Swordtail fish might be considered the easiest fish to take care of, but it is not the same if your swordtail fish starts catching diseases. Swordtail fish are small tropical fish, and diseases can be detrimental for them. Some of the diseases that swordtail fish are prone to are fin rot, white spot, mouth fungus, swim bladder disease, etc. Among these diseases, white spots, also called Ich are more persistent, so how do you get rid of the Ich in swordtail Fish?
Ich (Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis), or White Spot, is a common disease in most fish. They are seen as small white dots all over your fish’s body and can be deadly. However, with the right care and medication, your fish might be able to overcome this disease. For example, you can get rid of Ich in swordtails by isolating the infected fish, maintaining water conditions, providing a balanced diet, using aquarium salts, etc.
When your swordtail fish gets Ich, you will want to prepare a healing tank and appropriate medications. Once you identify that your swordtail fish has white spots, isolate the fish into a separate tank to avoid infecting other fish. It will also be easier to treat them.
This blog post will talk about the Ich disease in swordtail fish, its signs, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure. So, stay tuned!
What Is Ich?
Before we learn how to cure the disease, we must know what it is. Ich, or the white spot disease, is one of the most common parasitic diseases affecting tropical fish.
It is caused when the protozoan parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis attaches itself and attacks itself to a fish’s body, fins, and gills. The white spots appear like grains of sugar or salt, but each such grain is a parasite.
They are detrimental to your fish as they can cause breathing and mobility problems and even death. In addition, it annoys your face and creates problems even to eat and breed successfully.
How Does Ich Attack Your Swordtail Fish?
Ich is a parasite that attaches itself to your swordtail’s body and will start feeding on it, so your swordtail fish is damaged, eventually leading to death. It can attack your swordtail fish in different parts of their body.
Ich will attack your swordtail fish on the skin or the outer body. The tiny white dots are spread all around the body. It is clear and noticeable. You might also see your fish rubbing itself against the decors on your tanks like rocks or even other fish.
Similarly, you can also see a white spot on one of the eyes. Ich will affect the eye of your swordtail fish. The eyes can get infected as irritation is persistent.
The White Spots can also occur on the gills of your swordtail fish. Ich that affects the gill will lead to difficulty in breathing in your swordtail fish. Swordtail fish’s fins can also be affected by Ich.
White spots are not limited to just the body of your swordtail fish. We can also find it on the substrate or plants in the tank.
Signs Of Ich On Swordtail Fish
Certain signs and symptoms can identify ich. It is important to identify Ich from other parasites because it can be dangerous. The most obvious sign of Ich is the appearance of white spots on the gills and body of your swordtail fish.
As the infection spreads, you will find your fish scratching themselves by rubbing their body on the objects of your tank. Unfortunately, the scratching can degrade the situation leading to more fatal diseases like respiratory problems, loss of appetite, etc.
Some sure signs that your swordtail fish has developed Ich are:
- Clamped fins
- Irritation
- Production of slimy liquid
- Abnormal swimming behaviors (rotating, flipping, etc.)
- Stress and Irritation
- Inactiveness
- Difficulty breathing/ Rapid Breathing
- Problems in the breeding process
- Redness all over the body, gills, and fins.
Causes Of Ich On Swordtail Fish
Ich is a prominent disease among freshwater fish species. There are various reasons why swordtail fish can suffer from Ich.
We often think that most diseases are developed when the water conditions and freshness are not met. But diseases like Ich can attack your swordtail fish even regularly change changes and filter it thoroughly.
Ich is a parasite that attacks the skin and gills of swordtail fish. Fish who catch the parasite can die if proper care and treatment are not given.
Ich is communicable, and an infected swordtail can transmit it to another fish, so you better quarantine the infected fish into a separate tank.
Other causes of Ich include:
Poor Water Conditions
As mentioned above, poor water conditions are a gateway to several diseases. Although it might not be the immediate or leading cause, it can start on the Ich outbreak.
If you do not set the right temperature of the water, or if the temperature fluctuates, it can develop issues. Similarly, if the alkalinity and pH don’t match, it can bring various parasites into the tank, including Ich.
Sudden Change In Water’s Temperature
A sudden drop or rise in temperature can introduce Ich in your tank. However, there is a difference between gradual change and sudden change in the temperature of the water.
Your fish can adapt to gradual changes in the water temperature, but they get no time to adjust if the fluctuation is sudden. This can adversely affect them, including white spot syndrome.
Poor Filtration
Filtration is important to keep the water clean and swordtails healthy. Poor filtration can lead to Ich. If you have a poor filter, or uncleansed filter pads can bring diseases like Ich.
Thus it is important to have an alternate filter in case one breaks down. And, most importantly, clean your filters regularly!
Less Oxygen, More Nitrite
Swordtail fish need well-oxygenated water to live a happy, healthy life. Likewise, too much nitrate and ammonia will not keep your swordtail fish happy. Swordtail fish like warm waters, but too high of a temperature can reduce the oxygen content in the water, which can lead to an Ich outbreak.
Moreover, to get rid of white spots in swordtails, you must keep the nitrate and ammonia level in check. You can lower the nitrites in your tank using filters or doing regular water changes to prevent outbreaks.
Overfeeding And Poor Quality Food
Overfeeding your swordtail fish can lead to an Ich outbreak. While feeding less will not reduce the probability of Ich, it will boost the immunity and increase the lifespan of your swordtail fish.
Similarly, not feeding your swordtail with quality food will prevent them from getting all necessary nutrients, making them susceptible to diseases like the white spots.
How To Treat Ich In Swordtail Fish?
The life cycle of the Ich parasite completes in 3 stages- free, infecting, and the biological phase. Treating the fish when the parasites are in the free phase will help you cure the disease. However, you will have to start medication as soon as you see the white patches start to multiply.
After the free phase, the parasites will get into the infecting phase and start attacking the tissues. At this stage, the parasite might protect itself from medication as it enters the body. That’s why it is important to treat the fish when parasites are in the free stage.
After the disease infects your swordtails, they will show the symptoms we discussed earlier. They will suffer from drastic breathing problems. Luckily, there are ways in which you can control and treat Ich in swordtail fish. They are:
Isolate The Infected Swordtail
If your swordtail fish is showing signs of Ich, the first thing you need to do is isolate the fish into a separate healing tank. Ich is contagious, so your infected swordtail can affect other healthy tanks in the main tank.
So, you should isolate the infected fish. This also makes the treating process easier, and you can get rid of Ich in your swordtails in no time.
Do Water Changes
Changing the water in your tank will help you cure the disease while the parasite is in the early free stage. But for this to work effectively, you also have to increase the temperature slightly.
Do a 25 percent water change daily to speed up the treatment. The water change will prevent nitrate buildup, clear out waste and debris, and provide more oxygen.
Raise The Water Temperature
Water temperature is important to maintain the health of any fish. However, a sudden change in water temperature can affect the immune system of your swordtail, opening it to diseases like Ich.
Ich generally results from stress and lack of immunity. However, you can get rid of white spots or Ich in swordtails by gradually raising the water temperature as a higher temperature will speed up the biological phase, helping medication work effectively.
Use Aquarium Salt
You can use salt to treat Ich in swordtail fish. Add a few amounts of salt in the tank, or prepare salt baths for your infected fish to kill the parasites. Salt treatment is effective because it prevents Ich infection by making a mucous coat around the body.
However, you must know that swordtails are freshwater fish and cannot survive in water with too much salinity. Swordtail fish need salt but cannot live in saltwater. That is why you should add only 1 tablespoon of pure aquarium salt to 5 gallons of water.
The best way of introducing salt to the water is to dissolve it in warm water before adding it to the tank. Then, add only half of the dissolved water to the tank, and wait for around 12 hours before adding the second half.
You should be careful not to use table salt because it is iodized and not good for freshwater fish like swordtails.
Use Medication
If all the above-mentioned remedies fail, medications are the way to go. Medicines such as formalin, methylene blue, malachite green, copper sulfate, and potassium permanganate best get rid of Ich in swordtails.
Before using the medication, change the water, raise the temperature, and remove gravel and any other creatures to prevent them from the medication. Quality medication will eliminate Ich from your swordtails in no time.
How To Prevent Ich In Aquarium?
White Spot Disease is a widespread disease in the fish world. At least all fish will get infected by Ich once in a lifetime. To ensure that your fish is safe, you need to take proper care of them and their habitat.
Some of how you can prevent Ich are:
- Maintain the water parameters. Even when you are changing water, make sure the temperature, hardness, and alkalinity are consistent. For that, do gradual change like 25% every 2 weeks to prevent sudden fluctuations.
- Likewise, add live plants and decorations to your aquarium. Swordtail fish love densely planted tanks so that you can eliminate stress and, at the same time, increase the oxygen content in your tank.
- Before adding new fish to the tank, keep them in a separate tank for a few days to prevent the introduction of parasites in your primary tank.
- An overcrowded aquarium is home to many different kinds of parasites. So another way to prevent Ich is never to overcrowd your aquarium.
- Do regular water changes to provide swordtails with well-oxygenated, fresh, parasite-free water.
- Provide your swordtail fish with a balanced diet with both plant and meat supplements to help your swordtail boost its immunity.
Do Swordtail Get Post Immunity From Ich?
The Ich parasite lay eggs on your swordtail fish, multiply, and start feeding on your fish. They enter into the tissues and internal organs. If your swordtail fish gets infected for a short period of time, i.e., if you treat it in the free stage, then your fish’s skin cells can stimulate an immune response to create antibodies against Ich.
But we cannot say that it will give post immunity to your swordtail fish. Ich might affect your swordtail fish again if you leave your fish untreated for a long time.
The process of laying eggs and multiplying can continue, so your swordtail fish do not get pot immunity to Ich disease.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take For A Swordtail Fish To Contract Ich?
Freshwater fish can contract Ich directly or from other infected fish within 24 hours. The common signs that your swordtails have contracted Ich are inactiveness, rapid breathing, going near the surface, etc.
It would help if you treated these signs as soon as possible. Applying home remedies like salt and other medications is important before you take them to the vet.
How Long Do Swordtail Fish Live For?
Swordtail fish lie for around 3-5 years. But, given the proper care, they can live a year or two longer. Thus, if you want to increase the lifespan of your swordtail fish, keep them happy, well-fed, and free from diseases.
Conclusion
Therefore, Ich or white spot disease is one of the most persistent diseases in saltwater and freshwater fish. Once the Ich parasite crosses the free stage, it becomes hard to get rid of the disease.
However, you can get rid of the White spots or Ich in swordtails with proper treatment. Likewise, you must also follow preventive measures to avoid infecting other fish in the tank.
You should observe the behavior of swordtail fish to see if they are happy in their tank. And, you should pay close attention to any change in fish temperament to treat and prevent or get rid of diseases like the Ich in swordtails
