Sick Pleco

[Jephex]

Just want to make sure my pleco isnt suffering from finrot or some other sickness...on either of his swimming fins he has a few white spots, each being pretty small, but easily visible, like a little bigger than the tip of a ball point pen. He has a few, and i'm worried it could be ich or fungus or finrot or something.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What sort of texture do the spots have- are they cotton looking or dent-like etc?
How many gallons is the tank and what is its total fish stocking?

 

[Jephex]

lets see...10 gal with live anacharis plants, 2 corys, 2 dwarf gouramis, 3 striped danios, 3 ghost shrimp, and that 1 pleco
the spots seem to be.. well i cant really tell if they protrude, but they kind of look like little blisters.

 

[tttnjfttt]

would you say the spots looks like grains of salt?

Also, you need to check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. How long has this tank been set up for?

 

[Jephex]

tank has been up for a while, at least 6 or 7 months, nitrite is really low, nitrate could be lower, but its decent, ph is is a bit more acidic, hardness is slightly high.
Well it depends on what you defenition of grains of salt is...like table salt, no its bigger than that, but like smaller than that chunky granulated salt for melting snow.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

tank has been up for a while, at least 6 or 7 months, nitrite is really low, nitrate could be lower, but its decent, ph is is a bit more acidic, hardness is slightly high.

Can you get the exact stats though in numbers plus ammonia? How large is the plec?
I might be wrong, but i think plecs are imune to ich, soo...
Does the white bits look anything like these deseases;

http/www.fishpalace.org/fungus_chuckshobbiespets.jpg

http/www.fishpalace.org/unknown1_me.jpg

Plus a link on unidentified lumps and bumps;

http/www.fishpalace.org/danscomments.html#Lump

Does the tank have any sharpish objects or things with rough surfaces etc?

 

[Jephex]

not at all, the are like on his swimming fins next to his dorsal, just a few random white spots, which actually do appear to be coming offf a tiny bit, like dead skin.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Its probably either columnaris or fungus- use an anti bacterial med combined with a fungal one or get a med that does both like Pimafix. You should get the exact stats for nitrites and ammonia as well, as if either one are above 0 this could also be causing the illness, you should also ID your plec as there are very few that can live in a 10gal- the most commonly sold plecs are sailfin and common plecs, heres some links with pics and info on them;


Common plec;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...posarc/88_F.PHP

Sailfin plec;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...ptope/148_F.PHP

Common plecs usually need 50-80gals, while sailfins 80-125gals.

 

[Jephex]

Yeah he def has ich

i read its a common illness, and yes he does swim away awkwardly when i come near the tank, which is a symptom, but is there any other way i can be sure of it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ich/whitespot should look like this;

http/www.fishpalace.org/ich_bobjohnson.jpg

The spots should be no bigger than sand grain size, are you sure it is ich?

 

[Jephex]

never mind then, that is not it...oh man ive seen that before though, in NJ Pets, there was a 10 gal tank that they put fish for sale in, full of mollys. All but one were DEAD! how horrible is that. There was even a clump of 2 fish dead, and being washed around the tank. What a disgusting store. But the one live one had spots just like the one in that pic.

 

[Jephex]

After observing the white spots, they seem more like white bubbles in the tissue, but they do not look fuzzy, or hairy or anything, just bubbles in the fin. The one that really stands out is on the edge of one of his fins. He also seems to be getting one on the edge of his dorsal fin.

 

[Jephex]

still no idea of what to do, im not sure if he's sick or diseased, or anything. need help.

 

[reg2k2]

Could be lymphocystis. No cure afaik. Can be harmful, or the fish may live w/ it for yrs.
If you believe your nitrates to be a bit high, try to figure the cause, keep low as possible.

aka Cauliflower disease due to its appearance.

 

[Animation]

By the way mate you may want to rehome that pleco,
10 Gallons is way to SMALL