My swordtail has whitish spots on her that look like her scales are peeling. It does not look like the normal saltish look of ick. Yesterday she spent most of the day at the top of the tank flipping her head back and forth but not really swimming. Today she is doing the same thing but not as much however she is on the bottom of the tank. She is about 2 years old and has been in the same tank since she was born. Last week I added some new fish to the tank and everyone else looks ok. I added some salt last night but I'm not sure what else to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my Baby. Thanks in advance
sick swordtail
- Thread starter Steph3
- Start date
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Menagerie
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Welcome to AA, Steph3! 
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Try looking through these sites:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm
Also, keep in mind that as fish age (just as we do) that their immune systems are weaken. I would QT right away and keep the water perfent. For some background, answer these Qs:
~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp)?
~ How large is the tank?
~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are there current sizes?
~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
~How long have you had the fish?
~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlor, new substrate, etc.?
Welcome to AA, Steph3! [/center:5049f3b7f6]Try looking through these sites:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm
Also, keep in mind that as fish age (just as we do) that their immune systems are weaken. I would QT right away and keep the water perfent. For some background, answer these Qs:
~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp)?
~ How large is the tank?
~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are there current sizes?
~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
~How long have you had the fish?
~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlor, new substrate, etc.?
I haven't checked the ammonia and nitrate levels before so I guess I need to buy the stuff to do that. The temp is 76 and the tank is a 29 gallon. I did a water change and gravel vaccuum early last week and added a few new rocks. The previous change was probably about 3 weeks before. I have not had any problems with the tank since it was set up and I am not on a consistent schedule for water changes. I usually only change about 5 gallons of the water at a time. The following fish have been in the tank for well over a year.
1 sword tail (my baby) - 1.5"
2 Black tetra - 1.5" each
1 red eye tetra - 1"
2 gold barbs (i think) - 1" each
1 red fin shark - 1.5"
2 neon - 1" each
Last week I added the following fish
2 kissing gourami - 1.5"
2 small pleco
1 swordtail 1.5"
3 little bitty fish that I can't remember but they are only a little over .5'
I'm guessing that the problem has to do with the new fish but I'm not sure. Would the new fish effect the levels in the tank even though it was already a well established environment? All that I have done so far is put some salt in the tank. I was thinking about treating for ich, just in case but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, and the bottle said not to treat tetra's so I wasn't sure what to do about that.
I was also wondering, if I don't have another tank how do I put her it QT? Don't I need to keep the heater and filter going for her? Thanks again
1 sword tail (my baby) - 1.5"
2 Black tetra - 1.5" each
1 red eye tetra - 1"
2 gold barbs (i think) - 1" each
1 red fin shark - 1.5"
2 neon - 1" each
Last week I added the following fish
2 kissing gourami - 1.5"
2 small pleco
1 swordtail 1.5"
3 little bitty fish that I can't remember but they are only a little over .5'
I'm guessing that the problem has to do with the new fish but I'm not sure. Would the new fish effect the levels in the tank even though it was already a well established environment? All that I have done so far is put some salt in the tank. I was thinking about treating for ich, just in case but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, and the bottle said not to treat tetra's so I wasn't sure what to do about that.
I was also wondering, if I don't have another tank how do I put her it QT? Don't I need to keep the heater and filter going for her? Thanks again
