some fish have them on their tails and sides. I also noticed some weird spots on inside of tank, looked like fingermarks but when i remove them they reappear after a day or so. Is this something I need to do something about? :oops: :-?

Do they look a bit like grains of salt stuck to the fish? If that's the case it's probably ich, which is a fairly common fish disease that'll need to be treated for. I'm not sure how so I'll leave that to the others to answer. Don't know what kind of white flecks are floating in your tank though. If they're 'swimming' not floating, it could just be small water critters such as cyclops and daphina that are no harm to fish.

Do they look a bit like grains of salt stuck to the fish? If that's the case it's probably ich, which is a fairly common fish disease that'll need to be treated for. I'm not sure how so I'll leave that to the others to answer. Don't know what kind of white flecks are floating in your tank though. If they're 'swimming' not floating, it could just be small water critters such as cyclops and daphina that are no harm to fish.

Yes it looks like little sprakling grains of sand, things in the tank come up from the bottom and make their way to the top, can't decide if they are swimming or floating. I also picked out a few weird looking things with a solid centre but fluffy wooley on the outside, about the size of a tiny pea.

If the fish have white spot - the little things that look exactly like grains of salt stuck to the fish - then best you treat them quick smart. I lost 6 lemon tetras to white spot over one weekend, it's not an experience I'd wish on anyone else.

Can't comment on the other things sorry.

If the fish have white spot - the little things that look exactly like grains of salt stuck to the fish - then best you treat them quick smart. I lost 6 lemon tetras to white spot over one weekend, it's not an experience I'd wish on anyone else.

Can't comment on the other things sorry.

The question is how do I treat them? I am very new to this hobby and need all the help I can get.

I also picked out a few weird looking things with a solid centre but fluffy wooley on the outside, about the size of a tiny pea.

could be uneaten food that has started to grow fuzzy mold. Did you remove all the dead fish .. no bits left that the fish were eating?

Gosh I hope you don't have ich in your tank. that's the last thing you need when you're starting out but it is treateable. The ich is on the fish itself and not floating about. not the visible ich anyway. the white specks you are seeing on the fish , are they the same as what you are seeing in the water?

could be uneaten food that has started to grow fuzzy mold. Did you remove all the dead fish .. no bits left that the fish were eating?

Gosh I hope you don't have ich in your tank. that's the last thing you need when you're starting out but it is treateable. The ich is on the fish itself and not floating about. not the visible ich anyway. the white specks you are seeing on the fish , are they the same as what you are seeing in the water?

Thanks, yes they look the same and what spots come up from the bottom settle on the top, there is now a very thin fine layer of those tiny little silvery white sparkly little dots, they are very very small but yes the same as what floats/swims sits on their tails. One of the fish constantly hides at the top of the tank behind the black top of the filter inlet.

Well I know there are medications you can get to treat it, most petstores will have them but I don't know how good they are. Hopefully a more experienced aquarist can give you a better answer, since i hear some medications can also be pretty toxic for fish. What you could do for now though, is to keep the water clean, so lots of water changes. I think turning the heat up a bit can help too, but only within reasonable range for the species of fish you have of course.

Try googling 'ich treatments' and you should find some decent info.

As for the silvery sparkles, what kind of filter do you have? I think they may just be bubbles in the water. They're everywhere in my kitset tank with a wet-dry filter, but I never see them in my tanks with sponge filters.

It might not be ich then if it's swimming about... Ich is stuck on the fish as little cysts, they don't swim about at that stage.

this is my choc zebra who had ich .. the white spots stay in one place till they drop off. I successfully treated him with salt, increased temp and white spot cure.

and after treatment - spots gone .. s

I wonder if the white things in the water are something like planaria.. a harmless white wormy thing that comes from over feeding. They start off as little tiny leech type things that you can see on the glass, then they start to swim and later become longer thread like worms.

just use salt + white spot cure. - from any pet shop.

dose exactly as it says on the bottle, and do gravel vacs when you change the water on days 2, 3,4,5,6,7 etc.

you haven't said what fish, but higher temps speed up the cycle.

If it is indeed ich.

Well I know there are medications you can get to treat it, most petstores will have them but I don't know how good they are. Hopefully a more experienced aquarist can give you a better answer, since i hear some medications can also be pretty toxic for fish. What you could do for now though, is to keep the water clean, so lots of water changes. I think turning the heat up a bit can help too, but only within reasonable range for the species of fish you have of course.

Try googling 'ich treatments' and you should find some decent info.

As for the silvery sparkles, what kind of filter do you have? I think they may just be bubbles in the water. They're everywhere in my kitset tank with a wet-dry filter, but I never see them in my tanks with sponge filters.

Not sure what you call the filter but it sits inside the lid and has white cotton like material, little black things on one side and white circular ones on the other. I am not sure about them being just water bubbles as it is the same as what has attached to the fish, i do have bubbles from the filter but they are much bigger, these just come up from below and settle at the top, not noticed them before today.

i think your filter is similar to two of my tanks which are blue planets. Three compartments.. black bioballs, white filter wool and white noodles.

can you take photos ? sometimes top filters like that make micro bubbles these are really tiny bubbles that can attach to the side of the glass and also fish , they are unsightly but harmless . they may appear sparkely as they reflect light

can you take photos ? sometimes top filters like that make micro bubbles these are really tiny bubbles that can attach to the side of the glass and also fish , they are unsightly but harmless . they may appear sparkely as they reflect light

Thanks, my camera is kaput I have sought advice, turned up the temp and added rocksalt. shall see what happens, thanks for your input.

Well I've never seen the bubbles attach to fish, but the filter sounds similar to the one on my kit tank (ie. the kinda that can make lots of micro bubbles). Well if what's on your fish are bubbles, then they shouldn't be on the same spot on your fish each time, so just get a good look and see if they've moved spots

Well I've never seen the bubbles attach to fish, but the filter sounds similar to the one on my kit tank (ie. the kinda that can make lots of micro bubbles). Well if what's on your fish are bubbles, then they shouldn't be on the same spot on your fish each time, so just get a good look and see if they've moved spots

They are so tiny its hard to see if they move. But they only float in an upward movement. I added rock salt and increased the temp so hopefully im on the way to dealing with it properly.

Well I've never seen the bubbles attach to fish, but the filter sounds similar to the one on my kit tank (ie. the kinda that can make lots of micro bubbles). Well if what's on your fish are bubbles, then they shouldn't be on the same spot on your fish each time, so just get a good look and see if they've moved spots

Microbubbles caused by the filter is easy enough to test. Turn it off for half an hour.