How to Treat Tropical Fish With White Spot Disease

White spot disease or Ichthyophthirius multifilis (ich) is a parasite that commonly occurs on tropical fish. If it is not treated immediately, the fish will die. Also the longer you wait to treat it, the more likely that the other fish in the tank will become infected too. Learn how to treat tropical fish with white spot disease.

Things You'll Need

  • Ich medication
  • Aquarium salt
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Instructions

    • 1

      Upon seeing white spots on your fish, purchase ich medication at a local pet store. Follow the dosing instructions carefully. Treatment should be done for six days. If the white spots have not cleared by the fourth day of using the ich medication, start the dosing from the beginning.

    • 2

      Treat the entire tank with the ich medication. If you have many fish and only one fish has it, temporarily isolate the fish with the disease in a smaller tank. This may prevent the ich from being spread to the other fish. However, still treat the fish that are not infected as a precaution.

    • 3

      Clean out the gravel in the tank daily until your fish no longer show signs of the disease. Be sure to treat the gravel for chlorine before placing the gravel back into the tank.

    • 4

      Add aquarium salt to the tank so that the fish regain some of the electrolytes they may have lost. Follow dosing instructions on the package. Do not use aquarium salt if you have scaleless fish like eels, loaches or catfish.

    • 5

      Replace any charcoal filters in the tank. You do not want your fish to get ich again.