White Dots On Fish?

[leisurely]

Could someone who knows knowledge please advise? I recently purchased some small goldfish and have seen the other fish in the tank 'sucking' them . When I looked more closeley I could see very small white dots (the only way I can think to describe them) on their bodies and tails. I don't knowif the affected fish find this distressing - I would. So the question finally is this, what can I buy to get rid of the spots?

Thanks

Leisurely

[bkkmadness]

Do the white spots look almost like little grains of salt sticking on the body of the fish?

If so it sounds like you have one of the most common of fish diseases in the tank called whitespot or ich.

Its basically small parasites that are living under the fishes skin, and you will find it present in many healthy fish but they develop almost an immunity to a low level of it. When a fish is stressed though the parasite starts burrowing out of the fishes skin and appear like little white spots sticking on the scales.

Once they burrow out of the fish they multiply and can infect other fish in the tank. It's at the time when the parasite is out of the fish and free swimming that it can be killed using a basic fish medicine, though its a treatment that needs to be run over a period of weeks sometimes.

The disease as I say is very common and most pet/fish shops should have the appropriate medicine availble for it. They might try to sell you one called Malchite Green here, but it's a very strong medicine and easy to overdose the fish with so try to avoid it and go for something a little less powerful. Be very careful to does the aqurium correctly with whatever you buy.

The cause of the problem is generally stress on the fish though, whether its water quality in the tank, sudden temperature change, or another fish bullying them. I would guess since these are newly added fish to the tank that they have got stressed in the transportation and it's caused the outbreak.

You did say other fish are sucking on the goldfish, you haven't got any big suckermouth catfish/plecs that can sometimes stress out the slow moving goldfish have you? It's just something worth looking at because if the fish has been stressed another way aside from the transportation, you'll end up treating this and it'll just come back if the cause of the problem is still there.

Its an easy disease to treat though, and if you keep fish long enough you'll come across it a few times. I expect your fish will be fine.

If you don't think it's the white spot disease I'm describing then let us know and we'll see if it could be anything else.

Here's a pic of the disease on a fish, though its not a heavily infected one so not many white spots.

white spot disease pic

And heres a good article on the white spot disease.

Good Luck.

[leisurely]

I just knew you would know the answer. We do have a plec but she (the girls decided it was female) has never troubled them. I am not surprised they are stressed though, if someone was chasing me and sucking me I would be more than a bit stressed.

Sorry to be a bore, but can you recommend a name or brand of something? I'll go as soon as I have more info. I dont want them suffering.

Cheers

Leisurely x

[bkkmadness]

if someone was chasing me and sucking me I would be more than a bit stressed.

Depends who that someone is I suppose.

I haven't a clue of the best brand names for fish medicines in this country, although it's a pretty basic treatment so most brands should be fine. Because it's a treatment that needs to be put in as a course and not a single dose maybe just find something with English instructions on the back so it's easy to follow.

I would think 'Nordlys' might have some info on what brand medicine is best though, perhaps you'd be better to ask him about it.