Tinfoil Barbs issue

[Oskie Boy]

Have you tested your water?

No

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

41-50%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

The slime coat on my tinfoil barbs seems to have issues. I have had five of these for two years with zero issues I thought they were very hardy fish. It looks to me like they may have been spooked multiple times and injured themselves on the side of the tank and the driftwood, I have not seen them rubbing on the wood but it is covered in the white slime. There are also eels and bichirs in the tank which are doing fine. The temp is 80 and one day all the barbs were fine then a day later they look like this and now I am down to 4 in this group. Anyone ever seen anything like this?

 

[..puSkar..]

I've also had tf barbs for 4yrs now. Never seen something like this.
It's very much possible that they've been banging on to something by getting spooked.
The best treatment would be taking all sharp decor out of the tank , dosing salt and consistent water changes.
Tf barbs can tolerate a good amount of salt but I'd be concerned about the eel.
Maybe kno4te and Rocksor can help

 

[kno4te]

Has a velevet look to it. I’d dose some copper and get a copper test kit.

 

[FJB]

I don’t know what it is, but something like that didn’t como from rubbing against things. All barbs have it and around most scales. It is as if the mucous layer has been attacked by something.
I hope better minds can help. Regardless, pristine water quality is needed. Good luck!

 

[Oskie Boy]

Yes I did a 50 percent water change today. I’ll try to get another pic later. Most of the wood in the tank is covered in the slime coat. This would not be from them rubbing against each other trying to breed or anything like that right?

 

[Oskie Boy]

I've also had tf barbs for 4yrs now. Never seen something like this.
It's very much possible that they've been banging on to something by getting spooked.
The best treatment would be taking all sharp decor out of the tank , dosing salt and consistent water changes.
Tf barbs can tolerate a good amount of salt but I'd be concerned about the eel.
Maybe kno4te and Rocksor can help

There is nothing in the tank that is sharp, I spent hours sanding down all of the wood pieces to make sure. I guess it’s possible something could have been missed.

 

[..puSkar..]

There is nothing in the tank that is sharp, I spent hours sanding down all of the wood pieces to make sure. I guess it’s possible something could have been missed.

IMO its the water parameters . check them , if you don't have a test kit , take water sample to your LFS and get it checked. i had seen a similar case on a koi at the lfs and it had happened cause the employee had not been doing required WC at the tank . The owner saw it and started doing 50% WC daily with some salt and the thing cleared up in about a week

 

[Oskie Boy]

Here are a few more pics 12 hours or so after the original pics and a water change. Seems they have made a quick recovery. Still not sure what happened. I am leaning towards they got spooked though, since there was nothing wrong with any of the other fish and barbs spook easy sometimes.

 

[..puSkar..]

Told ya . I'd continue doing 30-40% WC every alternate day for around 10 days (5 WC) and even dose some epsom and table salt to mineralize the water