Unhappy Bristlenose

[Tiggle]

Hi

I have a 100L community tank which houses 5 neon tetras, 2 black neons, 2 cory catfish and 1 common bristle nose. The tank has been set up for about 18 months now with all inhabitants except the bristle being present for at least a year. the bristle i've had for about 8 weeks. This morning i noticed what i first thought where open ulcer wounds on the bristlenose's cheek/gill area but after i got him to move i realised it was a blister which is about 2mm round. these blisters are on both sides of the bristle noses face. i feel bad because i had noticed that he wasn't as active as is normal earlier in the week, but had not previously noticed the blistering. Normally he is the most aggressive fish in the tank, he tends to chase off the cory's if they wonder into his territory but never notices the neons.

these are the tanks stats as of this morning
pH 8.0 (higher then normal, tank normally sits at 7-7.2)
ammonia 0.0
nitrite 0.0
nitrate 5.0
GH 13 (much higher then normal, usually 5)
KH 5 (usually 3)

Now, because of the hot weather we experienced several weeks ago i rigged up a mesh lid for the tank which i still hadn't replaced with the normal glass lid, which i assume due to the evaporation is the cause of the higher then normal GH/KH and pH.

I have now taken 10L of water out and filled the tank up with about 20L (up to the rim) and will continue to do small water changes to bring the pH back down to normal (as i don't want to shock them and only the bristle looks stressed at this stage)

Is it likely that when the pH is back to normal the blisters will resolve on their own? or is he now suffering from some sort of bacterial infection that needs treating?



Thanks for your help in advance
Tara

 

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i would would try treating the blister with some melafix + pimafix, now it said that brisle nose catties cannot tolerate salt but from my experence they can handle a bit. ive got a barramundi with a couple of bristle nose cat fish in my tank and theres 1 cup of salt per every 10 ltrs my bristle nose's are doing fine. so i would treat it with a bit of salt. salt will reduce stress and kill any bacteria in the tank, if it gets worse i would try some harder meds

 

[Tiggle]

Should I leave him in the main tank? Catching him is going to stress him out.
Will treating with salt, melafix & primafix with the other tank mates cause any problems?
And what concentration of salt is best to use? 1 teaspoon for 10l?

 

[WILDER]

Don't add salt plec and neons don't tolerate it to well.

Is it possible to load a pic up onto the site.

The blister does it move.
Any redness to the blister.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing, excess mucas, darting or erratic swimming or laboured breathing.
What do the gills look like. Do they look pale with excess mucas or red and inflamed.

 

[Tiggle]

Sorry i took so long to reply, got stuck at work.

I've managed to finally get some semi-decent photos

As you can see (kind of) he's actually got 4 blisters. they seem to be fluid filled and clear. One looks like it has pooped on its own and now seems to have a puddle of blood sitting on the bottom of the blister. Yesterday the wounds looked a nasty red color but now they are pale. None of the fish have been acting strangely, flicking etc and otherwise look healthy.

I went in yesterday afternoon to talk to my LFS, who suggested he may have burnt himself on the heater. would that have caused blisters to have formed where they have though? i would have thought they'd be more on his belly rather then on the sides if that were the case. they talked me into buying some multicure which i still havnt been game to use yet, but now that the wound is open it may be of some benefit? i have now treated the tank with melafix twice and the pH is down to 7.4 after yesterdays water change.

 

[WILDER]

It could be a heater burn.
If your heater dosn't have a heater guard I would buy one.

If no improvement with the melafix in a few days, get back to the board.

What's your tap ph.