>The symptoms are : affected fish have pale blue or whitish sheen, first
>signs are that the area between top of head to dorsal fins look like
>sandpaper has been taken to the skin, and skin appears slightly shredded.
>Fins are clamped, and some fish have white spots on the body and gill areas.
>Anyone got some suggestions ?
It sounds like you might have a bad case of white spot or velvet. I
personally believe that there are two types of velvet. One that is fairly
easy to cure and another that takes forever. Here some information that
might be of help:
White Spot:
The organism can only survive if live fish are present for completion of its
life cycle. It can cause massive mortality of fish within a short time and
in severe cases, control may be impossible. A single treatment is not
sufficient for this disease, as the encysted stage is resistant to
chemicals. Repeating the selected treatment will disrupt the life cycle and
control the outbreak. Daily cleaning of the aquarium is also beneficial, as
the encysted forms are physically removed from the environment.
The medication that is particularly effective here is a malachite green /
formaldehyde (37%) combination used at concentrations of 0.1 and 25 ppm
respectively for 24 hours. Treat the fish every other day for a total of
three or four treatments. Change 50-75% of the water in between the chemical
treatments. In simple terms, treat on day 1, waterchange on day 2, treat
again on day 3, waterchange on day 4 etc., etc. If the fish is heavily
parasitised, you may not see any remission of the disease until after the
second or third treatment. If you use the correct method and dose of
malachite/formaldehyde and the fish do not respond within 3 to 5 days, it
will probably be something else?
Suggested ppm level for effective treatment for white spot is:
Formaldehyde 15-25 ppm,
Malachite green 0.1-0.5 ppm.
Velvet Disease:
Any medication that contains copper and/or a malachite green/formaldehyde
combination usually works fine with this disease. Treatment regime is the
same as for white-spot. Personally, I prefer copper-based medications for
the treatment of velvet disease. This treatment is widely referred to in
aquarium fish disease literature, but has to be used with extreme care, as
many fish are highly susceptible to copper. Furthermore, It can be very
toxic in water with low alkalinity. Copper can also bind to the substrate in
the aquarium and leach back into the water for a long time. In addition,
copper levels must be monitored frequently if good results are to be expected.
Most fish are extremely sensitive to copper. Concentrations of copper as low
as 42 micrograms Cu/L were found to be acutely toxic to the Penny-fish
Denariusa bandata. The Chequered Rainbowfish Melanotaenia splendida inornata
and the Chanda Perch Ambassis sp. have been found to be sensitive to copper;
half of the individuals tested died at copper concentrations between 120 and
200 micrograms Cu/L.
When using a commercially formulated copper cure, always follow the label
instructions for dosage rates.
Good luck.
Adrian.
Adrian R. Tappin
Brisbane, Australia.
"Home of the Rainbowfish"
http://www.ecn.net.au/~atappin/home.htm