Help identifying problem

[skae310]

I have a jurapari cichlid which has blotchy looking skin spots and looks like his top fin is messed up. It has like a white thing on it and he wont expand it. No clue what this is. I cant post pics right now but i can later. any ideas?

 

[HN1]

What is your water change routine? Do you have test results (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? How long has the tank been set up? How did you cycle?

Sorry the the barrage of questions, but the answers will help folks narrow down the issue.

Welcome to AA btw!

 

[skae310]

I do water changes twice a month and havent check the levels for a while. I just did a water change a couple days a go. No other fish have signs of it. Do you think its contagious? if so i dont have a extra tank. any way to prevent the spread?

 

[skae310]

Its been up for about 7 or 8 months. I just cycled with fish

 

[HN1]

Hmmm... a pic might help. What's in there with it? What size tank?

 

[skae310]

best pics i can get. it looks worse in person

 

[severum mama]

Are the white areas fuzzy, like a fungal infection maybe?

 

[skae310]

Kind of. They seem to look similar to peeling skin. and its making the back part of his fin not able to fully expand. i can try to take a better pic later but its hard because hes been hiding since this happened

 

[HN1]

I think that the best thing you can do for it is to provide super clean water. I'd be doing 35-50% changes every other day or so.

 

[skae310]

okay will do. thanks

 

[skae310]

I got to take a closer look at him. It turns out his entire right fin is gone. There is only a tiny piece left of it. Any chances it can grow back???

 

[HN1]

Yes. As long as the rays are intact, the fin can grow back. It may not grow back completely or necessarily symmetrical, but it can grow back. The important thing is to keep the water as clean as possible to avoid a secondary infection.

 

[skae310]

okay that makes me feel alot better. i wasnt too sure if they could. hes eating fine and im doing water changes. anything else i should do?

 

[HN1]

Not really. Water changes are going to be your best option. Clean water heals quite a bit.

 

[missileman]

I dissagree,
Yes by all means do the water changes but I would also treat with Maracyn 2 to take care of any infection.

 

[HN1]

Only if there's a QT available. I also don't believe in treating for something that hasn't yet surfaced. Proactive medicating is done far too much throughout the hobby IMO.

 

[missileman]

Only if there's a QT available. I also don't believe in treating for something that hasn't yet surfaced. Proactive medicating is done far too much throughout the hobby IMO.

What do you mean not yet surfaced? The fish has already lost a fin, has damage to other fins and has spots on the body.
Water conditions do not cause fins to fall off. Infections from the water do. Changing water is absolutely a must and may get rid of the root cause but will not get rid of the infection that caused the damage. The fish may be strong enough to fight it off on its own but I have found that if you wait until it gets worse before treating it is often too late.

 

[DizzCat]

A missing fin makes me ask.........

What are its tank mates? To me it sounds like he got beat up on and is developing an infection in the areas of damage. I have never had to use medications when this has happened, just keep the water clean. I had a fish get her entire tail bit off and it grew back just fine.

 

[HN1]

What do you mean not yet surfaced? The fish has already lost a fin, has damage to other fins and has spots on the body.
Water conditions do not cause fins to fall off. Infections from the water do. Changing water is absolutely a must and may get rid of the root cause but will not get rid of the infection that caused the damage. The fish may be strong enough to fight it off on its own but I have found that if you wait until it gets worse before treating it is often too late.

I mean that I don't see infection. Missing fins are not a sign of infection. Infection can set it as a result, but I see no indication of such in the pics. Clean water will prevent the infection without needing to blindly medicate the tank. If this were a 10G QT tank, I might agree with medicating but it really doesn't appear to be. JMO.