Goldie losing scales

[GoldsGuy]

Hi. During recent PWC I've come across a couple scales in the tank that apparently were shed by one if my Comets.

I've noticed areas on the fish bodies before that looked scaleless.

Question: is this normal? Do fish molt older scales as they grow?

The water parameters are excellent. 0 NO2, 0 ammonia, pH 7.6, temp 74-76, NO3 been up to 40 ppm, but increased doing 40% PWC and lately between 10-20 ppm.

The tank is planted with some deco. Fish never had any health issues (knock on wood)

Tank is 55 gal. Do plan on getting larger tank next year. Currently largest is 4" approx.

The fish eat well (twice a day with one day not fed), are active, social, play, etc.

So just want to make sure normal to shed scales.





Thanks

 

[jlk]

Hi! How long have you had them & how many? Are all your guys missing scales? Has this been an ongoing issue or recent development? Have you noticed anyone being aggressive? Have you noticed any flashing or itching/rubbing at all (even just slightly)? If it was just a single scale or two, I would not be concerned but large areas of missing scales indicates a problem. Some more info will help!

 

[GoldsGuy]

Hi! How long have you had them & how many? Are all your guys missing scales? Has this been an ongoing issue or recent development? Have you noticed anyone being aggressive? Have you noticed any flashing or itching/rubbing at all (even just slightly)? If it was just a single scale or two, I would not be concerned but large areas of missing scales indicates a problem. Some more info will help!

Hey
I've had the golds since November 2011. Tank has been cycled for quite some time.
I've noticed this occasionally moreso now they are getting bigger. Would be an area here and there but was always hard to tell if missing scales or just white/transparent scales. I only noticed loose scales in tank twice.
No nipping or aggression. They are very friendly and play together, hang out together. Got them all (four) at a carnival at the same time.
They never had any illness or anything. No new fish added. Just Nerite snails. When I add plants I disinfect them.
I see no rubbing or flashing.
Just occasionally they will play and dart quickly around tank.

 

[jlk]

Thanks! My best guess is if they are not knocking each other around (which will cause scale loss) is a parasite issue such as flukes or trichodina but there are numerous other parasites as well. Which it may be would require a microscope to determine. Scale loss beyond one or two scales is not normal. Flukes can easily be treated with praziquantel. Trichodina can 'generally' be treated with salt. Some of the other parasites would require different methods of treatment. You can try treating with prazi & salt or another more general anti-parasite med aimed at various types of bugs. Good luck!

 

[GoldsGuy]

Well they do play quite aggressively. Only thing I really noticed is the biggest one still tries to squeeze between filter and tank wall. But they do zoom around the tank quite fast sometimes chasing each other-playfully not aggressively.

And from what I can see its only been no more than a few missing.

 

[jlk]

Well, if they are playing aggressively or squeezing themselves into areas they barely fit, this would explain scale loss. If this is the case, it indicates they need more swimming room and its not a medical issue. Any type of 'chasing' is aggression because they are not mature enough yet for breeding behaviors. Keep an eye on the scale loss in the meantime.

 

[GoldsGuy]

Thanks for the info. I have looked closely at them to see if I see any parasites. And will continue to monitor. Also will examine deco next PWC to ensure no sharp edges.