What is this on my BN Pleco?

[HoldenOn]

Huh, now I'm really confused. This is a male pleco who was tending to eggs in the wild. The tentacles vary with sexual activity, age, tending to eggs etc.

Edited for clarity

 

[HoldenOn]

https://www.semanticscholar.org/pap...ster/f3f230f3d45b74ce8ffe54d863aa32b2b41e2a80
Interesting article that might shed some light on the subject.

 

[Slaphppy7]

https/www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Spawning-in-Ancistrus-(SiluriformesLoricariidae)-Sabaj-Armbruster/f3f230f3d45b74ce8ffe54d863aa32b2b41e2a80
Interesting article that might shed some light on the subject.

The plot thickens....thanks much for the link...of course, I have to go now, will check it later this evening

 

[Colin_T]

Bristles don't reach out and snatch micro-organisms from the water....

They do if they are from an alien species. ooooooh boogy woogy woogy. we are not alone.

 

[Colin_T]

@Colin_T what does "fuplie" mean ?

See post #9 at following link.

Who What Where Why When

Who: YOU What: Should VOTE Where: in our TOTM contest Why: It's your FORUM DUTY! When: Right NOW :vote: click link below to view the entries and then cast your vote https://www.fishforums.net/threads/vote-now-february-2021-tank-of-the-month-31-gallons-and-larger.468363/

www.fishforums.net

See post #32 at following link

So Long

I thought you were never gonna pop back up again, had me for sometime after seeing that “retired Moderator” tag. Same here

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Hi guys, people were asking for more pictures so I have got some. I’ve only seen the one on his left gill open up but as you can see there is now one on each gill, and potentially two more towards his tail.

Whilst I appreciate suggestions about manually removing it, I really don’t think I could manage to do something so gentle and intricate, also, I haven’t actually seen it “open up” for the last 24 hours or so...

New pictures attached...

The stuff on the tail is excess mucous and not one of the "aliens"

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@Colin_T, could this be Columnaris?

Good lord I hope not. If Columnaris bacteria get that big, I'm leaving this planet.

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I don't think it's a disease, I think it's a creature

You are correct. It does belong to the creature.

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LOL you lot are your alien theories

This could have gone on a lot longer if people didn't give you the answer. It would have been hilarious too

Just part of a mature male bristlenose and not much to worry about. There is some inflammation on them and a couple of big water changes and a bit of salt should help.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Add 1-2 heaped tablespoon of rock salt (not table salt) per 20 litres of water. Keep the salt in there for 2 weeks.

 

[Udanghantu]

So - one of the mysteries of the fishy universe solved by salty water. Brilliant!
Please let us know how he gets on, Jamie.

 

[Slaphppy7]

They do if they are from an alien species. ooooooh boogy woogy woogy. we are not alone.

 

[Avel1896]

https/www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Spawning-in-Ancistrus-(SiluriformesLoricariidae)-Sabaj-Armbruster/f3f230f3d45b74ce8ffe54d863aa32b2b41e2a80
Interesting article that might shed some light on the subject.

Great ! Thanksss !
I made it a bookmark.

 

[Avel1896]

They do if they are from an alien species. ooooooh boogy woogy woogy. we are not alone.

? ........... H.R.Giger's shadows lingers..........

 

[Snagrio]

Fungal infections don't have tentacles....this reminds me of the movie Alien

Cordyceps begs to differ.

 

[663]

I don't have a clear picture of them yet, but my white pleco has similar structures on either side of its head. They have finger-like appendages on the end and can be extended far from the body. I don't know its true, but I suspect they're gills.

 

[Ellabee]

I agree. That is horrifying!! I have only one suggestion. Get some Microbe Lift
ASAP. Follow directions on the label. It is also safe for scaleless fish, plants, etc.

 

[SmokieJo]

Hi,

So I recently noticed some white cotton-ish growth on my male BN, around his gills - started on only one side and then quickly became evident on the other side too. I immediately took some photos and went to my LFS who suggested its probably a fungus (i suspected this!). I purchased some treatment, and checked dose multiple times before treating his entire tank (about 2pm today). Unfortunately on this occasion I was not able to quarantine him.

Tonight (about 8pm-ish) I noticed this on my BN. Struggled to video it, but fortunately did eventually manage! I dont know how I would explain it without a video? (Converted to animated GIF for the forum)

PLEASE PLEASE help with a diagnosis and suggestions on how to best treat him? This does not look good!

Thanks in advance!

That is called cotton wool disease. It is very contagious and deadly. It also spreads very fast. I got some Molly's from Petco and noticed the same growth on one of them the next day. I separated it from the rest but the next morning it was completely covered in the white stuff and dead. I checked the other fish and I saw 2 more with it and separated them. They died that nite a couple hours apart. I googled it and found out that it was called cotton wool disease. By the time I figured it out 2 more had it growing on them soI seperated them I tried the salt water dip and a medication that Petco had suggested in the ones that had it growing on them already. (I dont remember the name of the medicine. I just remember it came in a powder form in little packets and there was 10 in a box) And in the tank that weren't showing the growth yet I put a weak salt mixture in. And also medicated that tank .(Google it to get the right salt amount per gallon). The ones with the growths once again were dead by the same nite but the other tank survived. It's been 4 months now and I still have the 7 that survived with no further problems.
Some of the causes of cotton wool are poor water quality, stress, decomposing food or plants and several other factors. There are also certain medications you can use but I only had aquarium salt at the time so thankfully it did the trick.
As for how contaguous it is... it got spread to my goldfish from using the same gravel vacuum. I dont know if its because my goldfish were bigger or because they had better water conditions than the Molly's had at petco but it only got on one of them a spread a lot slower, so I was able to catch it in time and save her from it.
If its not already too late you need to take action right now. Google "Cotton wool disease" to be sure of what it is and go from there... best of luck !

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

That is called cotton wool disease. It is very contagious and deadly. It also spreads very fast. I got some Molly's from Petco and noticed the same growth on one of them the next day. I separated it from the rest but the next morning it was completely covered in the white stuff and dead. I checked the other fish and I saw 2 more with it and separated them. They died that nite a couple hours apart. I googled it and found out that it was called cotton wool disease. By the time I figured it out 2 more had it growing on them soI seperated them I tried the salt water dip and a medication that Petco had suggested in the ones that had it growing on them already. (I dont remember the name of the medicine. I just remember it came in a powder form in little packets and there was 10 in a box) And in the tank that weren't showing the growth yet I put a weak salt mixture in. And also medicated that tank .(Google it to get the right salt amount per gallon). The ones with the growths once again were dead by the same nite but the other tank survived. It's been 4 months now and I still have the 7 that survived with no further problems.
Some of the causes of cotton wool are poor water quality, stress, decomposing food or plants and several other factors. There are also certain medications you can use but I only had aquarium salt at the time so thankfully it did the trick.
As for how contaguous it is... it got spread to my goldfish from using the same gravel vacuum. I dont know if its because my goldfish were bigger or because they had better water conditions than the Molly's had at petco but it only got on one of them a spread a lot slower, so I was able to catch it in time and save her from it.
If its not already too late you need to take action right now. Google "Cotton wool disease" to be sure of what it is and go from there... best of luck !

Looks different to me... Cotton wool disease looks (of course) more like cotton wool glued to the fish. This looks more like string cheese if it were white. Not saying you're wrong, but I think this could be different.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Anyone else been side-eyeing their pleco since finding out their odentales (sp) look like that?