Tetra Whitespot

Please don't get to feeling despondent.


Is it definitely Whitespot? Your fish have shown signs of this for two weeks - have any of your Tetras died?


Whitespot is one of the 'Crosses We Must Bear' in our Fishkeeping lives.
Unfortunately it seems to be developing into a form which seems more resilient and better able to resist available remedies but I have always had the utmost confidence in Waterlife remedies - their Protozin has always worked for any attacks my fish have suffered. Others have similar confidence in different treatments so there's no way I'm suggesting my recommendation is THE only one worth using - merely that it has always worked for me.
I expect by now you will be familiar with the life cycle of Whitespot, but it's worth mentioning - just in case.
They are protozoa which attach themselves to fish where they remain until they reach a sort of maturity then burst open, releasing their 'spores' into the water - these then attach themselves to other host fish and the cycle repeats itself.
It's when these spores are off the host fish that they are susceptible to the medication - which is the reason for raising the water temperature to speed up the life cycle of the parasite.
That, of course, is only a shortened version of the description and I expect you could find a more definitive description online if you wanted to.

I (again very personally) don't like doing water changes during a treatment process regime (even though some of the treatments suggest this can be done) since I feel it potentially weakens the effect of the medication, plus with Protozin it's only a six-day cycle anyway.

As to it only being present on the Tetras - it was always acknowledged that these Fish were the most susceptible to Whitespot - although there would appear to be no logical reason behind this.

Removing the Tetras would really only be a last resort move - and, even then, there might still be traces of the infection remaining - to attack your other fish.

Goldilocks wrote:

Thank you for your reply. A few of the other fish did have the spots at first but the treatment worked for them. I lost most of my cardinals. I have three remaining who appear spot free. The Rosy tetra still have a lot of spots but don't appear too bothered. I have a large family event next week & was hoping to have the tank looking lovely.

Where do I get the treatment you have mentioned? I brought API Whitespot treatment today. I'm afraid all these treatments will affect the other fish. It is definitely whitespot & I have had it before in smaller tanks but it always responded to treatment straight away.

The Waterlife Protozin makes the water a 'greenish' hue, but it soon clears so the water will still look 'pristine' for your family event.
However, if you're concerned that the fish mightn't be looking their best (if still inflicted) you could just temporarily rehome the 'patients' for the day (in their tank water, do you have a spare tank?) but quite possibly this may have cleared up before then. You mentioned 28 degrees as the maximum you can get the temperature up to - this should be fine to speed up the metabolism process of the Whitespot.
This is 'pinched' from their website:
" PROTOZIN is used for the control of all protozoan and fungal infections e.g Whitespot, Fungus, Neon Tetra Disease, Velvet, Costiasis and Trichodiniasis.
You will require 4 separate applications to complete the course of treatment. By adding the treatment on days 1, 2 and 3 the product safely compounds in strength and does not burden the already stressed animals with a hard hitting formula.
The final dose on day 6 is a preventative measure to try and ensure the organism does not re-occur. PROTOZIN's properties are highly effective at treating all its target organisms.
Protozin is 'waterlifes' best selling disease treatment world wide.
Suitable for tropical freshwater and coldwater aquaria".

So they, at least, do definitely discourage water changes during treatment but a word of warning - you should do one before starting if you've any residue of previous medication in your tank.
I'm sure Seahorse do sell it - but in all likelihood most other shops will also - the small advantage with the former is that they will post it if you can't get to them.

John