Help! Unknown white marks on my Black Moor

[jadebird]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I noticed white marks on my Black Moor's tail fin, he/she (not sure!) has had ick in the past so I know it's not that. It doesn't look fluffy so I didn't think it would be the cotton wool disease I have read about, although this could be how it starts

I should add that I have had my two fancies for 6 months (40 gallon tank) so I am fairly new to all this and the only illness I have dealt with was the ick. I tested the water today and it's fine, my pearlscale is fine also.
My fish is not acting any differently since these spots have appeared but I am still worried as I don't know what it is!

I have attached the best photos I could get of the offending spots!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!!

Can you please post your exact levels for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph? What type of water change and maintenance schedule do you have presently?

Moors seem to be a bit more prone to injury than some other breeds of fancies. Anything amiss is also very obvious against the black coloring. Once we have some more information on your parameters and upkeep, we can make some further suggestions!

 

[jadebird]

Hi, thanks for replying! I'm afraid I don't have numbers for these as I use the colour change sticks (Tetra Aquarium 6-in-1 Test Strip: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies) is there a better process I should be using here?
I do 50% water changes every Saturday and clean the tank decorations and filter media every other week. Any suggestions on improvements would be welcome! I have been doing it this way for the 6 months I have had them and would hate to think I'm doing something to hurt them

 

[anteatergoanna]

Hi J, the API test kits are the best, if you get a master kit, that will have everything in it you need to test for. Are the white patches like grains so sand, is the fish rubbing itself like its itchy? Could be Ich. Do your other fish have any white spots?


Sent from anteatergoanna's burrow

 

[jadebird]

I will have to have a look for them!
They aren't, that's what struck me as weird because my Black Moor has had Ich in the past, they are bigger than Ich, slightly raised and don't seem to affect his behaviour at all.

 

[jlk]

Liquid tests are definitely preferable but can you tell us what your strips are reading?

It does not appear to be ich but rather a common skin issue in moors. On a different colored fish, you would not even notice this. If nothing is amiss with your water, increasing the frequency of water changes to every other day is usually sufficient to clear this up fairly quickly. If it does not clear up with water changes in a week or so, we can make simple suggestions to help.