Re: Can plants cause K deficiency in fish?

• To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
• Subject: Re: Can plants cause K deficiency in fish?
• From: Kevin Conlin <kcconlin at cae_ca>
• Date: Wed, 09 Oct 1996 10:19:25 -0400
• In-Reply-To: <199610090739.DAA20581 at looney_actwin.com>

On Wednesday, 9 October 1996, Paul Krombholz wrote:

> Sometimes my guppies get what appears to be fungus or bacterial
> patches on them.  These are rather diffuse whitish bumps that appear
> to come to a head, somewhat like a pimple. They are definitely not
> Ick.  I have found that adding small amounts of KCl to the water
> makes them go away in three or four days.

Diffuse whitish bumps, typically on the back of the head but which
many occur anywhere, are characteristic of Chilodonella.  Take a skin
smear and examine it under a microscope at 50-100x.  Look for a large
heart-shaped organism with longitudinal rows of cilia.  Since many
protozoans are sensitive to salt, perhaps what's happening is that the
chloride ion in the KCl is inhibiting its growth.  Malachite green
kills this thing good and dead.  Don't wait to long to treat it,
as it can destroy the gills of susceptible fish.
--
Kevin Conlin   kcconlin at cae_ca   "We're Canadians.  We HAVE to be polite"
Finger as332 at freenet_carleton.ca for PGP public key.

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