Apisto white bump

[FreckyB]

Sorry guys I could have sworn there was a fish illness forum but I can't find it >_<

About a week ago I noticed that right in front of the dorsel fin of my Apisto there was a white mark that looked like a wound. I had a GBR that was being a real jerk to him and was put in a different tank so I assumed that they had gotten into a scuffle and no big deal. I was away with work for 4 days and it doesn't seem to be getting better and I am getting worried that it may be something worse.

Apistos are a nightmare to get where I am and I had to drive 4 hours each way to get my pair as well as pay $30 a piece for them. Not to mention he is an awesome fish, anytime I go near the glass he follows me around and watches me so would be devastated to lose him.

Not to mention now with the medication restrictions in Canada getting anything to treat serious fish illnesses is a nightmare and will likely require a vet.

Was my initial guess correct is it just a wound that will heal or should I be quarantining and treating him.

I have a freshly cycled 20 gallon that is planted but I haven't added fish to yet, so would be a great quarantine tank as long as whatever meds he gets won't kill all the plants.

I also have an empty 5 gallon that isn't cycled or anything that would be easy to setup. I have a sponge filter in the 20 gallon I could swap over to try and rapid cycle the tank. Would just be moving the sponge filter enough to make it safe. The sponge filter has been in use in different tanks for 6 months and I originally bought it specifically for this reason.

Thoughts?

Sorry for the bad pics, we all know how fun fish are to try and photograph. I also now that there is algae on the glass, just got home and figured this took priority.

He doesn't seem to be in any distress and is acting completely normally. No other issues with any of the other fish.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Colin_T]

You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.

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, 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.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate will affect some plants. The lower dose rate will not affect plants.

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.