White spot or was it?

[Mad Duff]

Ok this is what happened last week and to be honest I am still a little baffled.

Wednesday night I fed my 39 gallon loach tank and everything was fine, everyone eating and acting as normal.

Thursday morning I went to a friends and picked up 5 Botia striata that she was getting shot of, when I got them home I floated them straight in the 39 gallon tank because eventually that is where all my striata are going. Did the usual acclimatization routine and was watching the other fish in the tank while doing so and again all was fine and noticed the black ruby barbs spawning in the java fern and the N. rupelli male and a big female digging in the gravel/sand .

Thursday evening went to feed the fish in the 39 gallon and I got a little bit of a shock, all the ruby barbs and all of the Danios covered nose to tail in white spot or what I thought was white spot (if asked I would have put my house on it). I didn't have time to do anything but put a dose of protozin in and see what was what in the morning.

Friday morning and the lights came on as normal at 10:30 and as was the night before all the barbs and danios covered in white spot, so carried out 30% water change and added another dose of protozin. Fed the fish that evening and still the same.

Saturday morning I had a few bits to do so as soon as I could get to it after the lights had come on I checked the tank and I was in for another shock - not a spot in sight every fish was spotless.

Now either I have just had the quickest outbreak and cure of white spot ever or it wasn't white spot, but if it wasn't white spot what the hell was it

I have gone over and over it in my head and i know what I saw and I was 200% certain it was white spot, has anybody ever had something similar happen to them?

I was glad that the wife saw it because if she hadn't I would have thought I was seeing things, even my wife was certain it was white spot

[Botia Robert]

Interesting Events MD.

I cant understand how it came on so pronounced so quickly let alone getting rid of it so quickly!

What was the fish behaviour like? Was there typical White Spot symptoms ie Flashing, swimming with clamped fins, etc?

Maybe your protozin is super potent.

As long as its ok now.

[Mad Duff]

That was the other weird thing Robert there were no other symptoms apart from the spots, there was even a little mark left behind after the spot have vanished like the scarring that is normally seen after white spot

[Ashleigh]

Weird, hopefully it wasnt/isnt anything serious. Ive never seen whitespot clear up quickly unless it was one or two spots on a fish, Ive never seen a fish clear up that fast that was completly covered. I think Protozin is a good treatment... but I didnt think it was that good.

I assume fish are acting and eating normally now???

Whatever it is, hope thats the first and last you see of it


Ashleigh

[Mad Duff]

Yeah fish are fine, the danio's and ruby barbs have been spawning again this morning and they have and still are eating like pigs

[Ashleigh]

Well if they are spawning, there obviously isnt to much wrong with them right now


Ashleigh

[soul-hugger]

Hi, Mad Duff..,

That is certainly strange, but I had something similar happen to me with my Weather Loaches. It was over a slightly longer period; about a week, where the white spots appeared, disappeared, and appeared again. The first time they went away on their own; so quickly I almost thought I had been seeing things. But the second time, the spots continued in a normal pattern for ich. I would continue to treat, even though the spots have gone. Just to be on the safe side.

Take Care;
soul-hugger

[chefkeith]

Definitely keep up the treatment. Whatever strain of ich it is keep an eye out for cross contamination, especially if you have been using the same gravel vac for multiple tanks.

[Mad Duff]

Yeah the treatment is still going in to be on the safe side and I have separate gravel vacs, syphon pipes and buckets to guard against cross contamination.

[Ashleigh]

Is there any reason to suspect the new striata additions carrying something in with them???


Ashleigh

[Mad Duff]

Is there any reason to suspect the new striata additions carrying something in with them???


Ashleigh

No I doubt it, the spots showed up within a couple of hours of them going in, I got some other fish at the same time out of the same tank and they are in another tank and nothing there.

[tender]

Hi Mark!
Probably a stupid question; but do you have fine graveled (white sand) in this tank?

[Mad Duff]

Hi Mark!
Probably a stupid question; but do you have fine graveled (white sand) in this tank?

Now its funny you should ask that, the wife mentioned earlier that she looked in a one of the danios had a white spot on it and as the fish turned it was almost as if the spot flicked up and fell off the fish. At the same time the N. ruppelli are digging away like idiots in the gravel which is very fine gravel and quite some time ago a smallish amount of coral gravel was accidentally dropped into that tank and it just vanished into the gravel.

The way the other fish are spawning I was beginning to wonder if it could be something out of the gravel and I may now know, but I will still say that when I first saw all the spots and I was sat watching the fish for ages I was 200% certain it was white spot

[tender]

My experience exactly! Especially my Clowns are constantly covered in "White spot". I`ve learned now to distuinguish between the parasite and sand, but the first times I saw this I was scared stiff. Just last night all my clowns were covered with "white spot", this morning, they were all fine. My guess is that youre`s were simply covered in sand after digging in the gravel. Real whitespot will not go away that fast, in my experience.

[Botia Robert]

OK, so what are the effects of medicating fish when there is no need?