White spots on box fish urgent help needed

[NemoEnthusiast]

Greetings R2R family,

I have noticed white spots covering my box fish. I have found a mixed opinion on previous posts. Can you please identify what it is and should I just leave it or give it copper treatment or fresh water dip?

Thanks in advance for your guidance

 

[AydenLincoln]

It’s ich! Treatment is fallowing the tank for 76 days and treating all fish with cooper at 2.5 PPM in a quarantine tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Greetings R2R family,

I have noticed white spots covering my box fish. I have found a mixed opinion on previous posts. Can you please identify what it is and should I just leave it or give it copper treatment or fresh water dip?

Thanks in advance for your guidance

The two possibilities are ich or mucus plugs. Boxfish are prone to both. In this case, I'm leaning towards ich because I can see a spot on the clear part of the fins, where mucus doesn't show up.

A FW dip won't be of any benefit.

What is the fish's holding situation? Can you dose it with coppersafe?

Jay

 

[NemoEnthusiast]

The two possibilities are ich or mucus plugs. Boxfish are prone to both. In this case, I'm leaning towards ich because I can see a spot on the clear part of the fins, where mucus doesn't show up.

A FW dip won't be of any benefit.

What is the fish's holding situation? Can you dose it with coppersafe?

Jay

Thanks for your reply Jay,

The box fish has its own aquarium. I can remove the rocks and dose it with coppersafe or I can setup a quarentine tank as well.

Nas

 

[NemoEnthusiast]

It’s ich! Treatment is fallowing the tank for 76 days and treating all fish with cooper at 2.5 PPM in a quarantine tank.

It has two very prominent spots on both the side of its body for last 2 weeks. I thought it's lymphocystis. But today I noticed that it's whole body is covered in similar spots. The spots on the sides never went away in last two weeks. It's eating normally and swimming normally as well.

I am attaching a side photo. You can see a very prominent white spot in the middle of it's body. It had the same spot on both sides for last two weeks.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It has two very prominent spots on both the side of its body for last 2 weeks. I thought it's lymphocystis. But today I noticed that it's whole body is covered in similar spots. The spots on the sides never went away in last two weeks. It's eating normally and swimming normally as well.

I am attaching a side photo. You can see a very prominent white spot in the middle of it's body. It had the same spot on both sides for last two weeks.

It is common for fish to have Lymphocystis and ich at the same time. One way to tell them apart is to "map" the location of the spots. If the smaller spots come and go and show up in new locations over a few days, it is ich. If the same spots are in the same location for days, then it isn't ich.

Jay

 

[NemoEnthusiast]

It is common for fish to have Lymphocystis and ich at the same time. One way to tell them apart is to "map" the location of the spots. If the smaller spots come and go and show up in new locations over a few days, it is ich. If the same spots are in the same location for days, then it isn't ich.

Jay

So should I monitor the fish for a day or two and then decide either to medicate it or not?
Nas

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So should I monitor the fish for a day or two and then decide either to medicate it or not?
Nas

Yes - but be prepared to treat for ich as soon as you make a determination!
Jay