Dave+Amy Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 for a couple of days only noticed a pink patch on the top of this GBA and thought it was from a fight, went to feed the community tank and found him/her like this: Pink scaleless patches all over body and fins have membrane gone Needing to know if this is contagious? and treatments for this urgently! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 check your water conditions. Ph,nitrate and nitrite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 It's the same as usual - it's the only GBA like this. Swimming and eating as usual, doesn't seem affected by it other than the superficial scarring. Could this be some sort of bacterial infection that can kill him/her? I have dosed the tank with Flora Pride and Flourish Excell - does this have anything to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 looks like heater burn???? maybe.... be slightly careful with how you use that flourish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I put both Flora pride and Flourish in once a week...both my heaters are set at 30degress cell with the tank temp at 29. Heater burn? How do I prevent that from happening again? Could these be gauges made by another fish?? They seem like perfect circles and I'm getting really worried and frustrated..want to help it but at a loss to what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I agree with phoenix, I think it looks like heater burn. Make sure the heater is sitting off the bottom far enough that the fish can get underneath without touching the bottom of it. They're usually smart enough to get out of the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 Heater is at least 3cm off the substrate, is there a way that I can prevent them from going between the heater and the wall? Anything I can add to the water to help this heal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I sometimes see my GBAs cleaning the heater and i see no bad effects at all. But my heater is set lower than yours. Not sure if it stops burns but you can get black heater protectors (not sure what they are called) which stops big fish from biting the heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 put some stress coat on the fishy wishy. pour some on em if you wish. works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 he'she's really quick and I have too many plants in my tank so I can't really catch it without stressing everyone else in the tank out, could I just pour some stress coat into the water? I had a look at him today, the patches aren't as pink anymore - so maybe it's healing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 Watch for fungal or bacterial infections. I had a BN Who had similar patches and they went mouldy. I treated it with Furan2, it recovered 100%. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I too say it looks like heater burn and the pink indicates it is healing. Keep the water as clean as possible and it should be fine. You can get heater guards to go around the heaterstats so they don't burn the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 Poor fishie! Thanks for the great photos though. I have never seen heater burn on a fish, so this may help in the future if one of my fish has a mysterious injury. It surprises me that a fish wouldn't move away from a source of pain - but perhaps the heat receptors in their skin aren't very well developed? In the wild they would be unlikely to encounter anything that would burn them so maybe they have no need to sense heat... My advice for good healing: be really, really strict with your water changes until it has healed up completely. Maybe increase your water change regime to make sure the water is as fresh & sparkly as possible to avoid infection. You can add stress coat to the water to help its protective slime to recover - may be expensive if you're treating the whole tank rather than isolating this particular fish, but I take your point about not being able to catch it without stressing everyone (including the human!) Good luck to you and the pretty fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 your fishie will be fine. lol. don't stress too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeh_buddy Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Dont mean to sound gloomy but my BN had the same thing and it didnt go away, didnt matter what I treated with it just wouldn't go away. She eventually died weeks later and the marks were still on her, they didnt decrease in size or appearence. Maybe it was just a heater burn but the fact that she died some time later had me a little concerned and I thought I would just pass on my experience to you. May not have been related but its just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted November 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 I'm really hoping for the best, I do daily water changes anyway it's in my Discus tank so the water's always prestine and have added Stress Coat, would methyl blue also be a good thing to add for antibacterial healing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Meth blue is mainly for fungus type things and I wouldn't add it to any tank that I like as it stains everything.. I have no idea what is wrong with your fish though keep the water good and keep an eye on it and see what happens I guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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