Kentaaa
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Yesterday I posted a thread in regards to my Gourami. He was acting very unusually by darting around the tank, appearing to be "rocking" back and forth, ocassionally rubbing his fins against the glass, and just looking generally agitated. It seems as though he's stressing out all of the other fish in the tank. He is eating normally and there don't seem to be any physical signs on his body. In my previous post I attached a video as well as a photo for reference.
All of the tank's parameters are normal. Nitrate 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Ammonia 0.25ppm, and a pH of 8.2. I know the pH is a tad high for freshwater community fish but it has been this high from the beginning and the fish don't seem to mind it. I have well water which is very very hard.
I have been monitoring him since yesterday morning. I am considering making up a hospital tank for him so he can be quarantined just in case he is sick with something infectious. As I was inspecting him up close my juvenile Australian Rainbow swam by the glass and I caught a glimpse of white spots on her tail. Upon further inspection I noticed she has about 4-5 tiny white spots on her tail and one spot on her dorsal fin. I thought maybe they were just markings but after inspecting my other fish I noticed my Boesemani Rainbow also had a few similar specks on his tail. I figured maybe it was a "rainbow thing" since none of my other fish had these specks. My mollies, Angel, loaches, and Tetra all seem spot free. Then I noticed one or two specks on the Gourami's tail fin as well. I did not originally see it because it is only present on one side of the fin. Could this be what is causing his erratic behavior? Being irritated from the ich?
If this is ich how do I treat it? I read online that aquarium salt can be used BUT, in the same tank I have a Cory Cat and a Dojo Loach which I had also read are completely intolerant to aquarium salt. Should I go to my local PetSmart and purchase an ich remedy? I remember being told somewhere to purchase one that was copper free. Also, what will happen if I put the medication in the tank and it turns out to not be ich? Like I previously stated only three seem infected. Will the medication harm the fish that don't have ich? Or are ich treatments fairly gentle on fish and plants? I have NEVER in all my ten years of fish keeping had ich and now I am terrified because I have no clue what to do to cure this. What steps should I take to ensure that first and foremost I cure the ich, but while doing this not harm the other fish or plants in the tank? Any help would mean the world to me
I have attached photos of all the affected fish. For some reason the light refracts off of the spots making them look shiny. In person however they are just plain, opaque, matte, white. There does not appear to be any "fuzz" to them. They are flat. I believe clicking on the pictures will allow you to zoom in.
Australian Rainbow
Boesemani Rainbow
Gold Leopard Gourami
**I know this is probably COMPLETELY unrelated but I have learned by using the forums that it is best to provide more than enough details in cases like these. I have had my Cory Cat for about two months. About two weeks after I bought him he began to develop a white spot on his head. It almost appeared to be a blister or peeling skin. All I could think of to describe it would be when you wear shoes that are too tight and a "bubble" like blister forms on the back of your Achille's tendon. I scoured the Internet and could not find a thing. One of the staff members at my LFS (actual aquarium store, not a chain) said it could be one of two things. Either he has developed a blister from swimming back and forth under the rock cave OR he has a protein cyst. I figured the latter seems more plausible since during the first two weeks I had him ALL he would eat was frozen bloodworms. Flakes would not make it to the bottom of the tank and I was not feeding pellets at the time. Since, he eats a more balanced diet of bloodworms, sinking pellets, and brine shrimp. His "cyst" now looks much better but it is not completely going away. Could this really be an infection? Was I given false information? Is it possible the Gourami as well as the others have caught this as well (if it is a parasite/disease)? I never examined him closely before he developed his bubble cyst. For all I know, it could've started out as white specks as well. Does this situation have anything to do with the other fish being ill?
Thank you all SO much in advance!
Kentaaa
All of the tank's parameters are normal. Nitrate 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Ammonia 0.25ppm, and a pH of 8.2. I know the pH is a tad high for freshwater community fish but it has been this high from the beginning and the fish don't seem to mind it. I have well water which is very very hard.
I have been monitoring him since yesterday morning. I am considering making up a hospital tank for him so he can be quarantined just in case he is sick with something infectious. As I was inspecting him up close my juvenile Australian Rainbow swam by the glass and I caught a glimpse of white spots on her tail. Upon further inspection I noticed she has about 4-5 tiny white spots on her tail and one spot on her dorsal fin. I thought maybe they were just markings but after inspecting my other fish I noticed my Boesemani Rainbow also had a few similar specks on his tail. I figured maybe it was a "rainbow thing" since none of my other fish had these specks. My mollies, Angel, loaches, and Tetra all seem spot free. Then I noticed one or two specks on the Gourami's tail fin as well. I did not originally see it because it is only present on one side of the fin. Could this be what is causing his erratic behavior? Being irritated from the ich?
If this is ich how do I treat it? I read online that aquarium salt can be used BUT, in the same tank I have a Cory Cat and a Dojo Loach which I had also read are completely intolerant to aquarium salt. Should I go to my local PetSmart and purchase an ich remedy? I remember being told somewhere to purchase one that was copper free. Also, what will happen if I put the medication in the tank and it turns out to not be ich? Like I previously stated only three seem infected. Will the medication harm the fish that don't have ich? Or are ich treatments fairly gentle on fish and plants? I have NEVER in all my ten years of fish keeping had ich and now I am terrified because I have no clue what to do to cure this. What steps should I take to ensure that first and foremost I cure the ich, but while doing this not harm the other fish or plants in the tank? Any help would mean the world to me
I have attached photos of all the affected fish. For some reason the light refracts off of the spots making them look shiny. In person however they are just plain, opaque, matte, white. There does not appear to be any "fuzz" to them. They are flat. I believe clicking on the pictures will allow you to zoom in.
Australian Rainbow
Boesemani Rainbow
Gold Leopard Gourami
**I know this is probably COMPLETELY unrelated but I have learned by using the forums that it is best to provide more than enough details in cases like these. I have had my Cory Cat for about two months. About two weeks after I bought him he began to develop a white spot on his head. It almost appeared to be a blister or peeling skin. All I could think of to describe it would be when you wear shoes that are too tight and a "bubble" like blister forms on the back of your Achille's tendon. I scoured the Internet and could not find a thing. One of the staff members at my LFS (actual aquarium store, not a chain) said it could be one of two things. Either he has developed a blister from swimming back and forth under the rock cave OR he has a protein cyst. I figured the latter seems more plausible since during the first two weeks I had him ALL he would eat was frozen bloodworms. Flakes would not make it to the bottom of the tank and I was not feeding pellets at the time. Since, he eats a more balanced diet of bloodworms, sinking pellets, and brine shrimp. His "cyst" now looks much better but it is not completely going away. Could this really be an infection? Was I given false information? Is it possible the Gourami as well as the others have caught this as well (if it is a parasite/disease)? I never examined him closely before he developed his bubble cyst. For all I know, it could've started out as white specks as well. Does this situation have anything to do with the other fish being ill?
Thank you all SO much in advance!
Kentaaa