White spots on all my fish

Sorry it has come to this....join me in my boat. Treat with copper for 3 weeks minimum (the average lifecycle of the parasite is 21 days). Set up the hospital tank large enough to house all the fish comfortably (I used a 30 gallon tank for 5 fish). Put in a decent filter and some biological filtration media (I used Seachem Matrix in a filter bag). You will want to establish biological filtration if you are going to QT your fish for 8 weeks (yes, I said 8 and not 6). Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate every day for the first few weeks, and you will probably be doing large water changes every 2 days or so to control ammonia and nitrites.

I've just been through this myself, so just ask if you have questions.

One further detail ***This whole process will be absolutely useless unless you plan to QT all future purchases - including fish, coral, or rock. Anything you add to the tank can be carrying the parasite and re-infect your tank. So if you plan to do the 8 week QT, be prepared to quarantine all future purchases. If you aren't prepared to do that, I would personally just keep the fish in the DT, feed well, and if any get really sick, treat those in a hospital tank with copper for 3 weeks and then re-introduce.

 

Thanks for the info guys. For hiding spots could I just use some large cups?

 

PVC works great for hiding spots. Hit up home depot and ask them if they have any large scraps you could have.

~Will.

 

The fish are in the hospital tank. I put some nori in there but they weren't interested. Do they need to settle in before they will eat?

 

Yeah, they are probably disoriented because they are no longer in the place they knew. This is actually one of the times the fish are the most vulnerable to die, because they are so stressed (both by the ich and the new environment). Keep the water quality good, and keep offering them food soaked in garlic and/or selcon. Have you added the copper yet? If not, and if the ich isn't too bad, you may consider holding off on the meds for a day or two to let the fish settle in before adding the additional stress of the medication.

 

They are more stressed out now from moving them. They should start to eat as long as the ich is not that bad. How bid is your QT. i would say also at elast 30 gall qt for 4 fish to treat and then keep main tank fish free for 8-12 weeks. You will have to do little frequent water changes in the qt very often to keep ammonia down. Good Luck

 

No Im not going to add the copper untill they act more comfortable.

 

The HT is 30 gallons.

 

What med are you using?

 

Coppersafe