What's going on in my tank? (Help)

[Mr. Frog]

This is Merlot (see the side starting to get raw and fin is starting to peel)

These are of Raphael (see his side peeling/raw)




Hello! I mean new here so if my post is in the wrong spot one sorry, and I'm sorry for any other thing that I'm doing wrong. I promise I tried my best.


Well, I have a 40gb and a full tank (see below for all fish) but I was doing a water change and saw my spotted Raphael for the first time in months so I knew something was wrong. His side is raw and he wasn't as aggressive as when I first got him. It seemed like he had no strength. I searched for my striped Raphael and he seemed to be developing the same thing... can anyone explain what's going on? Is it a fight? Is it a disease? I really don't want to lose them.

40gb
1 Spotted Raphael, 1striped Raphael, 1 bristle nose catfish (biggest in my tank ~5") , 2 African dwarf frogs, 4 Mollys, 2 sunburst platy, 3 rosy tetras, 5 small neon tetras , 2 rosy barbs, 1 African butterfly, 1 guppy, 1 rainbow shark, 2 black kuhli loaches.

It might be a little crowded now that most fish are grown but I have cycled this tank for just about a year now and all was ok until now.

Thank you in advance for all the help that is given.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, not too sure at this point yet.

First, your stocking and numbers has some concerns. As you may well know, a lot of your stocking are low in numbers, guppies, Mollies, Platies, tetras, barbs and the khuli loaches ALL requires to be in groups of at least 6+ as they are of shoaling species.

And the others, butterfly will eat any fish that fits in it mouth and can be fairly aggressive, the rainbow shark are usually of an agressive and territorial nature especially when it gets towards adult age.

My first thought was possibly the ADF's as they share the lower tank area with the catfish and possibly they have clashed with each other resulting in potential injuries.

Second thought is it could potentially be disease related but I do not know anywhere near enough about diseases to be of further help in this area but perhaps someone may help later in that regard.

But I still think it could well be the ADF's.......

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd guess at heater burns; do you have a guard on your heater, OP?

I know my raphaels (like you I have one spotted and one striped ) have always had a tendency to get under or behind the heaters if they can. They both, but the spotted, especially, seem to like really small cramped hiding places they can jam themselves in, so make sure you have enough nooks and crannies for them to hang out in, then they might leave the heater alone!

I have to be honest, your spotted looks in a bad way; I think you should probably resign yourself to the fact that you might lose it; although don't give up all hope, fish can be very resilient.

Clean water, medication if you see any signs of secondary infections like fungus, and making sure you get a guard on your heater, if you don't have one already, would be my suggestions.

P.S. I should also have said, please don't take fish out of the water like that. It's very stressful for them, and it's easy to damage their slime coat when handling them, which can leave them open to infections. These fish are also pretty spiky, and they can give you a very painful stab if you touch them in the wrong place.

 

[Demeter32]

I say either a heater burn or some nasty bacterial/fungal infection, possibly both. If you have a quarantine tank or even a 5gal bucket with a spare heater and an air stone I would move both catfish to that so they can be medicated without dosing the whole tank (saves money and possibly the cycle). I'd try using some sort of fungal+bacterial combo med.

Definitely get a guard for that heater though.

 

[StevenF]

It would be helpful to know what your water parameters are, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate,ph,KH, and GH. Please post numbers for your tank and tap water. sometimes chronic poor health due to poor water condition can cause diseases and skin disorders. What are is your typical maintenance schedule for the tank. How often do you do a water change and how much. Also what chemicals and fertilizers do you add. Do you use RO or distilled water?

 

[Mr. Frog]

thank you for your response, I don't know own the numbers exactly for my water parameters but I know that my ph is at about 6.3, an de ammonia <0.02 ppm. I do 25-30% change biweekly and sometimes 20% weekly periods. I will get more definite numbers

 

[Mr. Frog]

I'd guess at heater burns; do you have a guard on your heater, OP?

I know my raphaels (like you I have one spotted and one striped ) have always had a tendency to get under or behind the heaters if they can. They both, but the spotted, especially, seem to like really small cramped hiding places they can jam themselves in, so make sure you have enough nooks and crannies for them to hang out in, then they might leave the heater alone!

I have to be honest, your spotted looks in a bad way; I think you should probably resign yourself to the fact that you might lose it; although don't give up all hope, fish can be very resilient.

Clean water, medication if you see any signs of secondary infections like fungus, and making sure you get a guard on your heater, if you don't have one already, would be my suggestions.

P.S. I should also have said, please don't take fish out of the water like that. It's very stressful for them, and it's easy to damage their slime coat when handling them, which can leave them open to infections. These fish are also pretty spiky, and they can give you a very painful stab if you touch them in the wrong place.

Yeah Merlot wasn't too happy with me when I pulled him out. He started yelling at me . It could be a heater burn since I don't have a guard but it's so strange because I have lots of hiding spots and at times I even thought these fish were gone because I didn't see them at all except at 3am every night, they lurk at those times. Which with that being said, most of the rocks in my tank are lava rocks and are very sharp. Do you think that's a possibility? They rubbed themselves raw?

 

[fluttermoth]

Sharp rocks would certainly be inappropriate for a tank with raphaels. They prefer to wedge themselves into very small/tight crevices, if they can.

They are very shy fish; I've spent years thinking my spotty one must have died because I haven'r seen it; sixteen years I've had him/it now!

 

[slayer5590]

Those wounds look like a pleco attack to me. Most people under estimate the aggressiveness of their bn plecos.