Disease Question

S

Statman

AC Members
Nov 3, 2004
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I recently bought a Pleco from a fish store that has gotten sick since Ive brought him home. He has white spots on his back behind his head, not like small spots, more like patches of white.

I was told by someone who used to run a pet shop that I should try adding erythromycin to the tank. Does this sound like a good idea? I also have live plants, and some corys, which I believe are not scaled. Will this or aquarium salt hurt them? I have no idea what my fish is sick with, or whether hes gonna get the others sick or not.

Any help?

Thanks
 
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Need some more details. Water conditions, size of white spots, and appearance (does it look salty, cottony, smooth, etc.). Post back with that so we can help you further.
 
PH seems to be right around 7.0-7.2, amonia and nitrites are at 0. The white are is on both sides of him and it starts about where his top fin starts and runs til about the half way spot of his fin. The white covers basically the whole body in that area. (if that makes sense?) I cant really tell the texture...smoth, or furry? Hard to tell really. He was just put in yesterday.
 
I do have a 10 gallon which I just cleaned today, it needs to run a bit more before Id want to put any fish in, let alone a sick one. I figure hes been in there 2 full days, I figure the damage has already been done anyway.
 
Not necessarily - healthy fish can ward off infections, but the longer they're exposed the more likely they are to get it, I suspect.
If you can set up your small tank with some water from the display tank and a sponge filter and change 50% of the water daily, you would have a nice hospital set up and probably have a good chance of saving him and sparing the rest of the fish an infection. If you use antibacterial meds you can damage/kill the beneficial bacteria in your filter, so it's best to use a separate tank to treat sick fish.
Try looking on sites like fishyfarmacy.com and see if you can ID what he's got. Whatever the type of infection, the faster you can ID and treat it, the better his chances are.
Good luck.
 
I have read several sites and nothing really seems to describe what Ive got. Should I go ahead and attempt the above mentioned erythromycin? I found some tablets of it in Petsmart tonight, im thinking about going back tomorrow and getting them. :sad
 
It's not a good idea to treat with medications when you don't know what the illness is. I don't really recommend the erythromycin treatment until you know you need it - medicating fish is hard on them, so personally I wait until I know what's wrong before I medicate.
I recommend you move your fish into a hospital tank, keep the water VERY clean and keep an eye on him - sometimes just being in a clean, quiet tank is enough to help a fish's immune system conquer a disease.
If the spots are getting worse, is it possible to post a picture of them on the forum for us to see? Maybe someone can ID the disease.
You asked about salt - corys don't like salt (most catfish don't tolerate it well, I think) so again I'd say use a hospital tank if you want to treat with salt. Just my opinion.
 
I did the move to the 10g last night. Pleco still looks about the same. I took some pictures with my disposable, but who knows when I will get them developed or what the quality will be.

For now I guess he will just have his own tank.
 
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