And I thought warmer water was supposed to kill whitespot!

[ChocolateCake123]

This is not your average case of whitespot
I have 6 clown loaches, 3 with whitespot Here is where it gets tricky : The water temperature in the tank is 31 degrees . I thought that was supposed to kill whitespot. Apparently not. I cannot think of anything that could have stressed them, maybe new fish introduced it? In any case, should I use medication or let the temp do its job? Please help!

 

[kno4te]

The increased temps will help to quicken the life cycle of ich. Once in it’s free swimming phase then it’s susceptible to meds etc.

Clown loaches are known to get ich. It happens.

Would add salt at 1 tsp per gallon x3, 6hrs apart. If ur not comfortable doing it then drop the temp down and add some seachem paragaurd.

 

[Rocksor]

The ich will die when it is in free swimming stage after hatching, not as a white spot on the fish. Once it drops off of the fish, it will lay in the substrate until it hatches.

 

[squint]

I would try medicated feed with metronidazole or UV.

I've had clown loaches for 15+ years now and never had ich. I credit UV.

 

[twentyleagues]

Yup elavating the temp speeds up its cycle then you need something to kill it. Uv needs to be pretty large to kill it I think.

 

[Rob909]

I personally use Kordon Rid-Ich Plus. It’s never killed any of my fish. I’ve used it with clown loaches, botia loaches, fire eels, and crayfish. All sensitive to meds. I use the full dose and it doesn’t even stain the silicone. It will stain your hands for a couple days though!
Use this with the higher temps and the temps will speed up the life cycle of the parasite, the meds will kill it. I don’t even bother to raise temps, it just takes a bit longer to treat.
The parasite can only be killed once it’s in the water column so if it’s still attached to fish, meds won’t kill it. This is why the directions say to continue treatment for 3 days after the last sign of white spot. By doing this, I’ve never had it come back.

 

[ChocolateCake123]

Thanks everyone, for your input!
I should have made this clear: The water temp was 31 degrees since August 26, when I purchased them, and I suspect the whitespot hitchhiked in with some kuhli loaches. I also purchased Super Ich X, a whitespot cure that is safe for scale less fish. Hope it will work. And yes, I will try some of the suggestions as well.

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks everyone, for your input!
I should have made this clear: The water temp was 31 degrees since August 26, when I purchased them, and I suspect the whitespot hitchhiked in with some kuhli loaches. I also purchased Super Ich X, a whitespot cure that is safe for scale less fish. Hope it will work. And yes, I will try some of the suggestions as well.

When using Super Ich X, you should bring the temperature down to 82-84F (28-29C) so that the water is capable of holding more oxygen.

There's also a chance that your thermometer is not that accurate and a shift in 1C can be a big difference from killing the ich.

Most ich can be killed at 90F (a little over 32C).

https://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/fisher...multifiliis-White-Spot-Infections-in-Fish.pdf

 

[twentyleagues]

When using Super Ich X, you should bring the temperature down to 82-84F (28-29C) so that the water is capable of holding more oxygen.

There's also a chance that your thermometer is not that accurate and a shift in 1C can be a big difference from killing the ich.

Most ich can be killed at 90F (a little over 32C).

https://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/fisher...multifiliis-White-Spot-Infections-in-Fish.pdf

That 90 is scary and probably extreamly stressful on fish 2 weeks of rising and lowering the temp. So much easier to qt your fish treat the qted fish and your good. But elevating the temp to mid 80s to accelerate the lifecycle and use a good med should cut down on stress and eliminate the issue within a week (7-10 days).

 

[ChocolateCake123]

twentyleagues , I wish I had a quarantine tank, but there is no more space in my house, no matter how much I move stuff around. The disease has only been present for 3 days, not 2 weeks. The whitespot seems to be getting worse. Should I be worried or is the high temp speeding up the life cycle?