Rainbow Problems

[perryman]

hi

hope you can help with this problem. i have a well-planted, 300L tank with a mixture of medium-sized fish. just recently my rainbows (2 reds and 3 bosemans) have started showing what look like scratches. fish are about 4 inches long and have half inch scratches along their sides. have attached a photo of the reds. scales are missing along a line - looks pretty nasty in the flesh. any ideas on whats happening?

i havent had any disease in the tank for about a year. no obvious signs of parasites. other fish include 2 angles, 2 clowns, pictus cat, 2 bronze cats, 2 plecs, 2 keyhole cichlid, 1 firemouth, 4 congo tetra and flying fox etc. no other fish show any damage and there is no sign of any aggression (at leat not during daylight hours). have had rainbows 2-3 years and last fish added (plecs and keyholes) about the time this started.

thanks for your help

tony

 

[WILDER]

Looks nasty.
Water stats would be good in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
If there no signs of flicking and rubbing I would treat it as bacterial.
What do the gills look like.
Can you enlarge the pic.

 

[perryman]

thanks for quick reply

no sign of any abnormal behaviour. gills look fine - certainly no sign of swelling.

have attached better pic. guy at the shop thought it might be bullying by firemouth or one of the catfish?

water change (about a quater) last week but no effect. will test water. if it is them scratching themselves why only at night?

 

[WILDER]

its bad get treating with a bacterial med.
Keep an eye out for bullying.
Good luck.
Does it look fluffy to you.

 

[perryman]

thanks - no not fluffy at all

 

[WILDER]

ok, pics can be deceiving at well as helpful at times.