# Are my AngelFish sick?



## Vietguy357 (Sep 20, 2010)

Hey, I looked at my Angels today and saw that some of the blacked colored one had tiny white thing on their back. I did some research and saw that it could be cotton wool diseases. So I added some salt to the tank. Theres about 7 (they're only about 2-3 inches right now) in a 30gal tank. I tested my water and had 0 amonia, 0 nitrate, and 0 nitrite, CO2 at 22 ppm, tank is medium densely planted, kept at 78F, filtrated by 2 aquaclear 50 (no carbon), 1 powerhead for co2 diffusion and water movement, 78watts of 6700k like for 8-10 hours a day depending on when I come home from class to turn on lights. They are fed twice a day (tropical fish granules in the morning and blood worms or live adult brine shrimp at night). I'll try to take a picture in the morning.


----------



## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

How much salt did you add? Freshwater plants dont respond well to salt, you may want to do a water change to remove it. If you want to use salt, make a hospital tank for it without plants. Could it be the beginnig of ich?


----------



## huaidan (Mar 6, 2010)

Right, no salt! If you can't quarantine and treat with either salt or malachite copper, you could try UV sterilization, it could be more cost effective albeit riskier and more experimental. I had introduced some black tetras into my 100 gal which turned out to be infected with ich about two weeks ago. Long story, check out my other thread, but I put in 2 UV sterilizers ASAP, and two weeks later no signs of white spot.
What led you to believe cotton wool? Ich seems more likely.

If you get a UV sterilizer, a 5 watt submersible would be plenty for your size tank and depending on your sources could be gotten cheaply. Mine cost about $10 each. Set the powerhead to about 60 gph. You'll be getting close to level 2 sterilization. Don't worry about the beneficial bacteria, they're attached to the filter substrate and not in the water column.
Also, UV doesn't treat the fish, it only treats the water. Theoretically, however, UV water treatment has an effect on the water which stimulates the immune system of fish.


----------



## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

Where can you find a UV sterilizer for $10? The cheapest I can find is about $35 from ebay.


----------



## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Try Paraguard by Seachem. It will treat parasites, fungal and bacterial issues and is safe for planted tanks. Malachite green is a carcinogen and copper is bad for plants.


----------



## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

Newt said:


> Try Paraguard by Seachem. It will treat parasites, fungal and bacterial issues and is safe for planted tanks. Malachite green is a carcinogen and copper is bad for plants.


Paraguard does contain malachite green, evidently. You can see here on seachem's website. I may pick myself up some for a preventative dip though.. I've got some fish coming in from places I've never ordered from before. Just thought I would make sure you were aware it still had MG and is still probably carcinogenic. I know too many people with cancer. Not a good thing.


----------



## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Sorry, I didnt realize that. Its been so long since I've had to treat my fish for anything. Typically use Melafix and Pimafix but they dont handle parasites.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Tiny White Thing... 

More like the beginnings of a spreading patch? This could be columnaris. 

More like a single spot, and it does not spread out like a patch? But more spots show up. This could be Ich. 

Treatment is almost completely opposite for these, so ID it, post a picture. 

ATM: Water change that emphasizes cleaning the floor of the tank as much as possible. 
This will do several things:
If it is Ich you may remove some of the Ich that has fallen to the floor of the tank to reproduce. 
If it is a bacterial infection then you may be removing some of them that have not yet infected the fish, but more important you are removing organic matter from the tank. Medicines sometimes attach to organic matter and are lost as far as treating the fish.


----------



## Vietguy357 (Sep 20, 2010)

I can't take a picture of them anymore.  9 angels passed away the last 2 day. The only one left is the big yellow one which I bought 3 or 4 weeks ago (was 1" and now is 4") but I can describe it to the best of my ability. The black angels' head began to look like the "skin" was peeling off. It was right above the eyes and slightly down the side.


----------

