Is my Black Moore sick?

[BenJ92]

Hi there,

First time poster but hoping someone might be able to help.

Our Black Moore seems to have a dislodged scale?
This has happened very recently as I did a 50% water change 2 days ago and there was no problems with him them.

His activity doesn't seem to have changed always hungry, does like to hide under his filter now and then but has done that since having him.

Have never had to deal with a fish illness so unsure if this is anything that might need treating or of he has just caught it on something in the tank.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Ben

 

[Autumnsky]

A few things...

It looks a little bit like a cut. Is there anything sharp in the tank, even the corner of the overflow edge of the filter?

Also I see little white dots on the fin and back and below the cut, could that be Ich?

There are a few specks on the gill plate but those are could be breeding stars/spots.

What about the maintenance schedule?

How long have you had the tank running, and how long in keeping this fish?

What size tank and filter? Other fish?

Are you familiar with the nitrification cycle? If not the Aquarium advice article linked in my signature explains about the cycle - having beneficial bacteria be able to process the waste and excess food in the aquarium?

Do you know what the water parameters are?
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

PH

GH/KH

TDS

 

[BenJ92]

A few things...

It looks a little bit like a cut. Is there anything sharp in the tank, even the corner of the overflow edge of the filter?

Also I see little white dots on the fin and back and below the cut, could that be Ich?

There are a few specks on the gill plate but those are could be breeding stars/spots.

What about the maintenance schedule?

How long have you had the tank running, and how long in keeping this fish?

What size tank and filter? Other fish?

Are you familiar with the nitrification cycle? If not the Aquarium advice article linked in my signature explains about the cycle - having beneficial bacteria be able to process the waste and excess food in the aquarium?

Do you know what the water parameters are?
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

PH

GH/KH

TDS

Hi Autumnsky,

Thank you for replying to this!

Al lot of this I cannot answer right now. I am aware of the nitrogen cycle and the tank is fully cycled and been set up for a year we have had no issues till now and my regular maintenance is weekly with water changes of around 25-30%.

I don't have accurate parameters at the moment because like you I noticed the white spots on edges of fins and gills so have been running an in tank ich treatment for the last 5-6 days with 2 days remaining... In which time I have not completed a water change at all.

All decorations have been removed from the tank and I have also added aquarium salt which I hoped would give him a boost.

Since posting this he has actually managed to strip a patch of scales around the original one, I'm not sure how he did it! exactly as you said I too wondered if it was the overflow edge of the filter so removed the directional shoot from the filter!

The white spots still remain on the fins so am not sure not at all if it was ich! But there is obviously something wrong to knock the scales off!

He does get erratic moments (skating etc) but otherwise is very active and all other behaviour seems normal?

If you do have any other ideas at all please let us know.

One the treatment has finished daily water changed will be done with the aquarium salt topped up and will just monitor him for any changes.

Thanks!
Ben

 

[Autumnsky]

External parasites would cause itchiness /flashing.

Something somewhere is likely causing that cut. Look at the tank, as if the fish were swimming horizontally, maybe a different perspective?

Also if you have Prime then it might be a good idea to add a dose in each day to make sure to keep the tank parameters safe.