Knowledge is everything....

I joined this site to get some info on a sick fish I have,thought I'd throw it out there just to see if I could get an answer from someone who "might" know a little about the problem.. Anyone who has been in this hobby for more than a year should know what to look for on any given situation .. To make it a simple question, What could make a fishes slime coat get a foggy camo look to it over night? Swimming in place real fast,breathing fast and fins clamped... Water is as clean as can be, %30 water change weekly..... 36 Gallon Bow front : 3 BoesemanI Rainbow, 6 Bleeding Heart, 1 Swordtail, 1 Panda Loach

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

If you can, pictures help a lot!

Which of the fish in question are experiencing this? What's your tank's ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels as of now? I see the tank has been established February 19th. Have any recent changes happened? Anything such as new fish, new plants, new decor, new filter, filter media change, change in feeding?

 

Hello mmolitor87! Thank you for your reply! The fish in question is one of my new BoesemanI Rainbows. ph is 7.3 Ammonia is 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate is under 10 ppm so that's all good.. To make a long story short,when the tank first cycled I bought three rainbows from petco that were Australian Rainbows... I asked the guy who sold me the fish if he was sure they would change color when they got older and he said yes... I went to Petland last weekend and saw the real deal,bought them right then and there,took the Australians out,put new Boesemanis in and the rest is history... I think it's Costia,and I've been treating him with a Pimafix Melafix AQ salt potion since last friday that seems to be working well!! I do a %50 water change daily with the dose... Any pointers??? Thanks a million!! ~ D

 

I have to say my initial thought was ammonia poisoning, causing a blackening of the fish's color. That is usually over time and not sudden. It wouldn't create much of a 'foggy' look, I don't believe.

Second thought was poor oxygenation. That would explain the rapid gill movement and can attribute to a loss of color. Are they spending a lot of time at the surface of the tank?

You might be right about it being costia. Are the fins frayed at all? If it is it might also help to raise the tank temperature to around 86. It is a parasite, so keep an eye out for the other fish to get it as well.

 

I just love to wake up to something new every day!! Now my rainbow has a black speck on his side,almost like a tiny fleck of pepper..... what could this be?? It's not lice,maybe black spot?? But on a Boesemani??

 

In your profile you say "Quarentine: Yes. Med tank too." Is the sick fish in the hospital tank now? if so what at the parameters of the hospital tank? or are you medicating all the fish in the 36 gallon tank?

 

It's hard to say without actually seeing the fish, but one possiblility could be that Boseman's tend to get a couple of dark horizontal rows rows of scales running the length of their body, so I guess it could be the beginning of that.

 

The Rainbow that was sick is going back in the main tank tomorrow!! But this morning I noticed the speck on the side of another Boeseman in the main tank,almost looks like a tiny tiny piece of black pepper on him,kind of strange... The I change %50 of the water every day with the treatment in the med tank so there's no chance of a toxic build up of any sort.. I did test the water for the med tank and all the levels are perfect. And I did not medicate my whole tank because I really don't want to throw chems in there if I don't have to.. It's been two weeks almost with no other problems until this morning,I watch my fish like a hawk!! I think I'm going to go out and get some Furan 2 just to be ready just in case of a breakout...Thanks for you Reply!! I'll keep you posted ~ D

 

It's some sort of settlement or something,not sure but I'll keep an eye out to make sure it doesn't grow... Thanks for your reply! Looks like you have a great collection of Boeseman's!! My next tank will be 75 gallons with several different types of rainbows as well!! Crazy I'm already wanting a bigger tank!!! lol!!

 

Crazy I'm already wanting a bigger tank!!! lol!!

It'd be crazy if you didn't!