Mysterious infection on pleco - please help identify

[DHarris]

I also posted this under the diseases section but anxious to figure out what's going on here.
I began treatment with salt for one of my plecos that has ich. Another one was up against the glass and I noticed an infection of some sort that I've never seen on any other fish. There are patches on the underside, at the joints of the pectoral fins, that have raised bumps with what appear to be crosses in them.

I'e dealt with most issues over the yeas but I've never seen anything like this. Searched online but didn't come up with anything similar.

I'm hopeful someone here can identify what I'm dealing with and perhaps offer a treatment solution.

Thank you in advance!

 

[phreeflow]

Pull the pleco out and look closely to see if those translucent round things move at all. Could be fish lice. I’ve run into them on several occasions when I used to buy a lot of fancy plecos. They seemed to always congregate in the same area but they looked different than what’s on your fish. Could be a different type. I once had some bright green argulus that came off of some freshly imported medusa plecos.

 

[DHarris]

Thanks, I’ll try to get it out tomorrow. I was able to get a very good long look while it was on the glass and it didn’t appear that they were moving but I’ll check.
Not going to rush any treatments until I can figure out what I’m dealing with but out of curiosity how’d you handle those?

 

[phreeflow]

Thanks, I’ll try to get it out tomorrow. I was able to get a very good long look while it was on the glass and it didn’t appear that they were moving but I’ll check.
Not going to rush any treatments until I can figure out what I’m dealing with but out of curiosity how’d you handle those?

Sorry I missed this…I PM’d you this as well just in case

I used to heavily collect exotic plecos and came across this several times. And for whatever reason, I always find them exactly where your fish is infected.

I used to just pick them off with tweezers then dab the area with povidone iodine (make sure none goes into the gills) and if bad, I’d put a dab of Nu Skin (a liquid bandage) on it to keep it sealed from abrasions and dirt and so on to give it time to heal. Or I’d treat the whole tank with Kanaplex as an antibiotic

If it’s gotten bad and spreading, you can try Dimilin X but I’ve only seen it sold in koi shops. There’s another product called Microbe Lift Lice and Anchor Work but uses a different active ingredient that you’ll have to double check to see if it’s safe for plecos. After treating, I’d do a couple large water changes, run carbon, and then dose with Kanaplex to prevent secondary infections.

But to be honest, most times, I just plucked them off, dabbed with iodine, threw the pleco back in and it was fine.