red spot on the side of silver dollar please help!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Look at this video, from 2:14->2:18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9N9XCzqMOk

Both of my Myleus have developed more of these spots since that video was made. I thought they were from them being skittish and rowdy, thinking they're monster trucks (especially during water changes). The spots aren't blood red, more brownish. And the black bars have faded. Their appetite is good and they continue to grow.

The left Myleus here has something similar, albeit smaller: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Myleus_schomburgkii.php

This article http://www.fish-hub.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-60.html says the following:
The species is however only imported from time to time, and is collected from Brazil, notably the Rio Negro, Xingu, Araguaia, Venezuela and the Orinoco.

It is common for these fish to be imported with what looks like black spot disease. These black spots are scattered over body and fins and are smaller than a pinhead. This is also common in wild-caught Angels and geophagines. Although unsightly, these aren't really a problem - they are probably just "glochidia" - a larval stage of a freshwater mollusc.

What happens is that free-swimming larvae attach themselves to a host (the fish) and wait until it is swallowed whole by a particular bird. The mollusc larva then travel through the bird's digestive system, which triggers metamorphosis, before finally being excreted in the bird's faeces back to the river bed...

So you don't have to worry about clams appearing in your tank! As the fish grow, these spots will become less as layers of skin tissue flake off. So don't let this problem get in the way of your enjoying this fish - unless you have a kingfisher or fish eagle in your living room.
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The spots on mine are about the size of a pencil eraser, so I doubt it's that. Doesn't sound like what you're dealing with either. But maybe it's something similar? These guys are so rare it might be hard to find anyone who has experience with them.

In the year I've had mine, I've had to medicate the tank with Neoplex, Kanaplex, and Paraguard. (These were for an infection the Oscar had.) The medications did nothing for the Myleus spots. Neither did Kordon's Ich Attack. (They had ich; I've never directly treated for the spots because I don't know what I'm dealing with.)
 
Mine might have the same thing as yours. I was looking at an older video, made shortly after I got them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8YlBVguAEg From 0:08 ->0:15 and 1:30 ->1:42. It didn't occur to me then that this was unusual. I recall being concerned with the orange around the gills.
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Jeff Rapps has both the wide and narrow bars: http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/ (scroll about 1/3 of the way down).
 
thanks judge...it does look similar...well for now I'm treating with a lot more salt in the tank, and melafix-will try that for a week and see if I have any positive results-if not, im going to try maracyn 2-hopefully one of these stops whatever this is...
thanks again for your response!!!
 
Every time I find a picture of a Black Belt they have it: http://www.tropiclifepets.com/photogal/pages/DSCF9395.htm

http://www.tropiclifepets.com/photogal/pages/DSCF9403.htm

This is exactly what mine have. If a fish is eating, rowdy, growing, and not flashing, does it have an "illness"?

Maybe it's a slimecoat issue, though my pH is stable and there's no exotic rocks or plants in the tank. Maybe stress? I don't know if a 4' tank is big enough for these guys. Maybe I should have 5+ so they feel more secure ...
 
I don't know man...but my guy seems to be getting worse on the side that was starting to show it...I'm treating with maracyn 2 now...I don't know what to try since no one is helping...melafix for a week didn't do anything-I have (4) 3.5in thin bar silver dollars in a 75 gallon, which should be enough for them at this size for now...
He still shows an appetite, and acts the same as the others do in the tank...idk what else to do...obviously something is not right-
 
arowfan;5041432; said:
...idk what else to do...
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Don't try more meds until you know for sure what it is. I think these guys are wild-caught. Maybe it's some aspect of their natural diet that isn't being replicated? I'm throwing hypotheses out there. The meds I've used in my tank in the last year (for my Oscar) should have wiped out just about everything.

... obviously something is not right-
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I'm beginning to wonder (or at least wonder if it's serious enough to worry about). Is yours flashing or showing any signs of discomfort?

These might be the guys to ask: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ Definitely send a pic. I did a search for Myleus schomburgkii on their site and there's not much.
 
I have a pair of these fish in a 90 with some large fancy plecos. Just my male has this same thing for about a year now. Other than these brown spots it acts completely normal and eats like a hog. My female never got these. Males have the forked hook and the females have the more desired sickle hook. Maybe males get this when they want to breed? Shubunkins (goldfish) willl get what looks like salt on their cheeks when they want to breed so will male filament barbs. So who knows? If it were me if it acts and eats normally I would just leave it be as you could stress it out even more dumping all kinds of meds in the tank. Incidently other than rapps I haven't seen these guys around anywhere and in Lower Michigan we can get all kinds of odd ball fish. So they are kinda rare. They are expensive too. I paid 59 bucks for a 3 inch fish. They are worth to me as they look really cool now that they are close to 6 inches. If it were me would leave it be. Good Luck.
 
thanks man, yeah yesterday was the last-first treatment of maracyn 2...no more...they are expensive! thats why i wasn't gonna wait to see what happens lol...
thanks for the advice, I will stop treatment, and perhaps ask jeff rapps if he is familiar with these marking, maybe he can shed some light on this...I'll post any finding
:)
 
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