I dont know whats wrong with my fish.

Question
I have 3 tetra fish and I change the water on a regular basis. I never let it get dirty.
This weekend I started noticing white spots on one of my fish and he is acting weird. He stays towards the bottom of the tank and doesnt swim around a lot. What should I do?
Thanks

Answer
Hi Jessica;

If the spots look like salt specks, he has a parasite called "Ich". Ich is very contagious. Treat all the fish because even those that don't have spots yet may be infected. The parasites are in the water itself. Get a medication from the fish store that treats it and follow the directions. Some medications must be used at a half-dose for tetras. Check the label carefully. Turn the heater up in your tank to slowly raise the water temperature to 80f. Ich hates heat so it will be easier to kill with warmer water.

If the spots look more like white patches, he may be irritated from something in the water, or he's being picked on, or he may have a different parasite or fungal or bacterial infection. It's just very difficult to know what to do since I don't know what it is because I can't see him. If you could attach a photo of him in a followup question I could take a look. Also, I need more information;

Test the water and let me know what the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are.

What size tank are they in?

How long has the tank been set up?

How long have you had the fish?

What kind of filtration?

What is the water temperature?

How often do you change water and how much water is changed each time?

What kind of tetras are they? Or, describe them.


Let me know what you can, as soon as you can...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins