Thick slime on Characodon

[Sgooosh]

Hello! My fish recently developed a thick slime on her head and part of the upper section, is this anything to worry about? I have another characodon female who is slightly larger and many many fry, and none of them have this problem, neither do any other fish in the tank.

 

[Colin_T]

How long have you had the fish for?
How long has it looked cream/ white?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

Is it eating normally?
What does its poop look like?
Has it been dewormed?

Is it male or female?
Is it breeding?
Can you post a picture of the other one so we can compare it? Try to get a side view of both fish too.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
How often are you cleaning the filter?

How often are you doing water changes and how much do you change?
How often do you gravel clean the substrate?

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The creamy white stuff is excess mucous and appears to be all over the fish (head, body and fins). Fish naturally have a thin layer of clear mucous over their entire body (including head and fins). It helps them move through the water and acts as a first line of defense. If they get a wound or the water quality goes bad, they produce more mucous that appears as a cream, white or grey film over all or part of the fish.

If there is a cream, white or grey film over the entire fish (head, body and fins), it's normally caused by poor water quality.

If there is a cream, white or grey area/ patch on the fish, it's either got a wound or an external protozoan infection like Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina.

The fact only one fish is showing it over its entire body and the other fish look fine would suggest that particular fish is either more sensitive to water quality or something in the water (compared to the others), or it has a major health issue making it feel stressed and unwell.

 

[Sgooosh]

How long have you had the fish for?
How long has it looked cream/ white?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

Is it eating normally?
What does its poop look like?
Has it been dewormed?

Is it male or female?
Is it breeding?
Can you post a picture of the other one so we can compare it? Try to get a side view of both fish too.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
How often are you cleaning the filter?

How often are you doing water changes and how much do you change?
How often do you gravel clean the substrate?

-------------------

The creamy white stuff is excess mucous and appears to be all over the fish (head, body and fins). Fish naturally have a thin layer of clear mucous over their entire body (including head and fins). It helps them move through the water and acts as a first line of defense. If they get a wound or the water quality goes bad, they produce more mucous that appears as a cream, white or grey film over all or part of the fish.

If there is a cream, white or grey film over the entire fish (head, body and fins), it's normally caused by poor water quality.

If there is a cream, white or grey area/ patch on the fish, it's either got a wound or an external protozoan infection like Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina.

The fact only one fish is showing it over its entire body and the other fish look fine would suggest that particular fish is either more sensitive to water quality or something in the water (compared to the others), or it has a major health issue making it feel stressed and unwell.

How long have you had the fish for?
'Bout half a year
How long has it looked cream/ white?
at least 3 days, starting from last sunday i think
Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?
I changed water this monday, which is one day late than i usually do, I also got new plants but they were all emersed grown
Is it eating normally?
Yes
What does its poop look like?
I haven't seen but i don't see any stringy stuff either
Has it been dewormed?
not yet, but I can try the food method.

Is it male or female?
Female
Is it breeding?
Yes
Can you post a picture of the other one so we can compare it? Try to get a side view of both fish too.
I'll get that as soon as I get back home again

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
I haven't tested in quite a while but I will try and test today.
Usually these are all zero and pH is around 7.8 or so, but maybe the new water that I changed was different, causing the stress
How often are you cleaning the filter?
once a week, it gets very dirty from the duckweed and live plants

How often are you doing water changes and how much do you change?
How often do you gravel clean the substrate?

 

[emeraldking]

Usually these are all zero and pH is around 7.8 or so, but maybe the new water that I changed was different, causing the stress

It could be just stress. Most goodeids such as characodon species are better off in clean water. But I also have to say that a lot of goodeids are vulnerable to too much fluctuations in the water parameters. And individual species can be a bit more vulnerable than others.

 

[Colin_T]

Is she rubbing on objects in the tank?

If the water tests ok I would add some salt and see if it helps.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) 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.

Keep the salt level like this for 1 to 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a week with salt, stop using it and do small water changes to remove it.

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 (2 liters or 1/2 gallon) 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]

It could be just stress. Most goodeids such as characodon species are better off in clean water. But I also have to say that a lot of goodeids are vulnerable to too much fluctuations in the water parameters. And individual species can be a bit more vulnerable than others.

okay, i definitely think it is something in the water now

Is she rubbing on objects in the tank?

If the water tests ok I would add some salt and see if it helps.

-------------------

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) 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.

Keep the salt level like this for 1 to 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a week with salt, stop using it and do small water changes to remove it.

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 (2 liters or 1/2 gallon) 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.

THe big characodons are hiding under the leaves in the bottom of the tank, which i think is an indicator of poor water.
Should i do a bigger water change today?