New to the Farlowella TWO DAYS OLD AND HE HAS A WHITE SCALEY GROWTH.

[imissmytruck]

1~What type of fish is afflicted? FARLOWELLA HAS A SCALY WHITE GROWTH ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, 0
nitrites,0
nitrates, 20 PPM
temp, 75
pH) 7.0
3~ How large is the tank? 55 G
How long has the tank been set up? 9 MONTHS
4~What type of filtration are you using? FLUVAL 304
5~How many fish are in the tank? 10
What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? 1 HORSEFACE LOACH 1 OTTOCINLUCS 1FARLOWELLA 3 DYED TETRAS 4 ROSELINE SHARKS 1 ALBINO RAINBOW SHARK
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? 2 DAYS AGO

How often do you do this? EVERY SATURDAY
How much water do you remove at a time? 30 TO 40%
7~How long have you had the fish? 2 DAYS
If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? i FIRST CHANGED THE WATER AND CLEANED THE SAND SUBSTRATE. WHILE THE FISH SAT IN ITS BAG IN THE TANK. THEN AFTER CLEANING WAS DONE, AND FEEDING OF MY PLANTS WAS COMPLETE, I LET THE FARLOWELLA SIT IN BAG FOR ANOHTER HOUR BEFORE PUTTING HIM IN THE TANK. THATS WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS DONE, AS THAT IS WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD TO DO.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? NO
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? RAINBOW FLAKE AND DRIED BLOODWORMS. NO CHANGE. THE ALBINO RAINBOW GETS ALGEA TABS.

 

[jlk]

Thanks for the info! Could you possibily post a pic? Do you have a qt tank? Trying to treat the fish in question in this size tank will be difficult (and expensive). I am not positive of what you are dealing with but I suspect it may possibily be bacterial infection.

 

[imissmytruck]

Ok. I do NOT have a QT tank. And I can't seem to get a good picture of the guy. My camera sucks. Still working at it.

 

[meegosh]

Can you describe the white growth? Is it fluffy looking like whats inside a pillow? Is the area around it red, any other symptoms or anything different?

In the future I'd look into drip acclimating and a QT. Over an hour in the bag seems like overkill to me. I usually let mine drip acclimate for 45-55 minutes.

 

[imissmytruck]

Here is a good pic of what is going on with my Farlowella. There isn't so much anything "inside" the wound. It's really just sort of miss colored scales that were normal the day I got him, but wrong the next. In this pic there is a re ring around it, you can't see that in person.

 

[jlk]

Thanks for the pic! Looking at it, it looks like it could possibly be an ulcer or it's HITH/lateral line erosion. I would google pics & see if this matches what you are seeing.

 

[imissmytruck]

It does NOT appera to be HITH to me. The wound is not abcessed, it only appers to be on the surface.

If I am able to set up a QT for him, what size should it be? and Do I need to go through the cycle process for it? I am afraid he does not have the time for a full cycle...not that he is sluggish...He actually appears to be quite happy. He is loving the black beard that has started taking over my plants and bog log.

 

[jlk]

I dont know how big he is- his size will determine appropriate qt size. If you choose to setup a qt, you can move some cycled media from your main tank to help things along. You will need to stay on top of daily testing & water changes as needed to keep his water healthy.

 

[imissmytruck]

ICK? the smart folks at Dennys Pet Store in Kirkland (shout out!) have seen the above picture and suggest it may be ICK. Could it be?

 

[jlk]

This sore is not ich. Your pic is too far away to tell if your fish does have ich in addition to the sore. Ich looks like little grains of salt or sand sprinkled all over a fish. Does your fish have this as well?

 

[imissmytruck]

Nope no grains of salt. When the lady bagged him for me she had some trouble getting him in the net. I am wondering if maybe she wounded him then. I wasn't in eye sight of her catch, but she admitted troubles. Could be a wound from that.

 

[imissmytruck]

No other spots. Just this one. I am wondering if the battle between the pet store girl and the fish caused this. She admitted having trouble netting him. I was not within eye sight of the this but I am pretty sure she could've roughed him up a bit.

Thanks for everybodys help on this!

 

[meegosh]

One of my buddies' fish got stuck between her heater and the glass. Ended up getting a heater burn and it looked kind of similar. The wound was more of a red/pink color than white though. Just thought of that and figured it might be worth thinking about.

 

[imissmytruck]

I am sad to say that after todays water change, Chuck (my farlowella) is floundering. He is having troubles turning himself over. His fins arent really moving, and he lets me hold him far too easily. I don't think he is going to make it. I am very sad, I hope he isn't suffering.

 

[jlk]

I am very sorry

 

[meegosh]

Sorry to hear about his status declining.

Is there a reason you are trying to handle the fish? It will just stress the fish out even more, especially when something else is wrong.

 

[imissmytruck]

I had to move him so I could clean the sand. Basically I just wanted to put my finger near him so he would move over. But alas...he finally died. He suffered to long. Turns out it was the lady trying to bag him. It was a wound she caused by trying to net him. The store reimbursed me, but that is of small consequence to losing a life. I get too attached to my fish.

And now time for me to be rude to his memory. I wanted him because he was interesting to look at. Are there any suggestions out there for interesting fish? I have considered a reed fish, but my 55 g is too small. Keep in mind I have 4 Rose Line Sharks, 3 good size tetras, 1 Horseface Loach and 1 Albino Rainbow Shark.