Can anyone recommend a White Spot treatment that doesn't contain dye

[The Mother Confessor]

I have some extra large mangrove roots, which are absolutely essential in my tank. If I removed them all hell would break loose, the caves and holes the wood provides are essential to keeping my fish calm, and I can't remove them to use my usual treatment should an outbreak of White Spot occur.

I like to have a white spot treatment in the cupboard at all times, as I have three large Severums in the tank and I have found over the years that out of all of the fish that I've kept, they are the most prone to getting small outbreaks of white spot when their fins get nipped up, or they are stressed. It doesn't happen often, but the few times that I've had it over the years, it's always been the Severums that start the outbreak off, and as I'm sure you all know, it's best to treat quickly before it spreads, so I like to keep a bottle to hand!

I just realised when I was tidying the cupboard up that the only thing I have is Malachite green, which has always been my go to for it, and it works well, but at the size my fish are now I can't afford to remove the wood and it is copper based, which would potentially kill my Black Ghost Knife, so it's out of the question!

I used to treat it by upping the temp and adding salt, but I already salt my tank with Seachem American Cichlid Salt, so I don't think adding any more would be a great idea, and the temp needs to stay low as it keeps the aggression down and stops breeding.

Can anyone recommend a white spot treatment that doesn't contain dye or copper? Even Esha Exit contains Malachite and Methylene Blue and Methylene Violet. I don't fancy purple wood!!

 

[duanes]

I use rock salt, the concentration needs to be "no" lower than 3ppt (parts per thousand) because at 3ppt the emerging ick cysts will lyse (implode) due ti osmotic pressure. Under 3ppt and the cysts may be irritated but still go on their merry way.
If it were me (and it is what I used) I'd get a salinity meter (sometimes they combine salinity and conductivity) In that way you add the rock salt to the currently mixed in cichlid salt to just above 3ppt. I usually brought the readout on the meter to somewhere between 3.2 and 3.6 ppt, and the ice soon disappeared.

 

[The Mother Confessor]

Do you know what that is in SG?

I have a Hydrometer that I use for home brew, so I can get it to an exact salt concentration if need be. Thanks for the advice, that's a much more preferable way to treat fish if I ever need too, and also very interesting!

Will it kill the parasites that are free swimming? Obviously if I catch it early enough that wont be a problem, but I seem to remember one ick spot makes 2000 parasites and they fall to the gravel and hatch. Yuk.

 

[joe jaskot]

Before I got to your last paragraph I was going to suggest Aquarisol, but it contains chelated copper. However, Aquarisol is safe for plants.

 

[The Mother Confessor]

I forgot to even mention my plants lol, but they are negligible to me. I can replace them, but I can't replace my High Fin Black Ghost. He is rare and invaluable to me

Pretty much everything contains copper that I have found. Maybe I should ask some marine fish keepers. I seem to remember that you can't use copper in a marine tank either, but then not everything is interchangeable between freshwater and marine.

I guess I would just have to try Melafix/Pimafix. Jesus. That is never going to work!

 

[Woefulrelic]

Any reason heat and salt won't work? My severum get a single cyst looking deal when their fins get torn but it's never turned into an ich infestation so far.

 

[The Mother Confessor]

Yeah I have noticed that on Sevs. They tend to clear up eventually. I always panic when I see them, but they seem to be common if they get their fins nipped up. My two males like to nip each other.

I like to keep the heat down as low as I can get away with, it helps to keep aggression down and they don't try to spawn.

I guess that's my only option though, with the salt. I always have salt so it's an easy one for me to use if they ever get it again. Luckily, they went a couple of years without an outbreak. What has worried me so much is that I have added fish this week, and I like to be prepared!

I hate White Spot.

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

You could steadily raise the temperature and in a couple of weeks steadily lower it right back down to where you prefer it. Heat + Salt works wonders for ich.

 

[The Mother Confessor]

I think that would be my only choice, because so far, I haven't found anything that doesn't contain either dye or copper, or both!! I love my BGK, but man he makes things difficult!!

 

[All-Happy]

Best bet would be to seperate/isolate the sick in quarantine tank with treatments and high temp.