Is this some kind of disease?

[J'sRamAir]

I noticed some white 'splotches' on a couple of my rainbow sharks the other day. I'm not sure what it is and was hoping it is nothing to worry about. Here are some crappy pics. I went here: http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/symptoms.html and looked for something that might be these spots, but I couldn't really find a match on that site. What do you guys think?

[J'sRamAir]

Another

[J'sRamAir]

Last one. You can clearly see here that there are several small white spots on his skin.

[J'sRamAir]

One pic didn't post. Here it is.

[kona2]

J'sRamAir-
I'm fairly new to aquariums, but am already treating a bacterial infection of flexibacter columnaris on my lemon tetra. I've been trying to learn all I can about fish disease, prevention & treatment.

I'm not familiar with rainbow sharks (they sure are pretty, though).My question would be- when did those white spots first show up? (Do you have some aquarium books with info on normal coloration on your fish?) The sudden presence of white spots on your fish makes me wonder if you have a fungal infection there. Is the lesion flat or fluffy. What color is it- true white or kind of grey? Are there any detectable ulcers or redness at the sites? (It's hard to tell from the photos).Can you think of any signifacnt changes in the tank or stressors to the fish (adding new fish/not changing water, etc)? I know I am asking more questions than providing answers, but maybe these might help figure out what you're looking at.

This website has some basic info on diseases:
http://www.exotictropicals.com/encyc...n/Diseases.htm

Maybe someone else can shed some light on these mysterious white spots? (I don't think it's ich, since ich is supposed to be like little dots or like grains of salt).

[J'sRamAir]

Well I just got the fish this past Friday. I think I first noticed the spots yesterday, or possibly even late Saturday. Only 2-3 of them have the spots and some worse than others. The one in the pics is the worst. My gouramis seem fine. The splotches are more of a light grey than a white and they seem to be flat. I don't notice any raised areas. There are no ulcers are red areas that I can see either. I did a small (about 15%) water change about 2 weeks ago, and a 20% about 2 weeks before that. I don't think there have been any significant changes in water and the only stress I can think of would be that the fish are new since I just added them on Friday. I'll check out that website too and see if I can find any answers. Any other ideas?

[kona2]

I have a disease chart with one of my medications by Mardel labs. I think you probably have one of two things going on: flexibacter columnaris or a fungal infection.The chart on my antibiotic describes "greyish white stringy material covering most or part of the body: white or grey patches" as Columnaris (not a true fungus, but an actual bacterial infection...this is what I am treating on the mouth of my Lemon Tetra). The lesion on my fish is pure white and flat, isolated to the upper lip.The other description on the Mardel chart is for true fungus, which is "whitish tufts of cotton like material found on the fin tail and body at sites of injury." This is a true fungus, not bacteria.

My other suggestion is to bring your pics to the LFS and see what they say. It's hard to know what to do, as you will get 10 different suggestions for what to treat these with. According to the Mardel Lab packaging, Maracyn treats both. That is what I am using for my fish. My fish are still alive & the lesion has not spread, but it hasn't gotten smaller, either. Either my dx is off, or I need to change to another med here soon.

I would do another water change, too, since water quality is so important. I assume your chemistries are all okay. I really regret not having changed my water more when I was starting to cycle 2 mos ago. I think it was the fact that I "let me tank go" for five weeks that brought on the stress & disease in my fish.Oh well, lesson learned.

About your fish- Flexibacter Columnaris (the bacterial infection) is a bacterium present in the tank as a normal flora, and it is opportunistic. So, perhaps the stress of moving to a new tank stressed the fish & brought it on? If you have a case of true body fungus- I would think that an injury would have had to occur. Are some fish attacking the others? I would be leaning toward flex, but I'm just a novice. Maybe someone with experience will post their thoughts. Again, the folks at the LFS might be a good resource. Good luck!

Ps- You may already know this, but if you end up treating the entire tank with medication, you'll need to remove the carbon filter. Alternatively, you can remove the affected fish to a "hospital tank" to treat.

[ducksarefun]

ARE your water parameters good? I'd test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and pH to see if anything unusual is going on. Also, do a ~ 25% water change. It's really a good idea to do a small water change (~20%) once a week.

[J'sRamAir]

Well I'm not sure if my water parameters are perfect or not. I don't have all the necessary chemicals to test all of that. I do have a pH tester though, but that's it. I guess I've been trying to put off getting that stuff, but no longer. While I'm at the LFS I'll ask them if they know what it is and pick up some medicine there if I need it. Thanks for the help guys.

Btw, I haven't noticed any fish being attacked. Just chased a little by the larger shark who has set his territory, but sometimes I can't tell if it's chasing or playing. Seems like they do both.

[J'sRamAir]

Well I picked up a testing kit today to test out my water. My pH is about 6.5, my ammonia level is pretty much 0 and my water hardness is 3 degrees. I couldn't test out the nitrite level because my test kit was missing one of the chemicals to test that. I'll head back to the LFS Sunday to get the missing bottle. So far everything looks good.