Problem Number Three

So much for breeding over Christmas....

Bruce has "White Spot", or Ick.

This has resulted in a very scary journey to the fish shop in the snow for the medicines he needed! There was much skidding and BMW-annoying...

I've gone for Protozin to treat the white spot, a dechlorinator because I've had to change the water entirely (and wash the gravel) and Bacterlife to hopefully prevent it happening again.
The dechlorinator is a one off treatment, but the Protozin which treats the actual infection has to be given four times over the course of a week, and hopefully it will clear up. The Bacterlife is a weekly treatment which will keep the ammonia and nitrate levels down. (It dissolves fishy-poo the filter doesn't get!) So that's now going to become an ongoing thing! Although probably not for the big tank, but for the fighting fish. The main tank is large enough and has a good enough filter for it to not really be a problem, but I've treated it anyway just to be on the safe side because it won't hurt.

White Spot itself is pretty gross.
These "Ick" are actually tiny single cell organisms that latch onto a fish's body and suck their blood. A bit like teeny tiny fish fleas. They're only fatal if not treated soon enough as they can block the gills and effectively suffocate a fish. The problem part is that once they're all full up on fishy-blood, they detach themselves, sink to the bottom of the tank and multiply within the thousands. Hence the need to clean the tank. My breeding female isn't really showing many signs, so if she has got it, it's in the very early stages so I should get away without a tank clean. My other three females simply look very lethargic, which is again one of the early signs. I may have to completely clean their tank too, but I'm going to chance if for a few days and see if any spots appear.

Bloody Nuisance!!