Black spot on Diamond Tetra

[meegosh]

Hey all,

Question for you guys. I had five Diamond Tetras, 4 males and 1 female. The oldest male has a swim bladder issue that I have been trying to help him out with but doesn't seem to get any better. For a while he was completely vertical, tail almost on the substrate and swimming frantically to stay off the bottom. I QT'd him and fed him some peas, which he did eat but still hasn't gotten any better over the past month. He has gotten a little better I should say, he doesn't swim as slanted anymore.

The main question here is about another one that I noticed over the past two weeks developing a black spot at the end of his tail (peduncle?). It was at the spot where his lateral line meets the tail fin, I think it is called the peduncle. Anyways, it started to appear over the past two weeks. I searched around a bit and couldn't find any answers. None of the other males have this spot. I QT'd him once I noticed it and has been in there with the other that has the swim bladder issue.

Well I came home from being away this weekend and I thought the fish with the swim bladder issue was dead. Here it turns out it was the one with the black spot at his tail.

Like I said, none of the others appear to have this spot. I couldn't find anything like this on google either. I really have no idea what it is but I would like some guesses in case it happens again. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[kaiofcanada]

Hi Steve

Regarding the swim bladder issue...I have only ever been told to feed them green peas and to raise the temperature. Unfortunately, I never had much luck treating swim bladder in the end. Your guys sounds like a fighter though. One month eh? Perhaps, keeping hi in QT and keep his diet as peas and elevate the temperature a bit.

As for the black spots, have you added a new fish or snail recently to your tank? I ask because there is something called black spot disease. Here is a link. Aquarium FD - Black Spot (diplopstomiasis) - Disease Identification, Diagnosis & Treatment

It typically is something that doesn't spontaneously appear in an established tank, but rather is brought in my new members. However, I guess it could appear if a fish has a weakened immune system. One of my fish caught this from a new comer but they did not seem to get very ill and I was able to treat it with an antiparasitic medication from my LPS. Hope this helps...and best of luck with your little fighter.

 

[meegosh]

I guess I should've been more specific when I posted that. It wasn't a small spec or two. It was one spot, about the size of an eraser on a No. 2 pencil. It was like the peduncle just turned black.

I really wish I had a good picture of it, he was still eating and swimming fine. I will try raising the temp some in my QT and see if that helps his swim bladder.

I haven't added any new fish to that tank for quite a while. Since I added my angelfish and clown loach that I got off a buddy at work. I added them sometime around January of this year. Other than that there have been no changes.

The wifey and I joke about the one with the swim bladder, calling him a surfer dude (since it looks like he is riding a wave) and usually sing "Surfing in the USA" when we walk by and see him. It sounds cruel but he eats like crazy and is always with the others, just a little slanted. Like I said, this has been going on for well over a month. He's a fighter!

 

[kaiofcanada]

hrm...yea....big black spot I am unsure of unless it is an ammonia burn, but that seems doubtful if he is the only one. Keep us posted. I am curious.

And yea...even though it does seem cruel, I can imagine your little guy surfing with the Beach Boys in the background, and it makes me laugh too.