Looks Like White-out Painted On Fish

[bubblybabs]

Request Help

Tank size: 125gal, had for over 1 year
pH: 7.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 40
kH: 120
gH: 150
tank temp: 78.2

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
I have a leaf fish that has what looks like a line of white-out painted along its side... I figure it's some type of fungus but would like to know if anyone knows precisely what it is before I start treating it (and perhaps what caused it)... The fish acts fine (no flashing, etc)... Noticed it 2 days ago...

Volume and Frequency of water changes: weekly water changes, approx 20%... Vacuum the bottom (approx 1/4th to 1/3rd tank) with each water change... Every 4 or so months I move everything in half the tank and go crazy vacuuming the bottom... I add salt w/ each water change (1 tsp for every 10 gal)

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: none right now

Tank inhabitants: black knife fish, mollies, dragon goby, blue crawdad, leaf fish, guppy, plecostomus x2, butterfly fish, catfish, 3 bala sharks, 3 irridsecent sharks, 3 spiny eels, a few different types of danios, some others I have no idea what their names are but they are about the same size as the black knife, you can see them by looking at these links:
Larger bottom sifter fish
Fish we call Voldemort because he chases the bigger fish

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): a few months ago I added 4 female orange swordtails to compliment my 2 males I had already... Within days all 6 had what looked like tail and fin rot, none lived... Put some Melafix antifungal into the tank, then Melafix antibacterial just to be sure those fish didn't give my other fish any other diseases... All seemed well...

Exposure to chemicals: See above... Other than that, none

Filtration: DIY wet/dry w/ bioballs... Also have 2 cannister filters...

I have fine stone on the tank floor (25 pounds)... I have several pieces of drift wood, one takes up the whole back of the tank... Since I've done this approx 6 months ago my water hardness has gone from off the scale to a lower level...

Feeding: I feed every other day several differnt types of food so all fish get fed... The dragon goby I need to target feed...

Plants: I have a few live plants in the tank, don't know what they are... I have 6 bamboo stalks in my overflow tank...

Digital photo (include if possible):

Would appreciate an idea of what this is...
Thanks,
Babs

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hard to say from the picture, can you see if it looks like the scales have been knocked off or is it something growing on the fish?

how big is the BGK fish? it'll get aggressive as it gets bigger and I believe they mainly hunt at night, so although you may not have seen any signs of violence he could be going round when your asleep beating up fish or simply tressing them out.

although the tank is large you're still gonna need to try and do something with the ID Sharks, they get absolutely bloody enormous, like several feet long and really belong in a public aquarium. while your tank is a better size than what they often get stuck in you should still try to re-home them if you can.

the two unknown fish are both New World Cichlids although I'm not sure exactly which ones, these could well be aggressive and probably shouldn't be kept with small fish like danio's, guppies and mollies.

I think you need to have a good look at your stocking and the compatibility of your fish as I think it's quite likely they are stressed and this can cause all sorts of diseases

 

[bubblybabs]

Thank-you for your prompt reply, I appreciate it...

hard to say from the picture, can you see if it looks like the scales have been knocked off or is it something growing on the fish?

It is growing on the fish... No scales missing...

how big is the BGK fish? it'll get aggressive as it gets bigger and I believe they mainly hunt at night, so although you may not have seen any signs of violence he could be going round when your asleep beating up fish or simply tressing them out.

Knife fish is about a foot long... I am a night person and I've never seen it going after the other fish (unless they try to grab it's food during feeding time and then all it does is nose them out of the way)... I sit with a red light and watch him...

although the tank is large you're still gonna need to try and do something with the ID Sharks, they get absolutely bloody enormous, like several feet long and really belong in a public aquarium. while your tank is a better size than what they often get stuck in you should still try to re-home them if you can.

I've read they can get quite large in the wild but usually stay less than 7" in the tank - I figure I'll find out! If they get too big I can take them back to the store and trade them in for smaller ones... Right now they are about 5-6" long...

the two unknown fish are both New World Cichlids although I'm not sure exactly which ones, these could well be aggressive and probably shouldn't be kept with small fish like danio's, guppies and mollies.

They are not cichlids, I'll call the store and find out what their name is specifically... Love them, they are cool looking... We named one Jurassic and the other Park because they are so darn prehistoric looking... All I've ever seen them do is shove the gravel in their mouths and filter it through their gills... But they do chase each other sometimes and flee from Voldemort when he gets persnickity... I think Voldemort is the most aggressive fish in the tank right now...

I think you need to have a good look at your stocking and the compatibility of your fish as I think it's quite likely they are stressed and this can cause all sorts of diseases

Thanks, I'll double check with the fish store I go to just to make sure... I only buy my fish from here:
Aquatic Critter

Again, many thanks..
Babs

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok finish up your full course of melafix then that should clear it up if it's fungal which it sounds like.

at a foot long it's highly likely that the knife fish is aggressive or could turn to being, so just carry on keeping an eye on his behaviour at night time.

7" is rubbish for ID Sharks, they're also known as pangasius catfish, do a google image search and you'll see the size these can get too. I'm talking 4/5 foot long. They really should not be in the aquarium trade at all as next to no one can house them properly. I'd advise you to try and re-home these to a public aquarium where they can get to full size and live a happy life, however this can be hard work as there's so many of them looking for good homes, if you do re-home them then please don't get any more, the aquarium trade works on supply and demand, the more people buying these fish the more the stores will keep ordering them in and the problem just grows. The more people who stop buying these large fish the more likely it is they will be left in the wild where they belong.

Voldemort I'm fairly sure is a convict cichlid like this

they are renowned for being pretty aggressive especially when breeding.

Park I believe may be a demon cichlid, a type of Geophagus, although i know next to nothing about these

I'd advise you to do some research on-line to back up what the fish store says. I'm not familiar with that store (in a different country) however a lot of them are unreliable, giving out dodgy information to make money from you. By all means ask they're advise on your stocking and I'm not saying you should not believe them, just double check the info, a quick google search will usually give you some answers

 

[bubblybabs]

ok finish up your full course of melafix then that should clear it up if it's fungal which it sounds like.

OK, I will... Think it'll hurt to do a double course of that stuff?

7" is rubbish for ID Sharks,

Well, fluffernutters, I thought you were talking about the Bala sharks! It's the irridescents you meant... Duh, ID sharks... OK, will google those puppies again... I could swear I did that just like I did with the Bala's... Right now the ID sharks are about 2-3" long...

they're also known as pangasius catfish, do a google image search and you'll see the size these can get too. I'm talking 4/5 foot long. They really should not be in the aquarium trade at all as next to no one can house them properly. I'd advise you to try and re-home these to a public aquarium where they can get to full size and live a happy life, however this can be hard work as there's so many of them looking for good homes, if you do re-home them then please don't get any more, the aquarium trade works on supply and demand, the more people buying these fish the more the stores will keep ordering them in and the problem just grows. The more people who stop buying these large fish the more likely it is they will be left in the wild where they belong.

Very true, and a sad reality..

Voldemort I'm fairly sure is a convict cichlid like this

they are renowned for being pretty aggressive especially when breeding.

OK, now he's the one I have no idea what type of fish he is (I had a piece of paper w/ all their names written on it but I can't find it) but he is the most aggressive fish in the tank... And one of my favs (of course)... He's called Voldemort for a reason... Hmmm, again, I'll double check with the store... So far he chases for a short time and then stops and for some reason he only goes after Jurassic and Park (but, if they are all cichlids that would explain it wouldn't it?)

Park I believe may be a demon cichlid, a type of Geophagus, although i know next to nothing about these

I'd advise you to do some research on-line to back up what the fish store says. I'm not familiar with that store (in a different country) however a lot of them are unreliable, giving out dodgy information to make money from you. By all means ask they're advise on your stocking and I'm not saying you should not believe them, just double check the info, a quick google search will usually give you some answers

Yes, that image sure does look like Jurassic and Park!

Thanks for the reply again... Isn't google wonderful? I do have to say that while I trust the store and the employees I recognize they can be wrong at times due to misinformation on their part... They refused to sell me a mandarin goby (saltwater fish) because I didn't have a big enough tank w/ enough live rock to support it so I'm farily comfortable that they wouldn't sell me those fish if they thought they were going to harm my other fish... They alway ask what type of fish I have in my tank when I get a new one...

Off to google the ID shark now and am now apprehensive over it!

Babs

 

[Miss Wiggle]

he he google is your friend!!

I do have to say that while I trust the store and the employees I recognize they can be wrong at times due to misinformation on their part... They refused to sell me a mandarin goby (saltwater fish) because I didn't have a big enough tank w/ enough live rock to support it so I'm farily comfortable that they wouldn't sell me those fish if they thought they were going to harm my other fish... They alway ask what type of fish I have in my tank when I get a new one...

that's good, they do sound decent, never hurts to check though, we're all only human and as such infallible

the bala's if memory serves me corerctly will get to 12" in the wild, bit smaller in captivity, but i reckon a 125g tank is OK for three of them, given appropriate tankmates etc etc etc

just do your one course of melafix, if it hasn't cleared up by the end of it (i believe it's a weeks course?) then look for a stronger med.

yes there can be a lot of aggression between cichlids, not sure if geo's are still officially cichlids or if that's just a common name for them.

link for pangasius catfish, aka id sharks

 

[bubblybabs]

Just wanted to update... Whatever it was is now healing, looks as if there were scales missing all along the white line... All I did was increase the water temp and add more salt to the water... The white line is almost gone... Would love to know what it was though...

Babs

 

[three-fingers]

To me...It sounds like a heater burn, unless your heater has a guard on it, that's most likely what it is .

My syno used to get marks like that all the time and I wondered what they were. Since I moved the heater though it's not been a problem for me.

Can I ask what type of salt your adding and why?