Help! Fish Are Sick - Can't Identify Solution

[jaclynl]

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Tank size: 30gallon
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 10-20ppm
tank temp: 78/26

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
I'll try to keep this simple, if you need more detail I can provide it. Several fish are sick but I will focus on the one that has the most visible symptoms. Red Blue Tetra, bought about 6 months ago. Developed black patches before Christmas. At about the same time another fish got sick with red lesions around it's head and eventually got white patches around the mouth and died. The fish with black patches remained the same, patches stayed the same (other 3 of his type are fine, no patches, no illness). Fastforward a month + and now the fish with black patches has lesions around his head. They are like pimples, red and white and inflammed in the middle. You can see one in the photo, the other two are on the other side closer to his mouth. Also his eye on the other side is bulging with a haze over it. I also have 1 zebra Danio with a similar lesion on his back. Both fish are not very active and look sick. Two fish died yesterday. Both looked normal, no lesions.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: I change about 5 gallons a week but this week did 2 10 gallon changes and a thorough vacuum of the bottom.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: I had Phosphate in the filter to help with a brown algae problem but removed it.

Tank inhabitants: 6 Serpae Tetras, 4 Red Blue Tetras, 5 Zebra Danios, 1 BN plec (young) and 1 Albino BN Plec (baby).

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): The two plecs are recent. The BN was added two weeks ago and the albino 1 week ago.

Exposure to chemicals: I treated with Poly Guard two nights ago, and was planning on doing it again tonight unless I hear a more difinitive treatment plan. I can't figure out what is wrong.

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[jaclynl]

Anyone?

Today the spots look less red...but they are still there.

Any help?

 

[WILDER]

Black patches can be ammonia burns that are healing.
Did you have an ammonia reading.

Also black patches can be fighting wounds, digging wounds, fish tb, cancer.

It sounds like the spots maybe bacterial.
Fish can get columnaris spots they will look like a gryish white with a tinging of red.
Red in the middle or red on the outside.
White patches around the mouth also sounds like columnaris.
The red on the head did it have any white edges, or white centre.

Do any fish look skinny or bloated.
Lost any fish to bent spinces.

 

[jaclynl]

Black patches can be ammonia burns that are healing.
Did you have an ammonia reading.

Also black patches can be fighting wounds, digging wounds, fish tb, cancer.

It sounds like the spots maybe bacterial.
Fish can get columnaris spots they will look like a gryish white with a tinging of red.
Red in the middle or red on the outside.
White patches around the mouth also sounds like columnaris.
The red on the head did it have any white edges, or white centre.

Do any fish look skinny or bloated.
Lost any fish to bent spinces.

No, no ammonia reading, my tank has been running over a year and I test ammonia frequently. Have never had a reading (other than during the cycling process)

Like I said they look kind of like pimples, inflammed and read with a white center. All the spots have a white center. There are three of them. No fish look skinny or bloated and I have not lost any fish to bent spines.

How should I treat?

 

[WILDER]

I would take the bacterial route for now.
It sounds like columnaris.

 

[WILDER]

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