Tiny tiny white fleck on black moors? (Now flashing!)

[jn]

Ok.. I could be paranoid but if I look extremely closely at my black moors I can see tiny white filaments on them. For all i know it could be normal (I dont know what's normal for them as they are new to me). Its definitely not white spot. I'm also betting that if I asked someone else, they'd say they can't see anything!

Their skin doesn't look hazy, or shimmery or blotchy. Just the tiny white filaments all over the fish, fairly widely spaced and dont seem to be 'clustered' at all.

The 2 smallish fish are on their own in about 85L, the water tests are all good (pH ~7.6, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, nitrates ~10, temp 22degs), the fish are comfortable and happy. Fins open, no flashing, gill movement looks regular to me. They arrived with a few scrapes probably damage done when they were caught, those have healed over fine.

I considered giving them some preventative treatment before putting them in the tank, but I knew the tank was going to cycle and I didn't really want to strip their slime coat without reason.

Trouble is I was planning on adding my BN's to the tank, but dont want them getting infected if there's soemthing in there.

Any ideas? The tank is planted, and I would also prefer not to kill my filter bacteria. I do have a couple droncit tabs from many moons ago, I guess these would work if it was flukes but not for something else. Does anyone think I should I try salt first?

Or should I just tranfer the BN's anyway and stop being paranoid?? Anyone have a really close up picture of what a black moors skin should look like? Or anyone have a microscope and know about looking at a mucus scraping

[jn]

ps: I'm also aware that most parasites should not really be visible to the naked eye, which is why I'm open to the fact that I could just be paranoid :oops:

[Jennifer]

Could be fungal spores, or an overproduction of slime. Some parasites you can see but they are not usually as you describe.

Without knowing for sure it is hard to say. Keep clean water, possibly try salt and perhaps a malachite green dip if you are so motivated.

[jn]

Ok, so after I turned out their tank light last night I sat and watched them closely, I did see some flashing so I'd better get in and treat the tank with something.

I'll have to re-read the disease threads to decide which meds to use. I think I have wunder tonic, meth blue, malachite green, and droncit, so have to choose what might best work.

Since its not ich, and doesn't seem fungal that leaves flukes, costia or velvet I guess (any other possibilities? doesn't seem bacterial)

I see the lifecycle of costia is really short, maybe that would be the easiest first step, I can treat them with malachite green in a large tub, turn the light off in the tank and turn up the temp a little and put them back in the tank the next day. I've got an air pump I can set up in the tub.

I know the lifecycle for flukes is longer, but treatment is less harsh. Dunno about velvet..gotta look than one up.