibiotics etc?
Unfortunately, these are now highly restricted in France. I'll do my homework to have access to the products you have listed.

Are you able to isolate the affected fish (strongly encouraged at this stage), though you will also need to continue some treatment of the main tank as well

Daily water changes of 50% - 75% will help (especially in terms of limiting infection of other fish)

How is this fish acting otherwise?
- actively swimming etc
- good food response

What other livestock is present in the tank?
How do they appear?

I do have started to build an hospital tank. I'll get its dedicated filter tomorrow.

The fish is still swimming and hungry. It is less interacting with its peers, however.

There are three peers, from the same LFS, all look good. I also have two nerites.

Again, thank you very much for your tips,

--
Niels
 
The other fish will (rightfully) be less keen on having a sick fish in their midst

Are there any medicated foods available?
this is a much more efficient way to deliver medications

While you’re sorting out your hospital tank, I strongly encourage daily water changes with some surface agitation from filter (or splashing - you might do this at night after lights are out) to maintain higher oxygen levels in the water

Also a reduction in aquarium temperature to the lower range suggested for whichever fish species is recommended for any bacterial involved fish illness (20*C in this instance)

https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/celestichthys-margaritatus/
 
Thank you very much @alto . Unfortunately, the poor soul did not make it. I keep your counsels in my mind.

I noticed it had kind of a tapeworm near its anal fin. It might be the cause as one its friend who died during my holidays. I think it served as a breakfast while I was away. I am thinking to treat the tank with ParaGuard, but I am not sure if it will be as efficient on possible tapeworms.

Again, thank you very much,

--
Niels
 
Sorry to hear of your losses (it’s possible these fish were not in the best health when purchased)

ParaGuard wont help against internal parasites or worms
- was fish already dead when you noticed the possible tapeworm?
(it may be detritus worms that occur in the substrate)

eSHa ndx may be worth a try if you can find this (online or shops)

https://www.eshalabs.eu/europe/products.html
 
Sorry to hear of your losses (it’s possible these fish were not in the best health when purchased)

ParaGuard wont help against internal parasites or worms
- was fish already dead when you noticed the possible tapeworm?
(it may be detritus worms that occur in the substrate)

eSHa ndx may be worth a try if you can find this (online or shops)

https://www.eshalabs.eu/europe/products.html
Thank you @alto .

After doing some researches, I think I went too fast on the tapeworm diagnostic. Looks like it was more a sign of constipation after all. The thread was way too small for being a tapeworm, and it left a few hours afters I noticed it.

However, because of the white spot followed by a furunculus, I am still thinking about treating the whole tank with ParaGuard. (Esha products are not on the shelves at my LFS). What do you think about?

Again, thank you very much for your great counsels.
 
You can certainly medicate with ParaGuard - it should treat any existing external parasites (which are often present in low numbers, and may be more relevant as there have been some health issues with these fish)

I suspect ParaGuard would’ve made little difference in the disease progress for the fish in the photo (especially as further symptoms indicated it was primarily an internal infection)

If your remaining fish seem more active/outgoing after 24h with ParaGuard, I’d continue with the treatment course

I would not use ParaGuard as a replacement for daily water changes - I just redose the ParaGuard after a 75% water change - note that most dye medications are photosensitive (and more)
 
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