# Filter Carbon Vs. White Spot Medication - - please help me... i am struggling



## ChrissieCS (Sep 28, 2013)

Hello.

My name is chrissie and my newest goldfish has developed white spots the size of pinheads on all his fins. seemingly overnight.


I am very, very upset and worried.

Had suspicions about the existing goldfish, with one or two isolated specs of white which I did not like the look of, but more concerning the fish was 'flashing' against one corner of the tank occasionally. Bought 'King British White Spot Control' straight away, but reluctant to use. Had been watching closely for a week while I raised the temperature of the tank a little, to 24 degrees celcius (to speed up the life-cycle if indeed it was white spot/ich/ick), but the spots had disappeared and I felt quite pleased that it was my paranoia.

but sadly, no.

The newest fish has presented itself today with LOTS of white spots on all fins. Silly as it sounds, I am SURE that yesterday there were no noticeable spots on the fish- I look at them for HOURS every single day..

The fish are actually behaving incredibly normally, they are swimming normally with a mixture of very fast and very slow swims, they are eating fine, interacting nicely with one another, nibbling on plants, exploring, curious when i do water changes et cetera. no differences in their behaviour.

I have been doing water tests before every water change, and I do water changes every two or three days (only about 30 Litres each time though). The tests have shown consistently, the lightest shade of nitrITE (0 ppm), either the first or second shade of ammonia (0-0.25ppm) and the second shade of nitrATE (0.5 ppm). I have been measuring very carefully using a pipette to get water levels right, and have been timing with a stop watch!

I feel quite confident that the water is OK at the very least (and these measurements are always done before I change the water....).

So armed with as much as I could sift from the internet I have gathered that I must remove the carbon from the filters. this was tricky and I was scared about opening the canister filter for first time, but all seems well so far- no puddles of water escaping yet.

Now I am faced with the question,I have taken two carbon tea-bag-type things out of the big filter and one small carbon impregnated sponge out of the mini-filter, what can I do with these during treatment?

Can I re-use the carbon after treating? I really hope so, I have spend my £1000 overdraft on fish paraphernalia and cannot afford more for months!!

If the answer is yes, should I keep said carbon wet, i.e. in old aquarium water somewhere safe, or dried out?





And of course, has anyone got any advice specifically about this Ick treatment (I know that it can stain everything blue, am not pleased about this but if the fish become healthy and their furniture becomes green, this outcome is definitely the preferred one! It would be nice if it didn't stain everything though... have nice pale gravel and a pale rock and nice drift wood...

King British White Spot Control says it says it is malachite green 4%, acriflavine 0.005% and quinine sulphate 0.004%. it instructs to use 1 ml per 9 litres. my tank capacity is 240 but it is probably only filled to 200, maybe even less taking into consideration the gravel and the rocks etc, definately between 180 and 200 though. 180 / 9 = 20 ml. or 200 / 9 = 22.2
so I need to be putting in between 20-22 ML of medication, and it suggests that I repeat this every 48 hours.



does this sound like a reasonable estimation of the volume of water? 

is this treatment likely to make my fish get worse rather than better?

can I re-use my carbon? if so, should I dry it out or keep it wet?

         help!


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

Generally carbon loses any effect within a few days. What you want to keep and protect is your floss or filter media that is growing bacteria on it. anything spongy will hold the growing bacteria. I would not worry about the carbon and if it is brand new remove it as it will remove the meds from your water when you put it in. if it is more than a few weeks old leave it and dont worry. keep your filters running and get them treated.. the life cycle in ich is a pain and when you see white spots they are close to dropping.. its harder to treat ich with cold water fishes because raising temp is what speeds up the life cycle of ich and when you cant it takes alot longer to treat them.. Hope this helps (and everyone else correct me if I am wrong please).


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## ChrissieCS (Sep 28, 2013)

Ahh thank-you very much, that is very helpful!

I had pondered over it and have already taken the carbon out, but I was worried that I was removing something very vital for the tank system. when i finish treating I suppose I will just put it back in... I'm surprised it loses it's activity so quickly!

I have left all of the sponges in the filter as usual. will the medicine kill my filter bacteria? that is a worrying thought!!


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

carbon is like a special kind of sponge I suppose, it absorbs certain chemicals and once it is full it is full..so it is only active for a certain amount of time...the meds shouldnt affect your bacteria that i know of.. most meds i have used say leave your filter running and that has all the good stuff in it... also be sure when you do you water changes clean the substrate really well as the ich that drop off will be landing on everything and are also free swimming and will continue to reinfect your fish over and over...


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Carbon is basically worthless!Unless you are attempting to remove some "foriegn" property from water(one you will never detect with test).Water changes are way better than carbon.Even "lab grade" carbon will not last 3 weeks and will expell what it absorbed when full repolluting your water.
Now on to ich;it is in full force in your tank.Use your med as directed.Vacumm your gravel very well when changing water as that is where it was hiding when you thought it all looked gone.Ich "falls" from fish and lands in your substrate (hope you're ready for this) where it multiplies by the thousands(in like 3 days) and then becomes free swimming in search of a new host.It can only be killed while off the fish so just keep up on meds and treat at least 4-7 days after last sign of any spots.
Good luck and here is a link to help you understand what you are up against;
Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
Ich is easily killed and should be or it will kill your fish!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

As long as your temps are above 60F, the ich cycle will be the same as it is an 85F tank. The cycle last 3-4 days and it is why you should continue to treat at a minimum 3-4 days beyond the last seen spots. Some prefer to go longer and may be needed for more persistent strains.

Treating with raising the temp is too stressful and the method can take too long. Long enough that the ich has attached to the gills of your fish and has started to impact their breathing. Good working meds can have it gone in just a few days.


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## ChrissieCS (Sep 28, 2013)

is 24 degrees (75 f) too high?

i want to heat tank due to cokd weather anyway, but unsure of a pleasant temperature for them... thankyou all for your help, i appreciate it a lot!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I wouldn't raise the temp for goldfish.Elavated temps aid in reducing oxygen and this could be problematic with goldfish as they require highly oxygenated water.They also tolerate very cool water.
Like jrmain said if you don't get temp up to 85+ you won't kill ich.Even some tropicals can't handle the higher temp so I wouldn't bother trying for goldfish.
Get meds;kordon rid ich + or quick cure and follow directions.Don't waste your money on any of the herbal products.


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## ChrissieCS (Sep 28, 2013)

ok- i will reduce it to maybe 22, just so they arent too cold in bad weather.. and will continue with the treatmemt.. fingers crossed for them!

thank-you!


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