How to treat and prevent white spots on goldfish?
Goldfish are a common indoor ornamental fish, with a beautiful body shape and easy care, and are loved by the public. But when goldfish get sick, small white spots appear on their bodies. How do you treat white spots on goldfish? How do you prevent them?
1. What are the small white spots on goldfish
White spot disease, which goldfish contract, is one of the common diseases of these ornamental fish, and is caused by the protozoan Ichthyophthirius multifiliis invading the fish's skin or gills. In the early stage of infection, goldfish behave as usual, except that a few small white spots are distributed on the body surface, and affected fish will rub their bodies against hard objects in an attempt to get rid of the parasites. After a few days the white spots spread over the whole body; at this point the diseased fish become sluggish and float at the surface, and in severe cases they die in large numbers. This disease is fairly contagious.
2. How to treat white spots on goldfish
We need to treat the disease through comprehensive management of water temperature, diet, water quality, medication and so on.
1. When small white spot symptoms first appear, 0.5%-1% table salt can be added to the water.
2. This Ichthyophthirius multifiliis stops developing at high temperatures. For fish in the early to middle stage of the disease, during treatment we generally first raise the temperature inside the tank and keep it at 28-30 degrees C; after a few days the cysts of the parasites on the fish's body surface will fall off on their own. The temperature must not be raised too quickly here; a rate of 2-3 degrees C per hour is appropriate. After the cysts fall off, a 0.05-0.07% concentration merbromin solution can be added for a follow-up medicated bath to further strengthen the elimination of the pathogen. Diseased fish at this stage can also be treated by sprinkling 1-5 ppm nitrofurazone powder over the whole tank. Dip a matchstick in methylene blue crystal powder and swirl it into the diseased fish tank until the color changes.
3. For fish in the middle to late stage, the medication options include 2 ppm mercurous nitrate or 0.5 ppm malachite green solution, but these drugs are highly toxic and fish are very sensitive to them, which can easily cause death; if they are to be used, the dosage must be well controlled, and they should not be used lightly.
4. The tank of affected fish must be scrubbed clean and the whole tank disinfected. Table salt or medication can be used for disinfection.
3. How to prevent white spot disease in goldfish
1. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis will die if it cannot find a host within one day, so when we prepare water for goldfish, we can expose it to the sun or let it stand for 2 days before use.
2. Keep the overall environment of the tank clean; do not let the water become cloudy with residual dirt, and water temperature changes must not be too great.
3. Do not keep the fish too densely stocked.
Do not worry if goldfish contract white spot disease; as long as you carry out the disease-elimination measures step by step, the parasites can be killed off completely. In ordinary times, also pay attention to maintaining the overall environment in which the fish live, observe the condition of the goldfish, and take good protective measures.