Brookey25

alanmin4304, my fish HAS been in pristine water conditions for months, since he had the first spot appear. Whatever the disease is that is causing these spots, slowly got worse. I feed him the BEST food available.. a HUGE variety. I test his water once a week and do a 30% change once a week. Other than the last water check showing 0.25 Ammonia.. there has been no other cause for alarm. MarkLB, I really can't agree that a 75 litre tank is too small for 1 fish on his own. He's in there alone with plants and I'm only going to get him 1 other friend when he regains his health.

The disease is either fungal or bacterial, I know that much. Because he rapidly went downhill, I had to do something quick. It was either Furan2 or Meth Blue.. and he's already had 2 courses of Furan in the past.. so I put him into the Meth Blue.. hoping that if it were Fungal, this would be a cure, and if I was wrong.. the treatment wouldn't harm him.

I have only sterilised the stones and tank at this point. I have not touched anything else, I wanted to make sure I followed the correct process. Alunmin4304, I posted on here a couple of weeks ago explaining my fish's symptoms and that I was desperate for some ideas on what to do. I've called the local pet store who also had no idea. Only 2 people responded and no one seemed entirely sure of what it could be - so I had to do something fast. My fish was not moving from the bottom of the tank, so the disease had advanced. He's currently in Meth Blue treatment.. which I know is the one least likely to harm him if by chance I'm wrong. It doesn't look to be working though. He's perked up a lot, but the white spots and frayed tail remain.

Hey everyone, I'm currently medicating my sick fish. Even though he's on his own in his home, I've put him in a tiny hospital tank so I can monitor him more accurately (so he can't hide behind his plants). I've made a little dark area for him though.. wrapping half the tank in a background, as he's very skittish at the moment. Anyways, I've bleached out his entire tank so I can put him back in there when he's better. I'm just not sure how I would ensure there's no bacteria left on the noodles, filter or plants? Is there a standard way to sterilise these after a disease outbreak? If you could let me know that'd be great. Thanks for ALL your help!

Thanks for the ideas Jaide - huge help! He's already had 2 courses of Furan 2 in the past.. I'm just a little worried about having to dose him with it again.. I know it's risky each time.. it's so toxic! Thanks Yeh-Buddy... that link was fantastic!! Have added to my favourites! Definitely either fungal or bacterial - most likely bacterial I think. Interesting how they can both also cause Fin Rot as a secondary problem.

Hey everyone, Sorry to bother you YET AGAIN over my little fantail, but he now has a new symptom that may help with diagnosing what's wrong. Here's a quick briefing about him. Rescued from poor water conditions. Had contracted Bacterial Septicemia. Treated with Furan 2. Fully recovered. Fortnight later, develops white spot next to left eye. Spot is raised but very small. Spot comes and goes. When it's finally gone, I move him into his new home (an established 75 litre tank). Week later, spot returns.. and periodically comes and goes over the following 2 months. Fish goes through periods of being continually skittish.. terrified.. wanting to hide all the time, easily startled by movement. During 1 occurance, I noticed the white spot was swaying as he moved.. as if something was growing off him. Not sure if that's helpful to know or not. Last week, the spot returned, as well as another spot the same size. I also noticed that eye (that the spots have been appearing next to) was slightly red around the outside. 2 days ago, I dilute 3 1/2 tablespoons of Tonic Salt into the tank, as I'm still not sure what this illness is.. I knew salt was safe. Since putting the salt in, Mr Fish has been regularly sitting on the bottom of the tank.. and FREAKING OUT whenever someone comes into the room. Everything is scaring him at the moment. I got home tonight, the spots have disappeared, and he now has a white spot on the edge of his gill on the same side the others had been previously. Throughout the entire time he's been in his new tank, I have noticed in the light that the side where the spots are occurring, has a whiteish tinge to it. His colouring is paler there. Whatever this is, has only affected the area where his gills are. Not the rest of the body. The spots have sometimes had a reddishness around the outside of them, as if they're a 'pussy pimple' a human would get. I did water tests on the weekend. They are as follows: PH - 7.2 Ammonia - 0.25 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - 5ppm If you have any ideas, please let me know. I am desperate. Thanks

There are 2 spots - one beside the left eye and one underneath. Around the edge of the eye is red.. around the bottom of outside of the eye. Are you able to tell me how I can post a pic? I'm not sure how I go about it. Thanks for your help

Hey everyone, Recently I posted about my 3 year old fantail that has had this one single white spot that regularly appears and then disappears from the same spot beside his left eye. I have some more info that may help with a diagnosis. The raised white spot has appeared in the same place (beside the left eye) and there is now another white spot below that same eye. I noticed today, that the eye itself is reddened around the outside of it.. as if there might be an infection in there. The underline around the bottom part of the eye is red.. where the spots are. If you have any ideas of what disease this would be, please let me know. Would hate to lose my little guy! I haven't done anything with this as yet, because I'm too afraid to treat him with the wrong meds.. and he's eating fine.. very energetic and a huge appetite as always. Thanks for reading.

Jaide, Thanks for the advice about the salt, but don't worry.. I already know to use the Tonic salt. I used this combined with Furan 2 to cure his Septicemia a few months back. I'm still a bit sceptical to use the Tonic, unless I know that it's definitely going to cure this particular illness.. and I don't think the Tonic is anti-fungal.. only anti-parasitic? I may have to read up more on that. I know it's great for White Spot - but that's a parasite. ALL THE BEST with the Furan 2. I know it's pretty toxic stuff.. but it worked like a charm for my fish. Please keep in touch.. I would love to know what happens with your little fish! Alanmin, I change 30% of my water weekly, as I also have an algae problem at the moment. PH is 7.4 as of today.. so things are fine.. I'm keeping on top of that... and actually today when I look.. I can't see signs of fungal infection... it keeps coming and going! ARGH

Jaide, Thanks for replying to me. I've been checking this threat multiple times a day in desperation! I really don't know what I can do about this. The pet store tells me to medicate with tonic for White Spot.. but this is NOT a White Spot outbreak.. it doesn't match the symptom picture at all! Yes, I've previously read your thread about your Betta.. I'm so sorry to hear she's still not any better. The white stuff looks like it's growing from INSIDE her head? Is that right? This does look different. This looks like a white spot that's raised, but on the side, I notice at times that that area of his head has a whiteish tinge to it.. as if there's something growing on there.. and under certain lights at certain times, I can see that the spot has gotten bigger.. and it looks like a bit of orange pulp, sort of swaying about in the water, attaching itself to him. You have to REALLY look hard.. at first I thought I was just seeing things.. because some days (like today) I can't see anything at all.. whereas other days, I'll see it in the same place... but yesterday, I saw a raised white spot on the top of his head... *sigh.. it drives me nuts! It does look different than your Betta, where the white is sticking right up and really easy to see.. and looks like it's growing from a hole inside her head of something? Have you tried salt? Mine actually started getting sick WHILE the salt was in the tank, so I know that will have no affect.

But I don't know how to actually post in a picture. I can no longer see the fungus now. It's like it comes and goes.. ARGH! Does ANYONE have any ideas what would be the best thing to do???

Hi everyone, Recently I posted about a 3 year old fantail I adopted about 6 months ago, who had Septicemia and Internal Bleeding. I have fixed this with Furan 2. A few weeks after this went away.. I noticed a white spot above his left eye. At the time, he was in a hospital tank, without a filter and had ammonia burn on his tail. The water quality was pretty poor during this time, after he'd been on the Furan. I bought him a 75 litre tank and he now lives in there on his own with flourishing plant life. The current PH is 7.6, ammonia and nitrates are 0.. and since putting him in his new home, the ammonia burns have healed.. there is no sign he's in distress now. He's happy where he is. A few days ago, I noticed the white spot above his left eye has gotten bigger. I'd been watching it closely, everyday.. because I didn't know what it was indicative of.. and therefore didn't want to risk treating him with the wrong meds. This spot has turned into more of a white patch now, and it's actually hanging from his head.. I can see on the side, that it's swaying about in the water. I WOULD attach a picture, but I've had trouble actually doing that on this site. The fish is not under any stress at the moment, he's eating well.. and very active. Occasionally, I'll find him behind the plants though, sitting very still and I'll have to check he's not dead.. but then he's up and playing around in the stones again. I think he's just resting and getting used to the new plants when he does that. I feed him peas once a week, bloodworm, gourmae flakes, crumbles, and granuals that help his colouring. It's nothing to do with his diet I don't think. I was wondering, if this is fungal - what would I use for this? Not the Wunder Tonic? Would it be Furan2? What would I need to do... take him out of his huge tank, and isolate him into a hospital one? Or treat him, the plants and the tank in it's entirity? Has anyone had this particular problem before? A white spot, growing into a white patch, that you can see HANGING from the fish? If you could give me any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone! By the way - this may not be relevant - but he has a current algae outbreak in his tank. I have cleaned the walls, which are now spotless.. but I have put in some Wunder Algae Remover last night to eradicate it from the plants and stones. I'm hoping any treatment he needs will mix with this medication?

Stella, I used to have an AquaOne 380 with different fish a few years back. I never really used the lights.. only about an average of 1 hour every 2 days. But I wasn't aware of how important the lights were for the plants back then... and as a result, the cuttings I'd bought never actually TOOK. So yeah, this is a newly established tank with plantlife going crazy! It looks fantastic.. shame about the murky algae though. Good news is.. the fish has never looked better He seems really relaxed and happy!

Hey everyone, I've recently established my 75 litre tank with about 5 different type of coldwater plants, and it looks amazing. I have one 3 year old fantail in the tank on his own. I'm waiting for him to get settled in his new home before I add a friend. I only plan on keeping 2 fish. At first, while the cuttings were taking, the PH seemed to be a bit high - 8.. now, over the past week.. it's changed to 6.4. I'm really not sure why this is. The only change is that the water suddenly went murky over the week and algae started growing on the walls... it was almost completely covering the tank. I cleaned this off with a scraper, syphoned the rocks and did a 50% water change.. (as after scraping the algae.. it was all floating around in the water)... it was clear at first.. but by the next day.. the water had gone cloudy again. I've never actually had problems with algae when keeping fish in the past.. although I've never had such a huge plantlife either... never had much luck keeping plants previously. If you have any idea what caused the sudden algae outbreak.. let me know. I have the tank lights on about 10 hours a day.. and the plant cuttings took off like crazy immediately. I'm aware that the PH is much too acidic for a fantail.. but want to know how I could take this down NATURALLY.. as this fish I adopted from a sick tank, has been chemically treated all his life. Is the Wunder Tonic Algae Remover gentle on fish? Can you use natural mineral salts to bring UP the PH? Thanks for your help everyone - much appreciated.

livingart: Thanks for telling me about the 'fight of flight' response fish get when introduced to new plants.. that's something to think about. I'm interested in hearing more about white spots on males during breeding season? It's great to know he might be completely healthy! In answer to your other question.. no.. he does not have any companions yet in his tank. I wanted to get him settled first.. and I will only add another fish of similar size I think - 2 will be enough for a beginner. lmsmith: Thanks for the kind words! It's an expensive hobby - caring for sick fish.. but it's certainly been rewarding to see this fantail (who was about to be thrown away by the fish maintenance man) come back to life! And they all have their own personality don't they? No 2 fish are ever the same! Each has their interesting quirks. Stella: Thanks for the compliment! It's been a real learning experience! To answer your question - no, Mr Fish has not had plants in his tank before. He DID come from the tank at work that had fake plants.. but he's never been around the real thing before. I'll take the plants out of his tank temporarily and see if this makes a difference. Discusguru: I'm aware that a 75 litre tank is small compared with what the average fish enthusiast keeps.. but it's certainly more than enough room for 2 fish.. and that's all I plan on keeping in there. I'm aware of the risk of the water quality turning bad, but I'm not panicking since there is only 1 fish in the 75 litres.. and the water figures at this stage are fine.. only the PH is slightly higher than it should be. Thanks for the advice with the salt & water change. This is what I was planning on doing .. so it's good to have confirmation I'm on the right track.

Hi everyone, As explained in previous posts.. about 4 months ago, I adopted a 2 year old fantail from a diseased tank in my workplace. He had Bacterial Septicemia with internal bleeding. I cured this using a combination of Tonic Salt & 2 courses of Furan 2 (with a week's break in between)... then after a significant break from any treatment.. I gave him a couple of courses of Melafix, to clear up the small remaining bit of the infection.. and what I was left with was a completely healthy and happy fish. I kept my fish in a very small tank with only a pump.. because I still wasn't sure whether he'd live or die. When I was sure he was fine.. I bought him an AquaOne 510 (75 litre tank). Before moving him from the tank, I noticed that he had a small, raised white spot above his left eye.. so I decided to delay the move.. and keep a close eye on the spot.. and make a call about whether I need to treat him with Tonic. The spot came and went over a few days.. then finally went altogether. When I was sure he was fine, I moved him into his new tank (assuming that if it were White Spot, these would be left behind in the tank with the old stones etc. Anyways.. he has LOVED his brand new tank.. and remained the happy, friendly fish he'd always been.. but a few weeks after he moved into the tank.. I bought him some plants.. 4 different kinds - all bought from a local pet store and bred in sterile conditions. Ever since I added the plants, he's been edgy and irratable. He no longer comes up to the top to see me.. and even gets jumpy when I put the food in his tank. His water quality is of course perfect.. other than the PH being a bit high - 7.4. But this was MORESO a problem when he was in his OLD tank without the filter etc. I very much doubt the water quality has had anything to do with what's happening at the moment. I was wondering whether anyone else has noticed a change in their fish's personality after adding plants? He just seems very nervy.. and he's fine when left alone.. but if you go close to the tank to watch him.. he immediately becomes distressed and darts behind the plants! Also, (I'm not sure if this is all related to an illness).. but today when I got home, I noticed that the original white spot that was above his left eye has returned. This is a NEW tank.. with ALL new equipment. If this was ITCH.. then wouldn't the parasites attack just random spots on the fish? It would be very unlikely for different parasites to attack the exact same area above the same eye wouldn't it??? If ANYONE has any ideas about why he may have developed what SEEMS like a fish's version of an anxiety disorder.. and the return of the white spot.. please let me know. I'm absolutely crazy about my little fish... I've spent $1000's on saving this one little guy. He's in this massive, newly established tank, with natural rocks, pump, filter and various new plants that are now growing brilliantly. I've done everything right I feel.. I'm really confused.

Hi everyone, I was wondering if you could tell me what the process is for introducing a new plant into your tank? I'm taking cuttings from a friend of mine who has only 1 fish in her tank - a 10 year old very healthy fish.. but I still want to take precautions. If you could let me know that'd be great. Do you just give the plants a 7 day course of Melafix or something? Thanks

Hey guys, I've finally bought my fantail a really great home - AquaOne 510 75 litres. I want to get some plantlife established. The local pet store here has a crappy collection to choose from. Yet, a friend of mine, who has a 10+ year old comet who lives on his own, has some plant I think she got from the river near where she lives. The tank her comet is in has NO lighting.. and the fish only has gravel, some rocks and that same plant all over his tank - it looks really great! He's an ex pond fish, whereas my fish I rescued from bad water conditions, so he will need a bit extra TLC than the average fish. I'm just worried that if I put a plant like that into my tank, it might make him sick if there's something on it.. on the other hand.. when it's only been exposed to one fish and there are no snails in the tank.. maybe it's a better option than buying something from the pet store where you don't know where that's really been! My friend's tank has these little worms that look like little bits of plant root.. but they're actually alive and squirm around amongst the gravel. Do you guys have any idea what these are? She assumes they're Tubifex worms that have come alive after being dried. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Yes that could be the case, although with Mr Fish - I doubt that. He's very healthy now. But that's exactly what the problem was with my other fish that I rescued. I had to euthinaze him. It was definitely for the best. Just from some movement in the tank which caused stress, he contracted fin rot, a body fungus and white spot.

It came back again yesterday! And today it's gone!! ARGH! It's driving me nuts! The first time I saw the spot, it looked bigger than a whitespot... but the last time I saw it yesterday, when one had reappeared in the same area.. it was a little grain of salt. I'm counting down the days until his tank gets here and I can tranport him over without any of the old tank water. If I notice any more spots though, I will treat him. I've just recently lost a fish (in a seperate tank) to whitespot. Once you start treating them, it can really run them down if their immune systems are recovering from illness.. in which case, mine has recovered from Septicemia.

Hehe that's ok! Thanks for the advice everyone. Because of where the tank's going to be - in my parents house in their dining room - I've gone for a tank that's easy to maintain and looks great - AquaOne 510 (75 litres). I'll buy my Fantail a couple of friends.. should be a good sized tank for housing 3 adult fish in there, as well as getting some good plantlife established (which I've failed to do in the past when keeping fish). Although the Jebo is so reasonably priced, I just decided in the end I'll stick with what I know.. and I've never had problems with AquaOne. Good to know there are other options though )

Thanks guys for your responses! The spot was raised yes. The day after posting this, it disappeared.. but I realised today he has another small white spot (more like a grain of salt now) above the same eye. It doesn't seem to be getting worse. I have ordered him an AquaOne 510 (75 litre tank) which will arrive at the end of this week. Hopefully, the spot will drop off.. and I will move him into his new tank without a problem. It's probably not worth treating him since he's not sticking around in that water.. plus he only has had the one spot on and off.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Unfortunately, I haven't struck anyone whose had experience with Jebo. I don't know.... I'm just a bit hesitant about getting a 'bargain', when these days, you really do get what you pay for.. if that. You have to pay a lot for quality! In my local pet store, they're practically GIVING Jebo's away. The 338 model is selling for $160 in the purple, because it's an 'unpopular colour' that I think was discontinued.. but who cares! The fish doesn't care what colour his tank is!! I was wondering, why are plants to difficult to grow in a tank set like the Jebo or Aqua One? When I had fish years ago, I never actually managed to get a good plantlife established. I used to have an Aqua One, but barely used the UV light. Is it that the tank sets don't have the same exposure to light with everything on the top?

Hi everyone, I have adopted 2 fish that were from a diseased tank in my workplace. One of the fish has died, as his immune system was just too weak and he was picking up everything. I've just gotten home to find the other fish "Mr Fish" who is now VERY healthy and happy, seems kind of sad.. not his usual self.. not rushing to get to the food. He's still eating, but over the past 2 days, he's just lost his spark. That same day I first noticed a change, one of his scales had fallen off. Tonight when I got home, I see there's a little white spot near his eye, which is raised. Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be? Doesn't White Spot usually start on the fins?? I want to be very careful before treating him, because he's been through a lot with the Septicemia he had when I adopted him. He's only been recovered for a month. Please let me know if you can. I have the Wunder Tonic to use, but want to be sure it IS White Spot first, because from experience, I know this makes the fish feel pretty sick.. and I don't want to put him through that if it's unneccessary. Look forward to hearing from you. By the way, both fish were in completely seperate tanks and I even brought them seperate equipment.. just the basics.. because they were in little tanks and wasn't sure whether they'd survive. I know that he's sick because I haven't yet had the chance to get him all the proper testing kits, but I have been changing 30% of his water every 7 days.. and it's very clean.. with no waste. He doesn't have a filter, and I feel terrible I've left him in this poor environment so long, but now that I'm aware that he's recovered, I've been trying to decide between an AquaOne 510 or 620 and it's a tough decision. Thanks

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply ) Unfortunately I lost my little fish.