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One of my tanks is suffering a terrible whitespot plague, so far it has claimed all of my half-beaks, killis and a chunk of the tetra population. I've treated with faunamor (contains tetramethylthioninchloride, tetramethyl-4, 4-diamino-triphenyl-carbinol, hexamethyl-pararosanilinchlorid and acriflavinchlorid) which had absolutely no effect, despite it having worked for me before. There is a syno. Angelicus and a pair of syno. Nigriventris in the tank and although they show no signs of being infected I'm reluctant to move them to a different tank as I don't want the infection spreading. The tetras also have some kind of parasitic worm that can be clearly seen protruding from the base of the front fins on some. I don't know what on earth happened in this tank, it's been set up for over 18 months without problems, water params stable and the only new fish in months was a betta (the first to die). My main interest is in saving the angelicus as I've had him for some time and he's about the most amiable example of his species I've ever seen, showing absolutely no aggression towards the other synos or even small slow fish that he could easily eat. What should I try next? Should I deal with the worms first or the whitespot or both at the same time? Or should I pull the synos out, kill the rest, break the tank down, sterilise it and set it up again? Please help!

Judging from the fish that are effected you may have Killer Guppy Disease rather than common Ich. Its caused by a protozoan of the species Tetrahymena. It effects livebearers, some tetras and some labyrinth fish. I don't know about killis. You might search the net on it to see about treatment options and if that's indeed what you have. I've been told catfish are immune but I don't know for sure.

Hmm, after having read a bit I don't think it's guppy killer, just a highly virulent strain of whitespot. I still need some advice on what medicines I could use without risk for my synos, so any advice anyone?

I've used two products in the past, Seachem Paraguard and Mardel Coppersafe. Both are suppose to be fish and filter safe and in my experience with S. nigroventris and S. eupterus they were. They are both copper based and need to be used carefully. Read the instructions, they can interact with other medications which can render the copper more toxic. Try them at half strength and check the fish for any adverse reactions before going to full strength.

Thanks! My LFS stock seachem products (I use their buffers for my discus and tanganyika tanks) so I'll give that a go, any tips on a syno-safe parasite basher to get rid of the worms?

From your description they sound like they're external, in which case the Paraguard might help. 'Worms', are a pretty broad category and an effective treatment might depend on identifying what they are. I have treated livebearers for an intestinal nematode, camallanus. The nematode is clearly visible extending from the anus, but external treatments did nothing. I had to put them on medicated food to get them from the inside. If what you're seeing is just the tail and the head is buried in the fish's flesh, you may have to try a medicated food as well.

I don't have a recommendation for the worms, but I have used Metronidazole on tanks with my synos, and it says it is effective for ich. Also, does not kill your beneficial bacteria.

Reginator wrote:The tetras also have some kind of parasitic worm that can be clearly seen protruding from the base of the front fins on some.

Could you pls give a proper description or even better add a picture of these worms? That makes it much easier to find out what it is and how to get rid of it.

Reginator wrote: I don't know what on earth happened in this tank

Have you been feeding live food lately??

I'll try to get a picture tomorrow, and yes they have had live food recently, could that be behind it?
The visible worm is in a kind of double-loop protruding from where the lower frontmost left fin joins the body.

Oh, and rahendricks, many thanks for the tip, the paraguard has almost dealt with the whitespot in just a couple of days!!

Reginator wrote:I'll try to get a picture tomorrow, and yes they have had live food recently, could that be behind it?
The visible worm is in a kind of double-loop protruding from where the lower frontmost left fin joins the body.

The double-loop thing puzzles me. I was thinking of Lernaea, but I'd better await the picture(-s). Otherwise I'd be speculating.
The same goes for whether or not it came along with the live food.

Hi Reginator,
Any updates?

Well, the whitespot is all but eradicated, and the worm has changed colour.. proving impossible to get a photo, it's on a black emperor tetra and he's quite active