I'm at a loss on this one

k13k07

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2014
42
0
6
Florida
My diamond tetra has a reddish spot on his tail, with what looks like a white blob on it, kinda looks like a pimple. I barely noticed it because he's been hiding - which is not normal for him, usually he's the center of attention. He normally won't stay still either, which makes it odder that he's hiding in one area. I'm going to treat for parasites, but I just have no idea where on earth it could have come from. I just had problems with another of my tetras, unfortunately the poor guy didn't make it, but he may have had a tumor :cry:

I just did a water change, prior to the change everything was normal, just ammonia was a tad high but I highly doubt that was the culprit.

I'm mostly asking for an opinion to see if anyone has seen this before, this is something completely new to me. And I tried to get a pic, but as fast as he moves, all I get is a blur.
 

Wailua Boy

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Jan 2, 2015
2,752
1,315
164
Hawaii
I would suspect water quality to be the root cause of your problems...Any ammonia is toxic.
 

k13k07

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2014
42
0
6
Florida
I used the API freshwater tester, it said the ammonia was .25ppm. I have three live plants but mostly fake. I inherited my 30 gallon tank in September 2014. Since I did the water change yesterday he's acting more normal, but the spot is still there, mostly red but looks like there's still the small white dot (which makes me nervous). I did add a little salt (2 tablespoons) two days ago, and added 2 teaspoons more with the change. I have to work today, but planning on testing after work and another water change if necessary tonight. I held off on the meds in case
 

Pomatomus

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 7, 2009
1,691
162
81
Sarasota, FL
Salt could help it. A red sore with a white pimple is definitely an infection, although I would test your API kit against an ammonia-free blank just to make sure you're seeing ammonia. Sometimes 0 can look like .25 on that kit.

If you do have ammonia though, it's probably one of the stressors that opened the fish up to infection. Salt is a good way to go, but you may also want to try a medication if you want (costs more than the fish though). A medicated feed should clear it up also. You can either mix your own with something like seachem polyguard and seachem focus (makes A LOT of medicated feed for $25). You can also buy antibiotic frozen food that comes pre-mixed. It's a flat pack, so you'll get more than you need. It's never a bad thing to have on hand though!
 

fwprawn

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2011
3,441
7
38
New England
Why do you highly doubt that one of the top fish killers was the culprit? It is.

Keep the water quality excellent, treat with some salt, and you shouldn't have any more problems. Maybe raise the temp a bit, also.
 

Pomatomus

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 7, 2009
1,691
162
81
Sarasota, FL
Why do you highly doubt that one of the top fish killers was the culprit? It is.
It *MAY* be. Sorry, that's my inner scientist talking. Ammonia doesn't cause infections, pathogens do. Ammonia is just one of the compound stressors that aquarium fish face, increasing the risk of a secondary infection.

Again, double-check your test against some tap water (if free of ammonia and chloramines) or a friend's tank. Or have the LFS check it. I just want to be sure that we're not chasing a red herring with the ammonia. I can't begin to tell you how many people on this forum report .25ppm of ammonia with the API kit in well-established tanks. It's the achilles heel of that API test.
 

k13k07

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2014
42
0
6
Florida
I had a gut feeling at work and I when I got home I went with it, I would have done this after I read your post, Pomatomus (thank you for the suggestion!). And when I did the test yesterday, I looked at it in all different lights, and that's what it looked like to me, I could have been wrong.
IMG_4439.JPG If you flip the image to read it right, the sample on the right is from my tank, the sample on the left is straight from my tap. I have never had a problem with this before, every test before this has come back with 0 ammonia. I live in Florida if that helps. I am pretty pissed about this, and am going out to buy some gallons of water to do a water change immediately.
A couple days ago I was treating all of them (since I wasn't sure what the sick one had and didn't want to take a chance) with Kanaplex. It was after I put the carbon back in the filter that the redness and the dot appeared.

IMG_4439.JPG
 

k13k07

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2014
42
0
6
Florida
Any ideas on how else to get ammonia out of the water? I'd grab an ammonia remover but of course all the pet stores and LFS are closed now because it's Sunday :irked:
 

Rachel.Cody

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 2, 2014
1,215
20
38
Ohio
I had a gut feeling at work and I when I got home I went with it, I would have done this after I read your post, Pomatomus (thank you for the suggestion!). And when I did the test yesterday, I looked at it in all different lights, and that's what it looked like to me, I could have been wrong.
View attachment 1056847 If you flip the image to read it right, the sample on the right is from my tank, the sample on the left is straight from my tap. I have never had a problem with this before, every test before this has come back with 0 ammonia. I live in Florida if that helps. I am pretty pissed about this, and am going out to buy some gallons of water to do a water change immediately.
A couple days ago I was treating all of them (since I wasn't sure what the sick one had and didn't want to take a chance) with Kanaplex. It was after I put the carbon back in the filter that the redness and the dot appeared.
Wow that's awful. That came out of your tap? Yikes. I would be careful with bottled water. The ph could be a lot different and cause a swing. Good luck. That's rough.


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