View Full Version : Red Tail Payara has white spots? What to do?
I just bought a Red Tail last friday and noticed that it had ich (alright, no prob). Where I messed up was I did not check him out before I put him into my tank. He has little white snow balls on his body. A lil here and there but want to get rid of it.
I have Mardel's Copper Safe and ARI's Melafix. Will one of these work to stop the white snow balls from spreading? I don't think any other fish has it but I might as well let everyone get medicated. I did add salt for the Ich (would this help for the snowballs?).
By the way, Its not my water. I do high maintenence on my water and check params once a month, so I know it was from the store.
Thanks for your help
jelly
12-18-2007, 10:54 AM
Be carefull with the meds as I think you understand. I used a standard White spot remedy on my scomb and it killed him. Copper based meds are a no no...
West1
12-18-2007, 11:01 AM
what do you recom. for the little snowballs that are on him?
JD7.62
12-18-2007, 11:22 AM
First of all ich is in your water...its in my water...its in all water!
Under normal circumstances a fish has a strong enough immune system to fight off the invaders. However, stressors such a move from one tnak to another, aggressive tank mates, less then perfect water quality, ect can reduce the effectiveness of your fish's immune system.
If caught early enough ich is easy enough to treat with out any meds (meds are bad for hydros anyway). Bump your temp up to about 86F add about 1tblspoon of salt per 3 gallons of water. After 2-3 days or when you start to see an improvement do a 25% water change but dont add any more salt.
To prevent ich I keep my tanks around 82-84 and salt in at an approximate ratio of 1tblspoon/5gallons.
West1
12-18-2007, 11:32 AM
First of all ich is in your water...its in my water...its in all water!
Under normal circumstances a fish has a strong enough immune system to fight off the invaders. However, stressors such a move from one tnak to another, aggressive tank mates, less then perfect water quality, ect can reduce the effectiveness of your fish's immune system.
If caught early enough ich is easy enough to treat with out any meds (meds are bad for hydros anyway). Bump your temp up to about 86F add about 1tblspoon of salt per 3 gallons of water. After 2-3 days or when you start to see an improvement do a 25% water change but dont add any more salt.
To prevent ich I keep my tanks around 82-84 and salt in at an approximate ratio of 1tblspoon/5gallons.
Thanks for the info. I didnt know that the water already has ich (learn something new everyday :)) and I have my water at 73 degrees. I will turn it up when I get home. Thanks for the heads.
are the snowballs ich? It just looks like white cotton balls on his body (really small freckles)? If t is Ich, thanks cause that takes a WHOLE lot of stress off my sholders :) Easy to fix:nilly:
As far as meds I didnt want to use them, but I only have dealt with Ich on the eyes and not the body so I was not sure if it was.
JD7.62
12-18-2007, 1:27 PM
73F sounds pretty cold. That could have contributed to the ich....in fact I can almost garuntee it. Turn your tank up to the temp I mentioned but do so SLOWLY cause the difference between 73-86 is HUGE for tropical fish. Take 3 days or so to do this.
okay. Thanks, Long story on why my heater was at this temp...
JD7.62
12-18-2007, 2:20 PM
Long story or not, your water should never get that cool. If you heater goes out you should already have a back up or immediately go out and get one when you are keeping rare and $$$ fish!
Long story or not, your water should never get that cool. If you heater goes out you should already have a back up or immediately go out and get one when you are keeping rare and $$$ fish!
Heater never went out. And the rest of what you said "I know and I hope it never happs again"
Thanks
jlnguyen74
12-18-2007, 3:19 PM
First of all ich is in your water...its in my water...its in all water!
Under normal circumstances a fish has a strong enough immune system to fight off the invaders. However, stressors such a move from one tnak to another, aggressive tank mates, less then perfect water quality, ect can reduce the effectiveness of your fish's immune system.
If caught early enough ich is easy enough to treat with out any meds (meds are bad for hydros anyway). Bump your temp up to about 86F add about 1tblspoon of salt per 3 gallons of water. After 2-3 days or when you start to see an improvement do a 25% water change but dont add any more salt.
To prevent ich I keep my tanks around 82-84 and salt in at an approximate ratio of 1tblspoon/5gallons.
:iagree::iagree: And yup, 73 is pretty cold.... I keep mine in the 82ish... Never under 78... even with my two Hi-fin shark, the tank is 80ish
Thanks boys! Hey jlngyen did you get the Red after all?
N-E Cichlids
12-18-2007, 3:40 PM
Never heard of Ich being in the water. In all my times of doing research I have found that ich is present on all fish and under normal conditions fish can fight it so there are no break outs. If only the payara is showing signs, I would get him out into a smaller tank and treat him. Smaller tanks are easy to get the temp up quickly and get the salt mixture right. You want to nip it in the butt quickly.
What size is the payara. A 10 gallon is great for a 6-8" one for QT.
My payara is 8"
You think its okay to put my Gold SaumGT in my tank and put the Payara in the 60gl (by himself) and use it as a Qtank?
vamptrev
12-18-2007, 6:20 PM
i wouldnt move him, it will stress him more . add salt, and raise temp.
N-E Cichlids
12-18-2007, 8:48 PM
If raising the Temp and adding salt does not work, you will have to use meds to cure it. Meds will cause the water quality to go down in your tank, thus causing more stress on fish that are already sick. If one or two of your fish are sick, I would move them so they do not infect your healthy fish. I personally would rather lose one or two fish rather than risk problems with all of my fish and possibly lose them. It's all a matter of preference though. Good Luck
vamptrev
12-18-2007, 9:47 PM
vamps dont work well with meds. salt is the only way to go. your vamp is stressed and thats the only reason hes getting it. all the other fish should be strong enough to fight it. you caught it early so u will be fine.
West1
12-18-2007, 10:02 PM
Thanks guys. I am going to do the salt cause I don't want to use meds. Hope it works, and I did catch it early so I should be fine. Thanks Vamp and ...Cichlids :)
jlnguyen74
12-19-2007, 10:34 AM
Thanks boys! Hey jlngyen did you get the Red after all?
Not yet... Still thinking... Too many fish in the ocean, too little money :D Does he (Mr. Red) gets better?
West1
12-19-2007, 11:05 AM
looks like it :)
svang55
12-19-2007, 4:18 PM
could it be fungus infections instead of ich?? I've seen ich and treated it before but I've also seen fungus infections too. I used these "alcaceltzer" fizzing type meds and it got rid of the fuzz balls on a cichlid. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
channarox
12-19-2007, 11:57 PM
when i bought my redtail he had ich.
the shopkeeper was like...
are you sure about this?
he may die.
bla bla.
i was like its fine.
so i got a 30 dollar discount. :D
oops...
sorry for derailling.
urm...
when i got my redtail he had ich.
i just added salt and in 1-2 days he was fine. :)
but my temp is always like 32 degrees celcius.
Thanks for the responses guys. My Red Tail is Ich free. I caught it so early and luckily I noticed that my heater was off (it had been off for about 2 weeks) and I wasn't sure if the spots were Ich. N-E-ways, Hes all good. :)
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 5:15 PM
good to hear. now its time to fatten him up..
good to hear. now its time to fatten him up..
I wonder how long it will take to fatten him up? As of right now he has not eaten nothing. I have not dropped feeders, only silversides and market shrimp. I'm sure as he sees my ATF's/Gar eating the shrimp he will strike soon. I try to hold pieces by his mouth/nose with a stick and he swims by it.
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 5:23 PM
I wonder how long it will take to fatten him up? As of right now he has not eaten nothing. I have not dropped feeders, only silversides and market shrimp. I'm sure as he sees my ATF's/Gar eating the shrimp he will strike soon. I try to hold pieces by his mouth/nose with a stick and he swims by it.
try ur best not to give in to feeders. he will come around. they can be very shy when they are young. they do grow slow though so be patient.
Yeah, It took me 3 months to get one of my Vittatus off feeders. He only ate when I fed them feeders (once every other week). So I'm going to do the same to this guy. 2dz minnows every other week
Hey Vamp, whats your daily diet for your Armatus? feed twice a day in small portions?
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 8:31 PM
Yeah, It took me 3 months to get one of my Vittatus off feeders. He only ate when I fed them feeders (once every other week). So I'm going to do the same to this guy. 2dz minnows every other week
Hey Vamp, whats your daily diet for your Armatus? feed twice a day in small portions?
right now im feeding him about 5 regular goldfish, and 1 large commet a day all at once. its getting expensive but i think i will have him on smelt or shrimp soon.
Cool. I'm going to try the starving-Diet :)
when 3 weeks go by, then I'll give him some feeders (only these 3 weeks) then I'll go back to every other week.
What do you think?
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 8:51 PM
Cool. I'm going to try the starving-Diet :)
when 3 weeks go by, then I'll give him some feeders (only these 3 weeks) then I'll go back to every other week.
What do you think?
its a great idea. i dont know why i dont do that. maybe ill start starving my armatus since i dont have any other fish w him. i got my black aro, and bichirs all on shrimp. now all i need to get off live are my 2 armatus's, pbass, and VATF.
Nice tank mates! Are they all in your new tank together?
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 9:43 PM
Nice tank mates! Are they all in your new tank together?
no no... rays and big armatus in 450. black aro and bichirs in 140. atf in 85. small armatus and temensis in 55.
West1
12-20-2007, 10:16 PM
Gees, you have a little SeaWorld! Cool, I wish I had the time for a lot of tanks :)
vamptrev
12-20-2007, 10:22 PM
Gees, you have a little SeaWorld! Cool, I wish I had the time for a lot of tanks :)
they dont need much time. the 450 is easy with the self trickle. i dont ever have to do water changes.
how many tanks u have?
I just have a 150 and my 7yr daughter has a 60gl w/Gold saum GT
Self H2o changes must be nice :)
vamptrev
12-21-2007, 5:26 PM
I just have a 150 and my 7yr daughter has a 60gl w/Gold saum GT
Self H2o changes must be nice :)
ur tat will get very comfortable in a 150. dont give him anything to hide under. i had one that wouldnt stop hiding. ticked me off and i got rid of him. is he getting along w ur atf?
He doesnt mind anyone in the tank. Gar, VATF, Pleco. They swim by him and sometimes kick it next to him. He swims back and forth, but I think it is still a lil to soon about him getting along with the rest.
I noticed the day before yesterday that he had like a piece of meat coming from the opposite side of his 2 fangs (except outside his mouth, but inbetween his 2 fangs). I thought It was that he bumped into something in the tank. This morning I checked on my fish before work and it is getting longer? It looks like if he is growing a third tooth? Cant tell if it is a tooth or a piece of nicely curved/thin meat.
I'll post a (crappy) pic tomorrow from my phone so you can see what I mean. It looks trippy, kind of like a goatee
West1
12-21-2007, 11:56 PM
He doesnt mind anyone in the tank. Gar, VATF, Pleco. They swim by him and sometimes kick it next to him. He swims back and forth, but I think it is still a lil to soon about him getting along with the rest.
I noticed the day before yesterday that he had like a piece of meat coming from the opposite side of his 2 fangs (except outside his mouth, but inbetween his 2 fangs). I thought It was that he bumped into something in the tank. This morning I checked on my fish before work and it is getting longer? It looks like if he is growing a third tooth? Cant tell if it is a tooth or a piece of nicely curved/thin meat.
I'll post a (crappy) pic tomorrow from my phone so you can see what I mean. It looks trippy, kind of like a goatee
Never mind! I got home from work and it was gone. Weird
vamptrev
12-22-2007, 3:19 PM
He doesnt mind anyone in the tank. Gar, VATF, Pleco. They swim by him and sometimes kick it next to him. He swims back and forth, but I think it is still a lil to soon about him getting along with the rest.
I noticed the day before yesterday that he had like a piece of meat coming from the opposite side of his 2 fangs (except outside his mouth, but inbetween his 2 fangs). I thought It was that he bumped into something in the tank. This morning I checked on my fish before work and it is getting longer? It looks like if he is growing a third tooth? Cant tell if it is a tooth or a piece of nicely curved/thin meat.
I'll post a (crappy) pic tomorrow from my phone so you can see what I mean. It looks trippy, kind of like a goatee
they start bangin up their noses when they are nervous or dont have enough room. urs looked like his nose is a little banged up. it will heal in no time.