About 90 % of all fish diseases can be put down to a weakening of the fish’s immune system. This means the application of remedies can fight the pathogen but doesn’t generally eliminate the cause. It is therefore very important to determine the cause.
As soon as the first signs of disease become noticeable IMMEDIATE action is required. In most cases people wait too long.
This is a parasite from the group of dinoflagellates (a kind of algae). This means that copper is best suited for combatting oodinum effectively. The copper concentration in the water is vital for a successful treatment. Exactly 0.3 mg/l of copper are needed, which must then be checked using a suitable copper test. Too much copper can kill fish, whereas too little copper is ineffective and may even lead to resistant pathogens. Like ichthyophthirius, oodinium has a life cycle where the pathogen passes through different stages. As with the white spot disease, the oodinium pathogen can only be combatted in the swarm out stage. We therefore recommend you raise the water temperature by 3 °C (do not raise the water temperature over 30 °C). This causes the life cycle to be accelerated, which in turn considerably improves the chances of catching the parasite in a vulnerable swarm out phase! Be careful with catfish! Many catfish species are sensitive to a rise in copper content. Also do not use with invertebrates in fresh and marine water.