Impogolis

I've been away from my tank for two days and when I got in to check on my children this evening I've noticed one of my zebras has a white dot on her 'nose'. She's the only 1 of 9 that has it, and there is no other abnormal behaviour happening with her (although she was swimming along the rocks until I fed them). I'm wondering if it's something normal, like the first sign of egg laying or something, or if it's something a little less normal.

It's not looking like ICH either, since it's just a single dot on one nose of 9 fish.

Any suggestions? I'd love to get you a picture, but a camera phone, an aquarium, and those quick moving zebras will not all come together in one happy photo. It even took me a little bit to notice anything was different.

Thanks.

Impogolis

Also, the water parameters are all correct and the tank has been fully cycled for a month or more.

sirdarksol

It may just be a cyst or something. However, if it looks like a grain of salt, it's probably ich, even if there's only one (ich is almost always present, and isn't a problem unless there are too many of them).
Keep an eye on them, and if nothing else shows, and if your water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 or less nitrates, you're good.

Impogolis

Today her belly is red. It looks like it's on the inside too, and not just a surface wound.

Any suggestions?

Shawnie

what is your ammonia reading? and what test kit are you using? redness is a sign of that and with 10 danios in a 14 gal is pushing the bioload at adulthood and maybe they are stressed?

Impogolis

Well, I'm using the API test kit (liquid drops, not strips of course) and the ammonia levels are at an absolute flat of 0. Same with the nitrite levels, 0. nitrate levels are between 5 and 10 PPM, closer to the 5. I tested last weekend and again earlier tonight and got the same reading. I do not think it has anything to do with the ammonia, or bio-load. Especially since it was only one out of nine (started with 10, but had a mysterious casualty a couple weeks ago - found him pale and stuck to the intake pipe for the filter - hmmm).

Unfortunately, as I imagined would be the case, when I arrived home this evening (after noticing and posting about the red belly) I found my fishy deceased. I took a couple of post-mortem pictures (out of the water in my hand), but again, they were done with a camera phone in poor lighting so they didn't come out too stellar. Will post in the morning or so.

Farewell fishy :/ Thanks for trying to help guys, I appreciate the effort.

sirdarksol

Sorry you lost the fish.
I agree that red spots are normally a sign of ammonia, but if the ammonia's zero, then that's obviously not the case.
It may have been injury that did it.

Impogolis

This is the camera phone image that turned out best. :/

sirdarksol

My guess would have to be ammonia poisoning (which has been pretty much ruled out) or injury. I have no idea what in that tank would have caused an injury like that, though.

I'm sure there are other possibilities, as well. I just can't think of any.