Can someone tell me what this could be?

[Ruby Shark]

I noticed a white patch on my largest Zebra Danio(below his dorsal fin) today. It is not cottony or wool like and his fins seem fine. He is swimming fine and eating.
The area in question looks like it's faded...creating a white look. That's the best way I know how to describe it.

He is in a fully cycled tank(running for over two years) with three other zebra danios, one rainbow shark, and one cherry barb.

Amonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20

Could this be the beginning of Columnaris? I have only seen cases where the fish had many patches...so I'm not 100% sure.

Here is a picture of him: Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cometcattle]

How old is he?

My 4yr old otto that died today had the exact same thing.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Well I have only had the Danio's for about a month...so I'm not exactly sure. He is about 2" long though.

Aww I'm sorry to hear about your fish.

 

[tstenback]

That could very well be columnaris. It usually presents as a faded white or gray area around the head or fins quite often in the dorsal fin area. Can you isolate the fish in another tank? It may be nothing more than a burn from a heater or other tank accident that caused the fading. If you cant isolate the fish then watch very closely for any abnormal behaviour. HTH

 

[Ruby Shark]

Thanks for responding.

If he does have it this would be the early stages....so if I wait to treat him(until other signs start showing) won't it be too late?

I shouldn't treat the whole tank?

What would be the best medication to use? I'm asking because I have an Amano Shrimp and live plants.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Anyone?

 

[tstenback]

can you isolate him?

 

[Ruby Shark]

No, the only tank that I could put him in is a two and a half gallon. It doesn't even have a filter so It's useless. My ten gallon hospital tank was cracked (go figure) a few months ago and I haven't had the chance to buy a new one. Is it dangerous to treat the whole tank? I'm still not even sure of what product to use because of shrimp....assuming I can treat the whole tank.

 

[tstenback]

No its not dangerous just stressful to the fish. Is the fish showing any signs of being ill? If not i would wait at least for now as it may just be something that will clear up on its own. It's great to be concerned and i applaud you for it but if yo have to submit the whole tank to this med then perhaps you could wait to see if the fish is indeed sick. If you go ahead withthe meds then remember to remove your carbon if you use it and read the label to see if the meds will have an adverse effect on any of your fish. usually these meds say half the dose for small tetras and loaches or something similar to that. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Ruby Shark]

You're right...I am concerned. I have had the tank for two years and have only had to deal with ich...so this is a little new. lol I was just worried that if I waited longer that it would spread(resulting in it being too late to do anything) or spread to the other fish depending on what it is. It's not that I wanted to treat the tank...it's just that I didn't know if I should or not. I guess I will wait a few more days to see what happens.


Thanks for you response and your kind words. I will keep you posted.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Well I now know that he is sick....the patches have spread and he is dying.