Noticed discoloration on his face this morning. Wondering what it is and what may be the cause if it. 50 gal planted tank, with perfect water parameters atm, which is what has me worried. Other fish seem to be fine. Could it be stress? Or maybe some kind of parasite? Never had many sick fish, so I'm not too good at diagnosing illnesses. Hoping image helps.
Help one of my dwarf rainbows is sick
- Thread starter Erick87
- Start date
Jessie J.
Fish Crazy
I can't see the affected area that well. Are any scales missing? Is the fish flashing, or rubbing itself on hard decorations?
Hi and welcome to the forum 
How long have you had the fish for?
Have you added any new fish or plants in the last 2 weeks?
How often do you do water changes and gravel clean the substrate?
How often do you clean the filter?
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I would wipe the inside of the glass and then do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. You don't have to lift the plants out but try to gravel clean as much of the substrate as possible. Then clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.
Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.
If you have CO2 on the tank, turn it off for a couple of weeks until the fish recovers.
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It looks like a bacterial infection and possibly Columnaris. If you have another tank you could move the fish into that and try an anti-biotic. Otherwise you can try salt. I would use the maximum dose rate of salt to begin with and hope it survives. If adding salt to the plant tank then add 2 headed tablespoons per 20 litres. If you isolate the fish in a quarantine tank/ container then use 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. More information about salt usage is below.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate will affect some plants. The lower dose rate will not affect plants.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that.
Increase aeration/ surface turbulence if you use salt or any medication because they reduce the oxygen in the water.
How long have you had the fish for?
Have you added any new fish or plants in the last 2 weeks?
How often do you do water changes and gravel clean the substrate?
How often do you clean the filter?
-----------------------
I would wipe the inside of the glass and then do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. You don't have to lift the plants out but try to gravel clean as much of the substrate as possible. Then clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.
Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.
If you have CO2 on the tank, turn it off for a couple of weeks until the fish recovers.
-----------------------
It looks like a bacterial infection and possibly Columnaris. If you have another tank you could move the fish into that and try an anti-biotic. Otherwise you can try salt. I would use the maximum dose rate of salt to begin with and hope it survives. If adding salt to the plant tank then add 2 headed tablespoons per 20 litres. If you isolate the fish in a quarantine tank/ container then use 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. More information about salt usage is below.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate will affect some plants. The lower dose rate will not affect plants.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that.
Increase aeration/ surface turbulence if you use salt or any medication because they reduce the oxygen in the water.
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