angelfish with wounds on the face, and white growths rotting the fins
- Thread starter razoraptor
- Start date
Aspen35
Fish Crazy
What are the nitrites? Did you cycle the tank before adding fish?
All fish have a thin clear mucous layer coating their body and fins. This helps reduce drag in the water and is a first line of defence against things that might irritate the skin. Fish kept in poor water quality or fish that are being attacked by parasites will produce more of this mucous to try and reduce irritation and prevent infection.
Fish that produce a cream or white film over their body and fins are just about always in poor water quality. That is to say there is usually ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate levels in the water, or the pH is unsuitable for the fish. Heavy metals and other chemicals in the water will also cause this but 99% of the time it is poor water quality caused by ammonia, nitrite, nitrate or pH. The fish get stressed from the toxins in the water and produce more mucous to protect them from what's in the water.
If the fish get cream, white or grey patches on their body, it is usually a protozoan infection caused by poor water quality, (see "Protozoan infections" below).
If your fish ever get a cream or white film over their body, fins and eyes, do a big (75%) water change, gravel clean the substrate, clean the filter and increase aeration immediately. Do the big water change and gravel clean each day until the problem is identified or resolved.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Big water changes will not affect beneficial filter bacteria or fish as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
All external protozoan infections can be treated with any white spot remedy, Heat treatment simply involves raising the tank water temperature to 30C and holding it there for 2 weeks.
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.
Credits; @Colin_T
Fish that produce a cream or white film over their body and fins are just about always in poor water quality. That is to say there is usually ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate levels in the water, or the pH is unsuitable for the fish. Heavy metals and other chemicals in the water will also cause this but 99% of the time it is poor water quality caused by ammonia, nitrite, nitrate or pH. The fish get stressed from the toxins in the water and produce more mucous to protect them from what's in the water.
If the fish get cream, white or grey patches on their body, it is usually a protozoan infection caused by poor water quality, (see "Protozoan infections" below).
If your fish ever get a cream or white film over their body, fins and eyes, do a big (75%) water change, gravel clean the substrate, clean the filter and increase aeration immediately. Do the big water change and gravel clean each day until the problem is identified or resolved.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Big water changes will not affect beneficial filter bacteria or fish as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
All external protozoan infections can be treated with any white spot remedy, Heat treatment simply involves raising the tank water temperature to 30C and holding it there for 2 weeks.
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.
Credits; @Colin_T
Last edited:
razoraptor
New Member
thanks, really appreciate it.
razoraptor
New Member
2 emperor tetras, 4 neon tetras, 2 penguin tetras, 1 upside down catfish, and a nerite snail.
Thats quite the mix! Angelfish are supposed to be in groups of 5 or 6. Also some of those tetras can be nippy. I don't know much about angelfish but @Crispii can tell you why this isn't the greatest set up.
razoraptor
New Member
UPDATE: Fish is now missing its entire left fin, and the right fin is about 30% gone from the outside. I've been trying to put melafix too, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Is there any medicine i should put in?
You need to separate it from whatever is eating its fins. No point in medicating if the cause remains. Any nippyness from the tetras will be worse because they are in such small groups. The salt and clean water treatment should be enough, but not if his fins are still being chewed.
Both emperor and penguin tetras have a tendency to nippiness and for this reason it is advisable to have bigger groups preferably 10 or more of each. They are the likely suspects.
razoraptor
New Member
Thanks guys.
razoraptor
New Member
I've put the fish in a small net breeder cage, will it be fine for a few days, or should i look into some other way to quarantine it?
Ideally you need a separate tank.
Fish communicate by chemical signals. If a fish is being picked on it will also be be picking up aggression signals from the aggressors and in a net inside a tank the fish can still pick up those chemical signals from the water.
A quarantine tank needs to be big enough to house a fish comfortably. It needs a substrate of some type on the bottom, a heater and a filter. If the filter can take some of the media from the main tank, this will provide bacteria instantly. Using floating plants, even just stems of elodea/anacharis left to float, will also hep keep the water conditions good and provide shelter for the fish. There should be enough decor for the fish to feel safe.
But you do need to look at your stocking. Although the fish we buy are juveniles their tank should be the appropriate size for adult fish. 20 gallons is too small for angelfish - they need a tank at least 100 cm/40 inches long and 50 cm/20 inches tall. Emperor tetras need a minimum tank length of 90 cm/3 feet and a group of at least 10; penguin tetras can be kept in a smaller tank than emperors but they too need a group of 10. Upside down catfish are OK in 20 gallons but there needs to be a group of 3 or 4.
Keeping fish in a tank that is too small, or in groups that are too small stresses the fish. Stressed fish show their stress in one of 2 ways - becomeing more aggressive than is normal for the species or becoming timid and hiding. Stressed fish also get sick more easily. Keeping them in an appropriate sized tank in the group size they need is not only healthier for the fish, it is less stressful for the fish keeper as the fish are less likely to fight or become sick.
Fish communicate by chemical signals. If a fish is being picked on it will also be be picking up aggression signals from the aggressors and in a net inside a tank the fish can still pick up those chemical signals from the water.
A quarantine tank needs to be big enough to house a fish comfortably. It needs a substrate of some type on the bottom, a heater and a filter. If the filter can take some of the media from the main tank, this will provide bacteria instantly. Using floating plants, even just stems of elodea/anacharis left to float, will also hep keep the water conditions good and provide shelter for the fish. There should be enough decor for the fish to feel safe.
But you do need to look at your stocking. Although the fish we buy are juveniles their tank should be the appropriate size for adult fish. 20 gallons is too small for angelfish - they need a tank at least 100 cm/40 inches long and 50 cm/20 inches tall. Emperor tetras need a minimum tank length of 90 cm/3 feet and a group of at least 10; penguin tetras can be kept in a smaller tank than emperors but they too need a group of 10. Upside down catfish are OK in 20 gallons but there needs to be a group of 3 or 4.
Keeping fish in a tank that is too small, or in groups that are too small stresses the fish. Stressed fish show their stress in one of 2 ways - becomeing more aggressive than is normal for the species or becoming timid and hiding. Stressed fish also get sick more easily. Keeping them in an appropriate sized tank in the group size they need is not only healthier for the fish, it is less stressful for the fish keeper as the fish are less likely to fight or become sick.
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