Is this a parasite on my bristle ?

[craigster]

Can anyone help identify what the white spot on underside of our bristlenose is? And what I should do about it? Pics below.

Only noticed 2 days ago - might have grown a little (1mm) in that time, but not sure. Up close its like a 3mm or 4mm fleck of paint has got suctioned onto its belly -- quite brilliantly white. No obvious change in B's behaviour, maybe a bit shyer but hey, its a bristlenose! He's at least 2yrs old that e've had him, prob 6mo-1yr when adopted.

Water chemistry fine - best its ever been in fact, though a neon tetra had fin rot 2 weeks ago (now cured).
28 deg temp
nil amonia
nil nitrite
5ppm nitrate
7.0-7.1 pH
130ppm carbonate hardness


Thanks
Craig
:read:

[fishdrifta]

Try catching it and holding it in ur hand and take a closer look at it.It doesnt look like a sickness but just check it just in case.

[Lobo.]

are you shure it isnt a spot where the skin has rubbed off? like a blister or a sore?

[craigster]

are you shure it isnt a spot where the skin has rubbed off? like a blister or a sore?

You could be right - its still there and I'm still watching closely. Some days it seems like the spot is not so pronounced, like a blister healing. Doesn't seem to be changing in shape or size, which is something I guess.

[JULSOLOCA]

looks like an accident and that might be his flesh skin and might have a parasite better check closer

[OrionGirl]

Does the bristle spend much time around the heater? I would guess that's a burn--pretty common for these fish. As long as it doesn't become infected, it should heal fine, but you may want to get a guard for the heater to prevent further injuries.

[craigster]

Does the bristle spend much time around the heater? I would guess that's a burn

That's a thought that hadn't occurred to me. Yes, he does like the thin gap between heater tube and the tank glass. Usually with belly to glass side, but who knows.

Anyway, to complete the story, we treated water for parasites and about 2 weeks later it had pretty much faded to nothing. Wh is also consistent with a burn.

POSTSCRIPT: Heaping disappointment upon anxiety, my research over this has revealed that its not even a bristlenose, as the tank as the LFS was labelled when bought as baby. Its a PLECO ! I know its hard to tell when their young, but I really wanted a bristlenose. Doh! :duh: :duh: :duh:

[sguthrie]

When I got a juvenile bristlenose, it still had *very* small bristles around the face area. This may be different for females which will have smaller bristles.

Sam

Glad everything turned around okay for your pleco, too!