View Full Version : swordtail got white on side
dpmac10
12-02-2002, 11:54 AM
Hi i just came home from work and one of my swordtails has a white patch on its side and on the tip of its side fin and it wont move that fin with it on it what can i do and what do u think it is i just did a 25% water change and added salt and raised temp last night well that help or do u think it is because of that thanks.
NJ Devils Fan
12-02-2002, 3:02 PM
What are your water parameters, what size tank do you have, and when was the last time you added a new fish?
morleyz
12-02-2002, 6:25 PM
By "white patch" do you mean that the actual skin/fin/etc has turned white, or does it look like there is something white ON the skin?
dpmac10
12-02-2002, 10:13 PM
well its kinda both u can still see the scales but they are white and so is part of the fin i'm not sure if he is going to make it through the night looks like it might be getting worse when i feed him he swam around and kinda moved the fin so i think it got a little better but it don't look it help don't want to loose him thanks.
Faramir
12-03-2002, 4:45 AM
Sounds like the sort of generalised skin infection that livebearers are prone to. Salt will help; look for a remedy for "slime disease" and/or "external bacterial infection", and pray.
Unfortunately, what you really need to do is take a skin scraping and examine it under the microscope. Not really an option for most of us.
O-man21
12-03-2002, 12:02 PM
Most likly a fungus..... Use a pinnicillin pill acording to the directions you can get at any LFS.
TnCgal
12-03-2002, 12:27 PM
I agree with the fungal diagnosis, but penicillin is rendered useless on fungus unless there is a secondary bacterial infection going on such as fin rot or fish tuberculosis. Before we start dosing the tank with a bunch of antibiotics we will want to rule out other conditions.
You will want to make a visit to your LFS and ask to see their anti-fungal remedies, and use as directed. There are a number of them on the market.
Keep in mind that fungal infections can sometimes be the result of poor water quality. Most fish are able to fight off many of the fungal colonies that can infect their skin, but if their immune systems are stressed because of poor living conditions they can easily succumb. This is often an overlooked factor when we are talking about fungal infections.
Pay close attention to your water maintenance. Are you performing your weekly or bi-weekly water changes ? Are you vacuuming up all detritus from the aquarium floor ? How about your filter sponges/cartridges... are they kept clean and unclogged ? Water parameters OK ?
These are some of the questions that come to mind in dealing with these kinds of conditions. Fungal infections on the skin of fish are generally a symptom of a bigger problem that can sometimes be traced back to water quality. :)
Faramir
12-04-2002, 6:07 AM
I don't think it's fungus - fungus has a distinctive "cotton wool" look to it. Once seen, never mistaken. http://homepages.tesco.net/~davyreynolds/fishhealth/fungus.htm talks about this, complete with pictures. I suspect columnaris in this case, or a similar bacterial infection.
O-man21
12-04-2002, 4:49 PM
yea, maybe, but he described it as a wollie substance.
Faramir
12-05-2002, 4:29 AM
Where?
TnCgal
12-06-2002, 1:41 AM
dpmac10,
I'm going to move this thread over to the General FW forum since this is not directly a beginner's question ! :)