little white bumps on cat fish

Question
I have a 55 gallon tank that I have had set up for 3weeks, I have recently noticed little white in color bumps on the cat fish and one of my cichlads.  I had my watered tested at petco they said my ph was high and my water is hard.  so they recommened 20% water changes for a couple weeks and bring in another sample.  I did one water change last saturday and will be doing another tomorrow.  I also just put some parasite clear (brand-Jungle fish care made easy) tank buddies I just need to know if this is the right course of action, for I don't want to lose anymore fish, and I don't want it to spread. How long tell I should do another water change?  since I just put medication in.  Was this right or wrong?  Thank you for your advice

Answer
Hi Samantha;

Make a water change at least once a week because the tank is still in the break-in period. You didn't mention what the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are. Ask Petco what your actual levels were and not just whether it's too high or too low in something. We need actual numbers. Have them write it down for you so you know if anything has changed since the last test.

Don't alter the pH. As your tank ages it will adjust itself. Trying to alter it with chemicals only causes fluctuations which is very stressful to the fish. Your fish will get used to the pH your tank likes to be. Basically, a "good" pH is a stable pH.

I hope the medicine you are using will kill the ick. Praziquantel (the main ingredient) isn't really the medication of choice for it. It works great on flukes and other similar "bugs", but not necessarily ick. You might want to use Quick Cure instead or just simply raise the water temperature to 82 degrees, add aquarium salt at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon of water and the parasites will die off in 10 days. You may see more white spots for the next couple of days but it's only because they had already burrowed into the skin and hadn't shown the white spot yet. Traditional medicines can be very irritating and burn the skin, eyes and gills. That's why I usually opt for the natural method of salt and heat. Ick hates salt and heat.

Below is a link to my article on new tanks so you know what's going on in there;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

I hope they feel better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins