# white spots on black fin sharks (dieing)



## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

i have 3 tiger oscars 1 1/2 inches and 3 black fin sharks 11/2 inches 2 raphaels and a clown pleco in a 30gal tank. I have an aquaclear 70 filter. recently i have noticed some white spots on my sharks. not sure wut it is but i know they are sick. I have also observed patches of skin that are discolored. One of the sharks eventually succumbed to wutever this disease is, and the other 2 are looking really pale and will die soon too. Can someone pleae tell me wut this is and a solution to this problem. 

About the same time i noticed the spots i noticed some bubbles forming from the water fall, kinda looks like someone put a drop of dish soap in there. I figured this must be a sign of bad water quality or something please let me know.
Thanx


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Welcome. One of the major reasons its sick is because your tank is badly overstocked. That's a very heavy bioload for such a small tank, and all of them are going to get waaay too big to be kept there for long.

A picture would help but it sounds like it could be a fungus of some sort. I'd start treating with Pimafix and Melafix immediately, after a very large volume water change.

Do you know what your water parameters are (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? How long has the tank been set up? Did you cycle it first and if so, how?


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## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

i never cycled or nothing, the tanks been setup for 3weeks, and i dont know anything about water parameters. I also just noticed my clown pleco has white spots. 

I only plan on using this tank for about a month then i will buy another bigger one.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

That explains much, I would be surprised if any of them survive a non-cycled tank and if they do, their health will be damaged and they won't live their full lives, unfortunately. Not your fault if you didn't know any better. I'd recommend reading the articles in the library about the nitrogen cycle so that when you get your new tank, you can set it up correctly and avoid more losses.  Also, I hope your new tank is going to be very large. If you're putting all of those fish together in it, I'd recommend nothing less than 100 gallons.

Take a sample of your water to your local fish store or pet store and ask them to test it. They'll do it for free. Tell them you need to know the exact numbers, not just "fine" or "good" or anything like that. I also recommend getting a test kit of your own. Its vital to know your water parameters at all times. Don't get one of the ones that uses strips. I recommend Aquarium Pharmaceuticals' Master Test Kit. Its definitely worth the money and will last a long time.

Have you done any water changes since you set up the tank? Until the tank is cycled, you'll need to do at least 50% water changes daily to help keep from poisoning them. Also, are you declorinating the water? I recommend Prime as a declorinator, as it will also detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so they won't be harmful to the fish. Are you using any other chemicals/additives in the tank?


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## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

I am using Prime once i week when i do a 25% water change, and i also use waste control once a week. I have the aquaclear 70 and i have all 3 filter levels. when i get home today i will do a 50% water change. I plan on getting a test kit tonight if i can make it before the store closes.

So do u have any idea what i have to do to fix my pleco?
I also heard that i can get some cleaner shrimp that help clean diseases in the tank. Is this true?


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

No, its not true. There are no shrimp that clean tanks of diseases.  They'll clean your tank of excess food and such, but not diseases. What do the white spots on the pleco look like? Are they tiny round white spots that look like grains of salt, or are they more fuzzy? I'd start with Melafix and Pimafix for the other problem with the sharks, but need to know more about what is on the pleco to tell you what to do for him.


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## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

so it wasnt my pleco that had the spots it was the raphaels. It turns out the spots are Ick. So i have done a 50% water change and cleaned the gravel. I then removed my carbon filter and applied some Quick Cure to kill the parasites. 

All of my sharks have died and both my raphels have the spots, so hopefully they will get better. It just so happens that i bought the sharks and the raphaels (all the infected fish) from the same fish store a week ago, and the store was pretty ghetto. I think that has something to do with it. 

Thanx for all your help i will keep you updated on the status of my fish. thanx again


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## dolifisis (Sep 27, 2006)

I don't think I'd blame the store on this one. Do what Boxermom suggests and learn as much as you can about cycling before adding more fish.


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## Humpy (Oct 15, 2006)

well all the fish i bought from another store and had put in a week before the other ones, they are all doing great. They didnt get affected by the Ick. Anyhow i wont be adding anymore fish to this tank. I will wait till i get a bigger one and i will read up on cycling and do it the right way. But for now my tank is full i just need to learn to take care of it.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Next time, I would highly recommend not using any chemicals to cure the ich, as they tend to cause more problems than they solve. All you need to treat ich is salt and heat. Sorry to hear about your loses.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2006)

Well the cleaner shrimp thing isnt true for freshwater. I've never even heard of a frehswater cleaner shrimp, or shrimp that do the same job. But in the ocean and in many of people's saltwater tanks, cleaner shrimp clean a variety of parasites and bad things off of fish.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

But even SW cleaner shrimp can't clean diseases, no?


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