White Spot or Ich?

[Pixeltoy]

Hi all,
I have been fortunate enough not to have seen this for many years BUT it has come back!
I recently purchased a beautiful Rose Discus. It has been with my discus for the last 8 days happily eating and being part of the community.
Yesterday, when I got home from work, I noticed an abundance of white spots on both sides of its body towards the top and bottom. Panic!!!
None of my other fish show any signs of something similar.
The Rose has not lost its appetite.
All water conditions are ideal.
Temp of water is 29ºC.
I have attached 3 photos that I have taken this morning.
Anyone know of a rememdy? IS it White spot? Will a treatment of PROTOZIN do the trick?

[rwel4809]

looks more like fungal growth to me... whitespot spots are usually much smaller.

If it is fungal I think that treating in a quarantine tank with salt (not sure of dosage) would be best.

HTH R.

[Andrew Soh]

More like secretion of excessive slime. Increase the temperature to 31C to 32C and make partial water change.

That should alleviate the problem.

Take care,
Andrew :wink:

[swingn]

I get this problem from time to time as well (Not quite as bad though).

I just left my discus along & continued with normal water changes etc & more often then not, the spots would disappear within 24-48 hours of me noticing it.

Andrew, is this "secretion of excessive slime" something to be really concerned with?

[Andrew Soh]

But you are not Pixel my friend. He has not replied to this thread.

Yes....Swing....you can leave them alone and with frequent WC...it might just go away.

But if the weather is cooling, might need heater......and salt @ 2 ppt.

Take care,
Andrew :wink:

[Pixeltoy]

[quote="swingn"
I just left my discus along & continued with normal water changes etc & more often then not, the spots would disappear within 24-48 hours of me noticing it.
Andrew, is this "secretion of excessive slime" something to be really concerned with?[/quote]

This afternoon (6hrs since I posted fotos) the white splotches had increased. Some joining. They look a bit raised on the surface of the fish. Almost cotton like???
Anyway, went to my local aquarium. He said it is definitely NOT white spot as the spots are way too large and are not on the fins. He opted for bacterial infection and recommended 7 days of "Melafix" (which smells like Tea Tree Oil).
So I have begun the dosage directly into the cannister filter after removing my carbon. Water clouded a bit.
Fingers crossed. Thanks for all the responses.

[Pixeltoy]

Attached new pics

[Andrew Soh]

Never used Melafix before as I use raw materials. Try maybe it could solve the problem.

Excessive secretion may be caused by irritation from water chemical; parasites or temperature and most likely yours may be the last two.

I would use dipterex......

Take care,
Andrew :wink:

[Pixeltoy]

Only reason I chose to try Melafix is because it is 'natural' and not chemical. Hopefully my fish will survive.
The pic I tried to attach before:

[Hollowman]

Again the dreaded uneducated/conning lfs makes you buy a product that is useless against anything discus related!!

Follow Andrew's instruction, he knows.

What you have not mentioned is what your water changes are? how much and frequency. Water parameters Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte, Ph?

Also, why are you running carbon in your filter? I would only use it to clean meds from a treated tank/system, nothing else.

Steve :)

[Pixeltoy]

Was it a con? I don't know BUT I can assure you that when something goes wrong with your fish, first you panic. When you panic you are prone to making quick decisions which may not always be the right ones.
I dosed once with melafix yesterday, direct application into the cannister filter. My red rose's spots have practically disappeared overnight.
BUT
As Andrew Soh & swingn mentioned, there was a simple solution. I should have tried the salt bath solution first. Or as Swingn mentioned "I just left my discus alone & continued with normal water changes etc & more often then not, the spots would disappear within 24-48 hours of me noticing it. "
This may have worked as well. Hard to tell if Melafix actually did do the trick.
I can say that I am extremely saddened this morning. All my discus are doing fine, however I have lost one of my elephant nose after 12 months of it being happy in the tank. I put it down to the shock of Melafix as it was the only change in condition.
Hence, if this ever hits again I WILL BE FOLLOWING STEP BY STEP RECOMMENDATIONS FROM HERE!
•••
what your water changes are? I make a fresh reserve of water after each water change with an overhanging filter running for the week. This is my water change water which I use to make a weekly- 10% (210L tank)
Water parameters Ammonia: 0.25, NitrIte: 0 NitrAte:0 Ph: 6.4~6.6

Also, why are you running carbon in your filter? Well, because it was there. Others run UV filters and whatever else. I don't. Tank community has been happy and healthy for well over 8 months at current stock lvl. I must be doing something right???

[Andrew Soh]

Good to know it is over with using Melafix. Well done...

So as you claimed....that Melafix is 'natural', what are the natural ingredients inside, Pixel??? Is it written on the label the ingredients used? If not, how do you know it is natural?

Sounds interesting.....sure wish to be enlightened.

Let us know, thanks...
Andrew :wink:

[Pixeltoy]

I'm not sure the Melafix was the 100% cure. Like you guys said, given time the spots disappeared on their own.
Melafix has active contstituents: Cajeput Oil 9.23g/L
No other contents are listed.

Shock! My elephant nose which I separated fearing it was dead has just started mouthing for air (well u know what I mean) and waving its fin. Might be saved after all- fingers crossed.

[Andrew Soh]

Seems to me "Cajeput is the effective ingredient though as written, the main ingredient is.

BUt anyway, importantly...it worked!

Congratulations

Take care,
Andrew

[rwel4809]

Something strange is going on with your water perameters.

You should have 0 amonia - it is extremely toxic and is probably the reason your fish became stressed and ended up with the slime condition.

Also if you are only doing 10% water change per week, you should have a reasonably high nitrate reading something like 40 -50 ppm.

It sounds like your tank has been set up for quite a while, so it seems odd that it has not cycled properly. however, a reading of amonia and 0 nitrite and nitrate indicates that your tank is going through a nitrogen cycle - this is probably why your elephant nose is so sick.

You will have to do some big water changes imediately to dilute the amonia, preferably with aged and heated water.

I don't know how heavily stocked your tank is, but most of us allow 40-50 litres per discus.

with a 200 litre tank, you should probably only keep four discus and a small school of tetras at the most. Even then I would be doing a 50% water change every other day!

perhaps you could let us know how many fish you have?

R.

[BigDaddyAdo]

Remove the carbon. Carbon is only needed if you are removing meds, etc from the water column.

IMO Melafix smells nice but thats about all its good for. Just because it cleared up doesnt mean that the Melafix had anything to do with it. Its a big assumption.

Either your tanks isnt fully cycled, your tank is under filtered or their is something rotting in the tank. Ammonia should always be 0 - no exceptions. You also need to up the water changes to a minimum of 30% weekly (more depending on your set up and stock).

Is your tank planted? How heavily?

[Andrew Soh]

IMO Melafix smells nice but thats about all its good for. Just because it cleared up doesnt mean that the Melafix had anything to do with it. Its a big assumption.

Can't accuse it of not performing what the product claims it can....even if no concrete evidence.
Melafix is manufactured to be a antibacterial remedy...so......

R., you are right...ammonia must be zero. In fact, from his photos, it is a plant tank and for that, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should all be zero....becausethe plants should absorb the nitrate.

I still believe it is the temperature.

Take care,
Andrew

[Hollowman]

Hello Buddy Andrew,

I think Melafix smells nice too, but it seems to be the choice remedy that a lot of lfs's are recommending. From what I have heard from many here and in the Uk and my experience, it has no significent affect on discus. Can you expand on the active ingredient, have you heard of it before ?

I am happy to hear the condition has cleared up, but keep an eye on your ammonia levels as has already been said, and try to increase your water change regime.

Steve

[DiscusDave]

Hi

Melafix is a tea tree oil extract (Melaleuca alternifolia). I don't think there's any dispute that tea tree oil has anti-bacterial properties, for example testing byt Dr. Tom Riley and Christina Carson from University of Western Australia showed the oil will kill many common bacteria including some of the staphylococcus and streptococcus bacteria. I've certianly found it effective againts mild fin rot. I'm supprised it worked in this case though as the problem doesn't appear to be bacterial?

Dave