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A few of my head and taillight tetras have small white spots on them. I believe this is ich but thought I would ask. It is hard to tell because there are bubbles, some whitish looking in the tank and its hard to tell if the spots on the fish are ich. Some of their tails looks... shredded I guess is the word (like another fish has taken bites out of their tail and bottom fin). I know they sometimes chase each other so I didn't know if this was related to the spots. The tank is my 55g. I also have 5 corydoras sodalis which don't seem to have any spots. Also I have 2 ottos in there for now who don't have spots. I tried to get a picture but my camera doesn't zoom in close enough. Also, they don't act sick now...still eat good and swim at the top. Should I go ahead and get ich treatment?

Also the spots are only on their fins, not their bodies. I have 8 tetras and not all of them have the spots. Some have more than others. The top fin of one of them looks nipped at.

Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 09-Nov-2005 19:22

*Kristin*

could it be fin rot?anyway, did they scratch themselves on the gravel or anything too frequently?

They stay at the top so they don't go to the gravel. Would they have white spots on their fins if it was fin rot?

*Kristin*

no..finrot..the tail is like been bitten by some fish.

no..the tetras with shredded like tails have white spots only on their fins..not their bodies. Their tails are not bitten off...just shredded looking.

*Kristin*

Ok well, what I would do is quarantine the affected fish.
You cant use most ich medications with corys (some unsafe meds for use with corys are salt, quick cure, anything that contains methylene blue, formalin, malachite green, copper)
If you quarantine them, a great med is quick cure.
if you cant quarantine them there are a couple meds safe for corys, one is called Kent Marine RX-P, and the other is Kordons Rid-Ich Plus.
Its better to QT them though cuz you wont go through so much meds.
Or, you can just turn the heat up in the tank and wait and hope they cure up on their own.
Ich usually doesnt kill fish, only allows them to be susceptible to other secondary infections.
Clean, warm water, with low nitrates and no ammonia/nitrites is the best prevention for ich.
Good luck.


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You say that the white spots only occur on the fins, not the body. Furthermore, you say that only the Tetras are affected.

Are these white spots like rounded salt grains in appearance (which is the usual diagnostic feature of Ichthyophthirius)? Or, upon close examination, do they appear to be more irregular in appearance, with small wispy tufts emanating from them?

The reason I ask is this. White Spot, when it strikes, is indiscriminate with respect to the location upon the fish that the parasite chooses to feed. When the parasites attack the fish, the spots can occur with equal likelihood on the body as well as the fins. Though it would not be advisable to leave your fish unmedicated just to see if the spots do spread to the body!

On the other hand, I can think of one parasite that strikes aquarium fishes, but which preferentially attaches itself to the fins. More correctly, a group of parasites. These are known as Glochidia - they are the larval stages of certain freshwater mussel/clam species. They spend approximately 6 weeks existing in a parasitic form, attaching themselves to the fins of fishes, before dropping off and settling down to become sessile molluscs. Glochidia will also attach themselves to the gills, and in a severe infestation can stress the fish dngerously, possibly to the point of death. A light infestation of Glochidia, however, is more distressing in appearance than dangerous, and can be bad news for show Betta breeders, as it results in damage to the fins that prevents the affected fish becoming a show winner. To my knowledge, Labyrinth Fishes and Poeciliid livebearers are preferentially affected, though this does not mean that the Glochidia won't attach themselves to other fish species. Note that some Glochidia are capable of attaching to the body, but the preferential attachment sites are, in this order, gills, fins, rest of body.

this page shows a fish heavily infested with White Spot.

This page covers White Spot or "Ich" in some detail.

This PDF Document covers Glochidia in fishes caught in South America. It's not difficult to see how a Glochidia infestation can be confused with White Spot unless you know what you're looking at!

If any of your fishes have spent time in an aquarium with freshwater clams, especially numerous native American species that have parastic larval stages, then a Glochidium infestation should be considered possible.

Here's the good news though - both are treatable. Standard commercial medications for White Spot will eliminate the parasties if instructions are followed carefully - note that you have to continue treatment for at least 72 hours after the last of the 'white spots' have disappeared in order to make sure you kill all the free-swimming larval stages, and preferably, continue treatment for 5 days or so afterwards to make absolutely sure.

In the case of Glochidia, they are not a reproductive stage in the life cycle of the freshwater molluscs, so killing them is a 'once and for all' operation. Copper based meds such as Cuprazin will see them off in pretty short order.


Last edited by Calilasseia at 10-Nov-2005 12:19

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Calilasseia: The spots are very small and do look like salt grains. They look smaller than those on the infected catfish in the picture though. Its hard to describe and I just tried again to take a picture but they move too fast and my camera will not take a clear picture even if they were still. I think I'll try to up the temp. Since I cannot tell for sure if it is ich I will wait to treat with meds. How high does the temp need to be? My temp stays at around 77 degrees F now. Also, should I go ahead and get melafix. Most of them have such torn up fins. They do chase each other so I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the way their fins look, maybe they nip. Can Melafix be used for their fins, and with cories?

If needed to medicate I can quarintine the affected fish. But, I only have a 5 gallon to put them in. I have atleast 4 affected tetras. Would the 5g be too small for a temp. home? They are about 1 1/4 inches long.

I don't know what the spots are and I'm sure you all can't know for sure without seeing them. I'll just up the temp and see how things go. That's all I can do without giving them meds I'm not sure will help. Thanks to everyone for your help.

Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 10-Nov-2005 21:26

*Kristin*

HI there,
yes, I have had fish affected with ICH who only
show spots on their fins too.
I would quarantine the fish, raise the temperature in the
QT tank to at least 80- preferably 82F. Remember, Only raise the temp by about 1 degree a day, 2 degrees at most.

Get a good treatment, like Kent Marine RX-P ( I have found this treatment super super effective for ich, and all fish, even sensitive discus fry and loaches can be treated with), or Kordons Rid ICH +, which I have also heard very good things about.
Please Avoid The Use of Copper, as once it is in your tank,
there is no way to remove it, not even by dumping and scrubbing the tank.
Melafix is totally safe for all fish, and can be used to heal the wounds left by the ich parasite as it leaves the fishes body. Dose only for 3 days, then do a large water change, as Melafix can become lethal in large amounts.


Last edited by So_Very_Sneaky at 11-Nov-2005 00:16

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Thanks..I'm glad somebody set me straight. I will have to get the meds safe for cories too because I dont think the tetras would enjoy being crammed in a 5 gal for a week. I had a picture but it didn't work..probably too big. It was fuzzy anyways. I set the temp on my heater up. It is right about 79 but it raised the temp to 83.0 F now. There was no way to gradually increase it..it went from 77.5 last night to 82 this morning when I checked it. And now 83. It shouldn't go up anymore..I am going to try to adjust it lower.

*Kristin*