Grey "Haze" on spine of fish.

[Alshain]

OK, so I'm not real sure I even have a problem. One of my marigold swordtails has some black spots near her gills and darker colored scales along her spine. It could be that she has always had this and I've never noticed it (I haven't owned her long). I'm currently treating the tank for Ich with malachite green but I believe 1 or 2 more treatments should complete the treatment as no signs of Ich are showing on the fish any longer.

As I mentioned, I'm not sure it wasn't always there. I'm wondering if she might have some painted swordtail genes in her and thats what I'm seeing. She doesn't appear to be exibiting any symptoms other than the colored areas (ie. loss of apetite, lathargy, etc.) Shes very active and eats well. Any suggestions on diagnosing this?

 

[Menagerie]

Some fish simply have different colored scales. You need to answer the full array of Qs asked of all ill fish owners and then check out Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites to begin diagnosing this possible problem.

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment:

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
6~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?
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

 

[Alshain]

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment:

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

Marigold Swordtail (female) - Small black spots near gills. No other aparent signs.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

Amonia is undetectable (0 ppm) by AP Amonia test. Temp is 78 deg F. I'm still waiting on a Master Test Kit, should be here in the mail tomorrow.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

12 Gallons - With fish its been 2 weeks.

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

Its an Eclipse 12 tank, whatever pump comes with it.

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

3 Marigold swordtails, 1 male 2 female. Females are ~1.5" Male is 1"

6~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?

Yesterday, been doing this once every 2 to 3 days.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

2 Weeks. Acclimated by floating/water mixing for a couple of hours.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

Added Tetra water conditioner recently. Previously I was using RO water from the LFS while I tested the conditions of my tap water (which turned out to be ok).

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

Omega One veggie flakes.

 

[Menagerie]

What are the behavioral changes? Is this tank cycled?

 

[Alshain]

The only behavioral change I've seen is the male scrathing his body along the radican sword in the tank. The spots are becoming more defined but are mostly concentrated along the spine, these ones are light black. There are a few darker spots just behind the gills as well. The male has a line of light black spots across his mouth but those have been there since I bought him, I thought it was just how he was colored. It may be he had this when I bought him and its spreading because all the fish seem to have it now. I tried taking pictures but the spots don't show, they are too small. I have been treating this tank with Malachite Green, it seems to have gotten rid of the Ich but has not had any affect on this new problem.

I'm having trouble identifying this because the only diseases I've found similar are black specks all over the body (like ich but black) which so far is not the case here. This condition looks almost as if the spine of the fish were "dirty" but if you look close you can see its a lot of black spots.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Black scales on fish are sometimes an indicator of poor water quality and high ammonia. Since all that checks out, it can't be poor water quality causing it.

Black spot disease does not always cover the whole body. I've heard of it mainly infecting the joints (areas where the fins meet the body) but don't see a reason why it being on the spine of your fish means it can't be that.

So, my reccomendation is to try an anti-parasite medication asap. I always reccomend Jungles Parasite Clear Tablets. They are affective against internal and external parasites. The only other disease I've known to be incorporated with black areas on the skin is a Clinostomum sp. infestation. Is your fish showing any external signs of internal parsites, such as wasting and lethargy?

HTH

 

[Alshain]

Nope, very active, very hungry... always hungry. Seems normal except the growing color on their backs. I will head up to Petland/Petsmart and see if I can find that jungle parasite guard. On their websites, they only list internal parasite guard though.

This is the best pic I could get. Look closely and you will see just a few black specks behind the gills. You can also see the greyish color along the spine (It gets darker toward the tail).

 

[RoK]

Seems pretty healthy-looking to me. Fish usually show some new color once established to a tank, fed good food and especially if the water parameters are good.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I'd have to agree with RoK. Nothing seems amiss at all, looks like a very healthy fish!

 

[Alshain]

I'd have to agree with RoK. Nothing seems amiss at all, looks like a very healthy fish!

Well the LFS would agree with you it seems. They said sometimes as the fish matures it develops color which would explain why it seems to be "growing". It is good to know that there is nothing wrong though.