Malta Aquarist Society

I have a marine tank and 1 of d fish has white spots. I don't have treatment for it and im afraid even d others get infected. Is there someone who can help me pls? If you have treatment for white spots specificaly for marine and can give me some pls can you kindly do me a favour and meet now pls cos im very worried. Can't wait till tomorrow to buy 1 cos it might be too late.

I thank you in advance.

Whats the temperature of you water? I would increase this as it will kill the parasites found in the aquarium, not only those on your fish.

How many fish do you have infected? Ofcourse don't introduce other fish for the moment. Have you introduced any fish, corals recently?

Stay calm Ganni and give us some more information maybe we can help. Marine Whitespot is also called Cryptocaryon and is not so easy to eradicate. DO NOT USE COPPER BASED MEDICINE IF YOU HAVE INVERTS IN YOUR TANK. Ask for coral safe products. Even if used once, copper can stay in the aquarium irrispectively of how much you change the water as it will penetrate the rockwork, accessories etc.

Please test the water and post the results. Temperature, Salinity, pH, Alkalinity, Nitrite, Nitrate and Ammonia.

Is it a fish only aquarium or a reef? How big is the system? What species of fish is the one infected? Can you catch it and threat it by itself by dip or bath?

I have used Copper sulfate in the past as an algaecide in ponds.  Copper is toxic to all aquatic organisms, may cause long term damage in the environment especially in closed systems such as aquaria and ponds. I totally agree with Reggae - DO NOT USE.

 Hi reggea, can marine white spot be introduced with corals?

 I never heared or read that cryptocaryon can be introduced with corals. As far as I know it is a fish disease.

 Yes its a fish disease but can it be introdeced with corals? like for example in freshwater where it can be introduced with live plants.

 :-) I knew you know that it's a fish disease. But as far as I'm aware there's no risk of introducing the cysts with corals. Cryptocaryon and f/w ich cysts are almost always present in an aquarium, waiting for a stressed fish as host.

Hi and thanks to all. Sorry for not replying to none of you but now my fish are ok except for 1 miskina 'cause it died. I was very worried especially for the lion. I don't have corals just fish for now. After that i installed a protain skimmer and the fish seems healthier and even the water is more cleaner. It does a great job. Anyway thanks again.

Hi Ganni,

White spot is a very common disease unfortunately in both freshwater and marine aquariums. Although the symtoms of the white spot disease are very similar for both type of aquariums the disease in freshwater and marine aquariums are totally different. The marine whitespot name is called Cryptocaryon irritans like Reggae has already said, and the freshwater whitespot is called Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. These two parasites need different husbandry or treatment regimes to prevent and resolve an outbreak. The marine whitespot parasite is an obligatory pathogen (it needs a host to survive). So no susceptible animals in a system or successful treatments mean that the parasite can be successful eradicated from a display or quarantine system. This is unlike freshwater white spot where the cyst can survive for a long period off-fish. Ganni, both of these disease normally attack the fish when they are stressed or they are in bad water quality. So, the best method for trying to prevent that this disease stay out of your aquariums is fundamental to always try to keep excellent water quality and stable parameters so the fish don't stress themselves.

Hope this helped you a bit to understand in brief what and how this disease can attack your fish.