Symptoms of White Spots / White Spot Disease
external symptoms
- White patches on the skin
Behave
internal symptoms
photos
Photos: Daniel
Mosaic gouramis with white spots. At first, a small spot on the back became light. Then the spots quickly spread. The spots later took on a yellowish tint. The animal behaved normally. It didn’t become apathetic, but lively as always. It ate normally. The spots were not slimy. Nothing was secreted. Worms could not be seen without a magnifying glass.
The rapid spread could indicate worms. An examination with a magnifying glass should be carried out. White spots can also be caused by bacteria.
Photos: Th. Streubel
White spots in tortoiseshell catfish, which later turned out to be symptoms of a strong bacterial infection.
Photo: Monique (Forum)
Apistogramma panduro with white spots. The animal scrubbed itself. Bacterial infections, fungal infections or skin worms are the primary causes of such symptoms.
Photos: Sebastian Gleich
Red neon with white spot. Neons are susceptible to ichthyo. However, the white dots in Ichthyo are more sharp-edged. It is probably a small bacterial infection or bacterial colony. A fungal infection cannot be ruled out based on the photos. However, no threads could be seen even on the living neon. Based on the photos, treatment with frequent water changes and a mild antibacterial agent, such as sea almond leaves or alder suppositories, was recommended. After a few days the stain went away.
Photo: Oliver Mai
Lemon tetra with columnaris or similar bacterial infection.
Photos: Dennis Tatarelli
Synodontis and Pleco with white spots. The structure of the stains cannot be seen in the photos. It may be fungi or bacteria that have settled on minor injuries caused by the aggressive cichlids in the aquarium.
In the original, the spots were more like cotton balls, which speaks for a fungus. After a temperature increase of 3°, the spots disappeared.
Photo: Patrick Kirstin
Apistogramma agassizi with a white bump. The area around the bump looks reddish. The bump could possibly be a fungus. The exact structure cannot be seen on the image, even when enlarged. The first assumption is therefore a bacterial infection and a fungal infection settled on it. Since the affected area was described as a bump, an ulcer cannot be ruled out.
Photos: Roland Palinkas
Clown loach with white coatings and bumps on fins and body. The deposits could indicate a bacterial infection, eg columnaris. The bumps could therefore be fluid accumulations or cysts. Matt, white deposits also develop in skin worms. Sporozoa can cause bumps. However, the bold white patches along with the bumps suggest a bacterial cause. Especially since the loach, which is about 12 years old and has been kept in the aquarium for a correspondingly long time, has probably not come into contact with sporozoa or worms.
Photo: Neele Goetsch
Neon tetra with a white spot or white dot. The neon just had this single white speck that looked like a slightly raised bump. The animal separated with another neon, frequently swam in one place and was not particularly interested in food.
A fungus is possible as the cause, but could not be clearly identified on site. White raised spots also occur in connection with sporozoa and bacterial colonies, especially in neons.
Photo: Thomas Boening
Red neon with white dots. Such sharply defined, white dots are probably harmless bacterial colonies that form on slightly damaged skin areas. Strong water changes are usually enough to make the spots disappear. In addition, antibacterial agents can easily be used, such as sea almond leaves, alder cones, etc.
In this case, a 50% water change was carried out immediately after the spots appeared with several red neons. A week later the filter was cleaned.
Feeding has been somewhat restricted. No drugs, fertilizers or water conditioners were used.
First the dots disappeared from the neons that were affected first, but then other neons showed these dots. Eventually, the dots became fewer and fewer and then disappeared entirely.
4 weeks after discovery, all neons were spotless.
Photo: Waldemar Sbilut
Apistogramma borellii with white spot. First and foremost, based on the photos, a fungal infection, skin worms or columnaris come into question. The spot should be examined more closely with a magnifying glass. The length of time the animal has been kept and the development of the spot can provide further clues.
Photo: Tobias Feuerbach
Various symptoms of illness appeared in the 110 liter aquarium shown. At first, a young platy had difficulty orienting itself, rubbed itself on the ground and died. Later, several platies and yellow mollies rubbed themselves on the bottom.
At least some of these fish were extremely active, chasing around and chasing each other (Image 3). Two bloated platys retreated sharply and moved very slowly (Image 4).
A platy had dark scales (picture 5). On a platy, the scales looked rough (picture 6). Between the scales were about 1 to 1.5 mm long white thin hairs, probably skin worms. Some catfish had a light spot in front of the dorsal fin (picture 2).
A while ago, dropsy with dandruff had appeared in the same pool, which was apparently successfully combated with a 12-watt UV clarifier.
It is possible that the various symptoms are different signs of bacterial infestation. Especially since a weekly water change has only been carried out since the illness.
But there could also be different diseases. For example, the platys could be sick with columnaris and ascites. The antennae catfish could be skin worms.
The platies with big bellies could also just be pregnant.
The bright spots should be examined with a magnifying glass. Only after that and with more detailed knowledge of the previous history can further considerations be made.
causes
White spots are often caused by bacterial infections. Clusters of skinworms also look like white patches to the naked eye.
Distinguishing white spots and skin blemishes based solely on appearance and especially on photographs is difficult. Especially since bacterial infections can also lead to increased mucus secretion. Likewise, parasites that cause mucus secretions can also lead to bacterial infections.
Like skin opacities, white spots should definitely be examined with a magnifying glass that is as good and strong as possible. If the cause is an infestation with skin worms, they can be recognized by their typical appearance and their snaking movements.
treatment suggestions
If the exact cause of the white patches cannot be determined but a bacterial infection is suspected, treatment is given with antibacterial remedies.
If infested with worms, treat as described under remedies for skin worms or remedies for gill worms.