I am fairly new to the hobby. I just bought a zebra obligantus (something like that) african fish. I have 150 gallon tank with about 20 africans in there. I noticed that one of his small fins has this white type of crud hanging from it. The best way I could describe it is it looks like someone tried to use whiteout on his fin. I called the fish store and they said they thought it was mucus and if he is swiming okay that everything should be fine. I do not want to kill my fish, is this situation more serious?
Just bought new fish
- Thread starter mrhirsch
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Lupin
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Do you have photos? Do you quarantine new fish? What are your water parameters? How long has the fish been in your main tank?
TheFishLady
Aquatics Specialist & Nutritionist
A photo would help a lot, as this could be one of many things, some serious and some not.
When someone asks for water params they are asking for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH all together. Knowing what the pH is in the tank is important, but knowing only that tells anyone very little, and nothing that can be of any help in diagnosing a problem or even to say this tank is stable.
Considering the number of fish you have and the size of tank you're keeping, it is important to consider a quarantine tank. 30 gallons is usually a good size for most Africans until they're full grown, 55 would handle 1 or 2 for temp even at full grown.
Any new fish should be put into a quarantine tank for 2 - 3 weeks, no exceptions. Any fish you bring home could be carrying any of many diseases that are highly contageous to all of your other fish. Medicating/treating 1 fish in a smaller tank isn't too much of a hassle, but to medicate them all in a 150 can get quite expensive. Most medications are dosed by number of gallons of water in your tank. A good example is hex-out. I just bought some about a week ago to medicate a sick oscar. There are 10 tablets in a pk and it cost me $11.99. He's in a 75 gallon tank with 70 gallons of water, and the dosage is 1 tablet per 10 gallons. The treatment runs 3 times over the course of a week. Total I will need 21 tablets to get through one treatment. Had I been dosing a 150 gallon tank, that would require 15 tablets per dose, meaning 45 tablets for the treatment. That's a difference from $35.97 (before tax) to $59.95. Then if one treatment isn't enough, a second course is needed... see how quick that adds up? Some meds are more expensive than that. Without quarantine, you also risk illnesses that are so quick to kill, it could wipe out your tank literally overnight, leaving you with 20 dead fish and no idea why. Please invest in a quarantine tank and put it to use.
Once you post water parameters and hopefully some clear pictures, we can then help you. Also, please, a list of the types of fish and how many of each? (include all animals in the tank, please) This will help if you should need medication. Not all fish can handle all medications, and the only way to prescribe something effective and safe for all of the inhabitants, we need to know everything in there.
When someone asks for water params they are asking for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH all together. Knowing what the pH is in the tank is important, but knowing only that tells anyone very little, and nothing that can be of any help in diagnosing a problem or even to say this tank is stable.
Considering the number of fish you have and the size of tank you're keeping, it is important to consider a quarantine tank. 30 gallons is usually a good size for most Africans until they're full grown, 55 would handle 1 or 2 for temp even at full grown.
Any new fish should be put into a quarantine tank for 2 - 3 weeks, no exceptions. Any fish you bring home could be carrying any of many diseases that are highly contageous to all of your other fish. Medicating/treating 1 fish in a smaller tank isn't too much of a hassle, but to medicate them all in a 150 can get quite expensive. Most medications are dosed by number of gallons of water in your tank. A good example is hex-out. I just bought some about a week ago to medicate a sick oscar. There are 10 tablets in a pk and it cost me $11.99. He's in a 75 gallon tank with 70 gallons of water, and the dosage is 1 tablet per 10 gallons. The treatment runs 3 times over the course of a week. Total I will need 21 tablets to get through one treatment. Had I been dosing a 150 gallon tank, that would require 15 tablets per dose, meaning 45 tablets for the treatment. That's a difference from $35.97 (before tax) to $59.95. Then if one treatment isn't enough, a second course is needed... see how quick that adds up? Some meds are more expensive than that. Without quarantine, you also risk illnesses that are so quick to kill, it could wipe out your tank literally overnight, leaving you with 20 dead fish and no idea why. Please invest in a quarantine tank and put it to use.
Once you post water parameters and hopefully some clear pictures, we can then help you. Also, please, a list of the types of fish and how many of each? (include all animals in the tank, please) This will help if you should need medication. Not all fish can handle all medications, and the only way to prescribe something effective and safe for all of the inhabitants, we need to know everything in there.
I know NOTHING about Africans, but if I were to guess I'd say it's a bacterial infection or Ich. Pics would be of great help. The water parameters (Ammo, NO2, NO3) would help as well.
A 10G QT works fine for most fish. Just be sure to have an extra filter running on your main tank (or extra cycled media) to move over.
A 10G QT works fine for most fish. Just be sure to have an extra filter running on your main tank (or extra cycled media) to move over.
Lupin
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8.4 Ph is fine - the fish you're describing is a zebra obliquedens, or correctly Astatotilapia latifasciata, which is native to two lakes connected by a swamp just north of Lake Victoria. They're very much threatened status in the wild so nice fish to keep, and even better if you could set up a breeding system. They will likely be fine, subject to individual quirks, in a mixed african set up.
Quarantine is great advice, but seeing as how you are where you are now, it sounds like a little bit of fin rot. Hopefully the fish is feeding well, and if so this plus good quality water (keep nitrates below 20) should see the issue you describe resolve - hopefully just a little bit of stress from the move.
If the fish is not feeding, I would be more worried; it would be a good idea to net it, and isolate it in a separate unit (Q tank or as rbishop says a rubbermaid type container thing with a filter and heater, so you can get it used to the feed you use - these fish are insectivores in the wild but will generally adapt to whatever pellets etc. you are using - and monitor its condition more closely.
Quarantine is great advice, but seeing as how you are where you are now, it sounds like a little bit of fin rot. Hopefully the fish is feeding well, and if so this plus good quality water (keep nitrates below 20) should see the issue you describe resolve - hopefully just a little bit of stress from the move.
If the fish is not feeding, I would be more worried; it would be a good idea to net it, and isolate it in a separate unit (Q tank or as rbishop says a rubbermaid type container thing with a filter and heater, so you can get it used to the feed you use - these fish are insectivores in the wild but will generally adapt to whatever pellets etc. you are using - and monitor its condition more closely.