how to treat white spots on molly fish

Treatment

For treatment to work, you may need to have a vet look at your sick fish to make sure they know what’s wrong. Keep in mind that there are other things on fish that can look a lot like white spot disease but need different care. Once the problem has been identified, your aquatic veterinarian and fish store can prescribe a number of treatments.

Follow the instructions on the medication carefully, ensuring you have accurately determined your aquarium water volume. Overdosing can harm the fish, and under-dosing may not kill the Ich theronts. Continue treating every other day for 10-14 days. Perform partial water changes on the days between medication dosages. Carefully observe your fish to be sure that the trophonts (white spots) do not recur after treatment.

Monitoring and maintaining your water temperature is critical to ensure the parasite is completely eliminated from your aquarium. Many online forums will recommend raising your water temperature to speed up the Ich life-cycle. If you do that, though, you might stress out your fish, so make sure they are the kind that can handle water temperatures higher than 80 degrees F before you do it.

Signs of Ich in Freshwater Fish

Small white spots on the fishs body or fins
Flashing, or scratching against things in their environment, is something fish do.
Bruising or scale loss secondary to flashing
Lethargic and increased respiratory effort
Sudden death (can be multiple fish in one aquarium)

White spot disease can be mistaken for other non-serious issues. There are breaks in the cartilage of a fin that can show up as white spots on the fins. These breaks are not life-threatening. Breeding tubercles on male goldfish, which show up as many white bumps on the operculum and pectoral fin, also look like white spot disease, but they are actually normal differences in the way the body is built. Lymphocystis is a virus that can infect fish and cause white bumps on the fins that look like other problems. Your vet can tell the difference.

What is Ich?

Ich, also known as “white spot disease,” is caused by the protozoan Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. This name comes from Latin and means “fish louse with many children.” ” The saltwater form of Ich or white spot disease is caused by Cryptocaryon irritans. Both parasites have a complex life cycle that makes them difficult to treat. The parasite’s large feeding stage, or trophont, can be seen on the fish’s body as white spots. However, it is very hard to treat. The free-swimming theront stage can’t be seen, but it is the only stage of the parasite’s lifecycle that can be killed. After feeding on a fish, it only takes one trophont to reproduce (as a tomont), sending 1,000 new infective organisms (the theront) into the aquarium. This means that infestations can happen very quickly. In warmer water, there are fewer days between stages of the life cycle. In colder water, the life cycle lasts longer.

FAQ

Can fish recover from white spots?

Fortunately, as white spot is one of the most commonly suffered diseases among fish, we have developed fast and effective methods of treatment to limit the damage. White spot fish treatment has been developed carefully to target the Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis parasite at the weakest stages of its lifecycle.

How to treat white spots on fish naturally?

Elevated temperature causes the death of all stages of the parasite. Another natural method is to increase the salinity of the aquarium water by adding aquarium salt. There should be no more than 10–15 grams of salt per 10 liters of water. You should change the salt water after 3–4 days to freshwater.

How do I get rid of the white stuff on my fish?

After many years of running a fish store and helping hundreds of customers, Maracyn, Ich-X, and salt are the treatments we have found that work best against fish fungus. Ultimately, fungal spores are always present in our aquariums, but full-blown infections are usually preventable.