White patch in Black Skirt Tetra fin

[Oblio]

I've noticed a small white patch on one of my Tetras. Protective slime or start of a disease that needs treatment/isolation etc.?

Tank size: 125 G
tank age: 2+ years
pH: 6.8
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5
kH: 68 (online spec)
gH: Unknown
tank temp: 76 F (recently reduced by 1-2 deg F)


Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

White patch on lower fin, normal behavior

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 50% Weekly

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: None other than Sponge, Ceramic Bio, and recent Poly added (all in HOB)

Tank inhabitants: 10x Black Skirt Tetra, 6x Buenos Aries Tetra, 4x Bronze Cory, 4x Peppered Cory

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): 2 small Pothos terrestrials week prior

Exposure to chemicals: None

 

[Sgooosh]

excess mucous from stress?
maybe someone nipped him there
or bacterial infection

 

[Oblio]

excess mucous from stress?
maybe someone nipped him there
or bacterial infection

They have been in recent feeding frenzies when I feed them frozen brine shrimp, so maybe a nip or a bump on a decoration?

 

[Sgooosh]

They have been in recent feeding frenzies when I feed them frozen brine shrimp, so maybe a nip or a bump on a decoration?

yeah
if it were a livebearer id do a salt bath just in case- to calm fish and to help them treat bacterial

edit: but consult someone other than a beginner. @Colin_T is it a good idea to salt bath or no

 

[Colin_T]

it's not a bacterial infection, they are red.

it's either excess mucous produced by the fish to cover an injured area, or fungus growing on a wound.
If it's white and fluffy it is fungus.
If it's white and smooth it's mucous.

wipe the glass down, do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate, and clean the filter, and it should go away in a few days.

you can add some salt if you like but try cleaning the tank first

 

[Oblio]

Thanks @Colin_T
Spot is white and smooth, I'll move up my water change and clean as suggested. I don't yet have a hospital tank, so I would hate to do salt unless necessary. I think I have a 10 G in the garage I need to set up and get cycled for emergencies.

 

[Colin_T]

if you use salt, just add it to the main tank so you don't stress and injure the fish trying to catch it and move it.

 

[Oblio]

if you use salt, just add it to the main tank so you don't stress and injure the fish trying to catch it and move it.

I notice on one of your other salt recommendations that you caution on the use with Corys/Tetras, do I need to adjust dosage rate (or set a max) if they are in my tank? Or is heeding your 4 week time limit sufficient? Also, do you happen to know the dosage rate in g/liter? I only ask because measuring by volume can be off for different granule sizes, or maybe for salt treatment the variance is not critical. Many thanks for all your sage advice, wish I could send you some of our cooler weather from Yankland.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

 

[Colin_T]

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres. If it's going to respond to salt you should see an improvement with 24-48 hours.

You can use a rough estimate for salt, it's much more forgiving than other chemicals.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

You keep the salt in the tank for 1 week after the problem is gone. This allows the fish to completely heal before the salt is removed from the water. If you remove the salt too soon, the problem might flare back up if it hasn't been totally treated.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[Sgooosh]

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres. If it's going to respond to salt you should see an improvement with 24-48 hours.

You can use a rough estimate for salt, it's much more forgiving than other chemicals.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

You keep the salt in the tank for 1 week after the problem is gone. This allows the fish to completely heal before the salt is removed from the water. If you remove the salt too soon, the problem might flare back up if it hasn't been totally treated.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

i used salt on my guppy for like 2 months and when i took him out he couldnt swim and died.