2 questions fr u!

Question

mono angel with some w   1)Recently I discovered that my mono angle has some disease.some white colored thing is attached onto its head and some part of its body.I am unable to understand what disease it is.Please recommend any medicine to cure that disease.

2)i have been keeping 3 discus,2 angles and some long tailed and zebra danios for quite some time now.There has been no problem.Recently i added a baby turtle to the aquarium.it seems to have no problem.even in youtube i found discus and turtle living together.will there be a problem?

3)One amazing thing i found out on youtube was that parrot fish is living with discus fish.I am really shocked.how can they two live together?Parrots are aggressive.

Answer
Hi Rameez!

Although I couldn't really see what the white spot was, I'm pretty sure it's called Ick.
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (commonly known as freshwater white spot disease, freshwater ich, or freshwater ick) is a common disease of freshwater fish. It is caused by the protozoa Ichtyopthirius. Ich is one of the most common and persistent diseases. The protozoan is an ectoparasite. White nodules that look like white grains of salt or sugar of up to 1 mm appear on the body, fins and gills. Each white spot is an encysted parasite. It is easily introduced into a fish pond tank, or home aquarium by new fish or equipment which has been moved from one fish-holding unit to another. Once the organism gets into a large fish culture facility, it is difficult to control due to its fast reproductive cycle and its unique life stages. If not controlled, there is a 100% mortality rate of fish. With careful treatment, the disease can be controlled but the cost is high in terms of lost fish, labor, and cost of chemicals.

Ick can be very damaging to the gills and skin. In heavily infected fish it can cause a rapid loss of condition, considerable distress and death. Infected fish have small white spots on the skin and gills and produce excess mucus, due to irritation. Whitespot causes most damage when entering and leaving the tissues of the fish. This can lead to the loss of skin and ulcers. These wounds can harm the ability of a fish to control the movement of water into its body. Damage caused to the gill tissue of an infected fish can also reduce respiratory efficiency. This means it is more difficult for the fish to obtain oxygen from the water, and becomes less tolerant to low levels of dissolved oxygen.

I reccomend the Tetra Ick Guard. Ick Guard is a soothing conditioner that quickly clears ick, or white spot, on freshwater fish. It also acts as a vaccine, preventing other fish from getting infected. In addition that, it also treats and prevents the secondary effects of Ick. It costs about $4-7 and can be found at almost any pet shop.  Please follow the instructions before using because it requires quite a few steps.

If you believe there are other diseases in your tank or fish, try the Tetra Life Guard. It's basically a panacea for fish diseases. You'll find this product also at any pet shop too. Well, at least Petsmart is guaranteed to have it.

If you want to make the healing process faster, try the API Stress Coat. (Yes, Petsmart has it too) Stress Coat removes stress up to 40% (scientifically proven!) and contains aloe vera that can also heal injuries. I reccomend this item because Ick is caused by stress and temperature changes.

As for the turtle, I would recommend to remove it once it is significantly larger than the other inhabitants of the aquarium as there is a risk that it will eat up your fish.

Discus are cichlids, meaning they are also somewhat aggressive. As far as I'm concerned about that YouTube video, you should into account that the video is only several minutes long so it does not show the entire lifespan of that discus. There is a chance that the discus in the video is already dead. Another possibility is that the parrot fish just never attack. Not all fish are always aggressive. I have kept a Siamese fighting fish with guppies before and there were never any fights.


Hope this helps!!
~ Sam