Bichir white spots

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Drips702

Exodon
MFK Member
Oct 22, 2017
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Hello i recently had 1 ropefish die due to an unknown illness and im trying to figure out if the bichirs where affected somehow

1 have the remaining rope fish and eel in a quarantine tank and im treating with melafix

My rope fish started with a white spot on its tail and it started to grow, within 2 days he was gone. The other started having the same problem so i put him in the hospital tank along with the eel because eel had some white substance asweel.

I have 6 bichirs in the tank and my largest has a white spot and other small patches on his back, another one has similar marks on the side of his mouth

I have rocks as decor and all my fish are a bit skittish, they usually get spooked and dart away fast if i come close to the tank to quickly

Im wondering if they have somekind of scratch or if they have the same illnesses. I dont know how long the spot has been there, i know its been 1 week since iv noticed it..

Anyone have any idea, i really dont wanna lose anymore fish

Iv turned up the heat to 84f and added salt.

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White patches on a bichir? More than likely it is Bichir worms or fungus. If it is fungus you will see white fuzzy patches generally, resembling cotton.

I don't really see that in the photos so I'm leaning toward bichir worms. I had these on my bichirs years ago and nearly lost the colony. They make white patches on the skin of the fish that keep getting wider. It's hard to see the individual worms. I think they come in on wild caught specimens, then have random population explosions in our tanks.

Are you certain there isn't another fish that could be pecking at them? If not I'm learning towards worms as it doesn't really resemble fungus.

I think you need praziquantel. It's a medication you add to the water column, it does not kill your biological filtration. Common product names are Prazipro. At most local fish stores and online, amazon etc. Increase aeration on the tank while treating. Treat twice to kill the whole lifecycle as the medication doesn't kill the eggs or larval stages.

Anyone else have an opinion? Am I overlooking anything? The treatment is safe so it won't cause any harm so it is safe to try.

Good luck, keep your water quality high to promote healing.
 
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Dieselhybrid said:
White patches on a bichir? More than likely it is Bichir worms or fungus. If it is fungus you will see white fuzzy patches generally, resembling cotton.

I don't really see that in the photos so I'm leaning toward bichir worms. I had these on my bichirs years ago and nearly lost the colony. They make white patches on the skin of the fish that keep getting wider. It's hard to see the individual worms. I think they come in on wild caught specimens, then have random population explosions in our tanks.

Are you certain there isn't another fish that could be pecking at them? If not I'm learning towards worms as it doesn't really resemble fungus.

I think you need praziquantel. It's a medication you add to the water column, it does not kill your biological filtration. Common product names are Prazipro. At most local fish stores and online, amazon etc. Increase aeration on the tank while treating. Treat twice to kill the whole lifecycle as the medication doesn't kill the eggs or larval stages.

Anyone else have an opinion? Am I overlooking anything? The treatment is safe so it won't cause any harm so it is safe to try.

Good luck, keep your water quality high to promote healing.
Click to expand...

that makes sense i guess, when i was at the fish store and looked at the rope fish that they had in stock i noticed one of them had a white tail, i didnt see it on the 2 that i got so i though it would be ok. I didnt have a quarantine tank at the time so i just added them right in. i think they may have been wild caught since they had just gotten them in and i had been looking for one for a couple months. Since you said it doesn't hurt beneficial bacteria i will give that a try.

Thank you , i really hope this works i bought those bichirs less that 2 months ago when they where 2-3in and they have grown so much i really dont wanna lose them.


also since i increased heat in the tank and added aquarium salt, do you think it will affect the treatment in anyway?
 
oh damn, i started looking for worms in my tank and i feel so freaking stupid for no noticing earlier they are literally everywhere in the tank , they are tiny Little white lines that are stuck to the glass i thought they where just little particles in the tank wtf in so dumb, im running to the fish store right now and getting some treatment.
 
Dieselhybrid said:
White patches on a bichir? More than likely it is Bichir worms or fungus. If it is fungus you will see white fuzzy patches generally, resembling cotton.

I don't really see that in the photos so I'm leaning toward bichir worms. I had these on my bichirs years ago and nearly lost the colony. They make white patches on the skin of the fish that keep getting wider. It's hard to see the individual worms. I think they come in on wild caught specimens, then have random population explosions in our tanks.

Are you certain there isn't another fish that could be pecking at them? If not I'm learning towards worms as it doesn't really resemble fungus.

I think you need praziquantel. It's a medication you add to the water column, it does not kill your biological filtration. Common product names are Prazipro. At most local fish stores and online, amazon etc. Increase aeration on the tank while treating. Treat twice to kill the whole lifecycle as the medication doesn't kill the eggs or larval stages.

Anyone else have an opinion? Am I overlooking anything? The treatment is safe so it won't cause any harm so it is safe to try.

Good luck, keep your water quality high to promote healing.
Click to expand...

My local pet shop only had api general cure, it has 75mg off prazaquantel i hope it doesnt affect bacteria as much because its used for other illness aswell.

i held off on water change prior to using to hold as much BB as possible

Thanks for your help and wish me luck
 
Drips702 said:
My local pet shop only had api general cure, it has 75mg off prazaquantel i hope it doesnt affect bacteria as much because its used for other illness aswell.

i held off on water change prior to using to hold as much BB as possible

Thanks for your help and wish me luck
Click to expand...

API general cure contains metronidazole and praziquantel. Neither will crash your biological filtration. Do not let your water quality deteriorate, that's as important as medications.

Good luck, I think you have a chance for recovery. You can also put a packet in a cup of water and dissolve. Then soak foods in the water before feeding so they ingest internally. This will speed up the action of the medications.


The worms you see on the glass could be a second species called planaria. They are caused by having too much organic matter in the tank. Too much food or too much poop. You are likely overfeeding. Bichir worms are very small and hard to see without magnification. If they are indeed bichir worms everywhere.... It's good you're treating now!
 
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The larger white lines that you see are particles in the water that where moving so the camara made it look like its a larger worm.
 
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