Green Tiger Barb

Question
Hello, One of my green Tiger Barbs has developed what looks to me like white little bumps all over it's body. What is this and will it hurt the rest of the aquaruim fish. Is he sick?  Please advise

Answer
Good evening Carlos, thank you for your question.

It sounds like your green tiger barb has ich, a protozoan infection [parasitic]. Unfortunately, this is a contagious disease and your whole aquarium will have to be treated.

Heat and salt are the mildest treatments, but there are a variety of effective medications out there. I would recommend Malachite Green by itself or in conjuction with Formalin, HOWEVER, it is imperative to medicate in a hospital tank so as not to damage your biological filter in your main tank. Ridding an empty tank of ich aka whitespot, is much simpler, since high temperatures and the lack of a host break the life cycle of the parasite. Here is a very fine article on all aspects of ich, from treatment to diagnosis: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

That should tell you exactly what to do. If you wish to read more on the subject, check out these sites:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm

Guide yourself around those two sites in general, they are a very helpful source of beginner as well as advanced information on the science of fishkeeping.

Good luck!
Nicole