Illness in lab

bl00

AC Members
Dec 3, 2007
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Baltimore, MD
My yellow lab is showing some interesting symptoms, I was wondering if i could get and id. He has this black smear on his body that looks flush with the scales. He's flashing alot too and a few of his scales look loose. There's also a light brown spot just below one of his gills. Sorry I don't have a pic yet, he's still a quick little bugger that's very camera shy.
tank params are 0 ammo, 0 nitrites, and about 10 nitrates.
 
Im not familiar with labls, however I do know that some fish have stress lines. Could this be what the black line is? What is your tanks set up, and tankmates?
 
Its not a stress line, just a random blotchy splotch thing (very technical term). The tank mates are other mbuna of the same size (kenyi, greshakei, metriclima).
 
Blue, it's Labidochromis caeruleus.:)

Bloo, could you please post a pic of that fish? Tank size and number of tankmates precisely?
 
^ Pic will help enormousy. Stressed labs often shwow fairly regular black stress lines, sometimes blotches. Depending on the breeding, labs in general may develop brown 'blotches' as part of their colouration.

Scales coming off makes me think he's taking a beating and is consequently stressed...so tank size, tank mates, genders of each please :)
 
They're in a 30 (should be a 55 by the time they're fully grown) but I have tons of rock work for now. I have a male and female kenyi, yellow lab, ngara peacock, OB metriaclima (female), albino metriaclima (female I think) and greshakei (female).

I'm still trying to get a picture, but he hates the camera. Everytime I get near him with it he runs.
 
Do you see him taking a beating at all ?

A pic would really help to identify what's going on with the brown splotch...likely to be a bit of stress colouration.
 
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