Help - Marks On My Pleco's Belly

[scouse_andy]

I have a Chocolate Zebra Pleco in my Juwel Rio 300 litre tank with gravel substrate, bogwood, two other plecs and a blood parrot cichlid.

He/She is quite reclusive and I never get too much of a look of her underside.

The other day I caught a glimpse and didn't much like what I saw, two red dots on the underside towards the tail and a yellowish hue to the 'throat'

I've attached a couple of pictures. Not very good quality I'm afraid but I hope you can make things out. The red dots and the yellow are really very pronounced when you see it properly.

I've been doing weekly water tests and it has been at zero ammonia and nitrite and 20-40 nitrates ever since I inherited the fish and the tank two months ago.

Behaviour of all fish seems normal.

My feeling is that this is some kind of illness as I think it is unlikely that these are injuries from gravel / fighting etc. Could you please let me know what it may be and how to treat it?

(Also posted in plec forum)

Cheers, Andy.

 

[WILDER]

The red dots are septicemia and hard to cure once it has advanced even with antibiotics.
The plec looks in very bad shape I would end his misery.
The yelllow shine a torch on the fish with tank lights out to see if it glow up.
A
The yellow on the fish is it a patch or spot as yellow on fish can be velvet, columnarris to yellow grub.
So sad to see a fish like that on its back.

 

[scouse_andy]

The red dots are septicemia and hard to cure once it has advanced even with antibiotics.
The plec looks in very bad shape I would end his misery.

Oh crap - this is my favourite fish! I really don't want to lose him/her

I will investigate the yellow tomorrow.

The fish is only like that as I trapped it against the glass with a net for the photos. It behaves entirely normally, very reclusive but swimming around fine when out and about.

Is there any way to treat septicemia? Also is it likely to spread to the other fish in the tank if I do have to euthanise?

Gutted about this!

 

[WILDER]

So he dosn't go on his back normallly then that good.
If you can issolate him you will really need antibiotics but only available in the uk from a vet.
Anti internal bacteria med by interpet but I find its no good on septicemia.
You can double dose in bad situations but I would only advise it in issolation.
Get you a link to septicemia.

Need to know what the yellow is fast as it could be velvet or columnaris both deadly.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

 

[scouse_andy]

yellow is a patch not a spot. It looks like a bruise on human skin if that makes sense.

I know what velvet looks like and I don't think that's what we have here. I will have ot buy a torch tomorrow and shine just to make sure.

I'll be isolating him tomorrow and treat with interpet anti-bacterial. I'll try and get some better quality pics too.

Many thanks, Wilder.

Will check septicemia link now.

 

[WILDER]

Read this just to rule out columnaris.
Good luck.
http/www.nippyfish.net/flexibacter.html

 

[scouse_andy]

Thanks for the links, Wilder.

I will isolate tomorrow and try and get some clearer pictures and a good view for myself having read all that information.


I don't think it is columnaris as the growth didn't seem at all cottony when I looked.

Fingers crossed!

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
The problem with columnaris is that it has many diguises it can just be a bleached out patch.
Does he try to rub himself on things.

 

[scouse_andy]

no, I haven't seen that.

I'll get him isolated into my quarantine tank tomorrow then I can observe a lot more clearly, he/she is such a recluse (more than any other plec I've had)

 

[WILDER]

I would getting treating fast with septicemia.
I would preform some daily water changes on your main tank as the bacteria from the fish can enter the tank and infect others
You might even want to think of adding bacteria med to the main tank but at the stated dose.
Good luck.

 

[Tolak]

Try a heater guard. With marks that symetrical, and being two spots on an area that protrudes points to heater burn. What often happens is that the plec will hide behind, or on the heater at night, that area being conveniently long and narow, perfect plec area. The plec will hide back there, the heater will go on, and the plec gets a little scorch before they take off. Plecs aren't the most intelligent creatures, and will go back to that spot if it's cool. After a few times they do get burn marks.

 

[smithrc]

The red dots are septicaemia and hard to cure once it has advanced even with antibiotics.
The plec looks in very bad shape I would end his misery.

Wow - that was quite a jump from those pictures!!

If you've got it quarantined - try to get some better pics
the red marks could be anything from those piccys.

I'd be inclined to go with heater burn and certainly wouldn't be putting it out of its misery.

I also would add meds to a tank that has no fish with symptoms in it - all you will do is build up immunity to the meds...

I've had the misfortune of encountering a resilient strain of ich - lost one plec to it (an L400) it hung around for nearly 5 weeks - I even ended up treating at twice the dosage (which killed the ich but I believe that was what finished off the weak plec). Its not fun.


[edit] double post.

 

[WILDER]

Open cuts and burns can get infected so adding the bacterial med wouldnt of harmed.
The reason I said ends its suffering as I thought the plec was upside down didn't realise he was holding it in that position with a net.
Plus the owner said he didnt think the plec could of harmed itself on something in the tank.

 

[WILDER]

I would invest in a heater guard if you don't have one.
My heater in the juwel boxing unit so I don't have to worry about burns.

 

[scouse_andy]

A couple of updated pictures from this evening

Still pretty shoddy, I'm sorry but marginally better I think.

The red possibly looks a bit less pronounced than it did three days ago. Yellow is still pretty prominent around the throat though.

I have isolated him in a quarantine tank, no meds added but I am observing him. Behaviour seems entirely normal, no problems swimming or with balance etc and he is eating normally.

It cannot be a heater burn as I too have a heater inside the Juwel filter column.

I guess he could have had these markings for a long time as I rarely if ever see his underside at all, he is quite a recluse. I'm fairly sure though that when I picked him up with a tank I bought a couple of months back I would have noticed.

My plan is to keep him isolated and observe for at least a week. I suppose if he is eating properly and behaving normally at the end of the week's isolation I will reintroduce him to the main tank.

Is this the best plan for now?

Cheers, Andy.