Gill and skin Flukes & Ichthyophtirius

Gill and skin Flukes is a severe disease and almost always succeeds in destroying the fish.

Symptoms and treatment
  • There are many species of flukes, which are flatworms about 1 mm long, and several symptoms that are visible. They infest gills and skin much like ich, but the difference can be seen with a hand lens. You should be able to see movement and possibly eye spots, which is not found in ich. Gill flukes will eventually destroy the gills thus killing the fish.
  • Symptoms of a heavy infestations are pale fish with drooping fins, rapid respiration, glancing off aquarium decor, and /or hollow bellies.
  • The fish scrapes itself against objects, rapid gill movement, mucus covering the gills or body, the gills or fins may be eaten away, the skin may become reddened. Treatment can best be done with a 10 to 30 minute bath in 10 mg per liter of potassium permanganate. Or treat the whole tank with 2 mg per liter, but this method is messy and dyes the water.

Ichthyophtirius, also known as White Spot is parasitic, probably the most common affliction seen by many aquarists.


How to identify
You can identify it by the small white pustulates that look like grains of salt covering the body and fins. The spots are uniform in size. The fish will "scratch" on anything and breathe rapidly. ICK is light sensitive and can be easily seen when your light is first turned on.

Treatment
Although very common it can be cured quite easily if caught early. The most common medication is Malachite Green. Malachite Green is mistakenly thought to be copper based, but this is not true. To read an article explaining this please click here "Malachite Green". It will be toxic to any invertebrates. There are many brands available. Because of the commonality of this disease you should not have much problem finding medication at your local pet store. Increasing the temperature in the aquarium can also help alleviate this condition as it will speed up the cycle of the parasites.