New pl*co is sick

[NinjaFish]

tank size (in gallons) - 29 gallon
how long in operation? - 6 weeks
total number, species and size of fish (or other aquatic life forms) - 8 green tiger barbs, pair of kribensis, 6 glass shrimp (at least I think they're in there), 1 bristlenose pl*co (L144a)
newest additions to the tank (including plants) - 1 bristlenose pl*co (the sick guy)
Temp. - 82
Ph - 6.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - I forget, but its not bad
kg/kh - 0 (how bad is that anyway?)
type of filtration - AC 150
aeration - none
water additives ( conditioners/dechlorinator, Ph adjusters, salt or any other chemicals added) -
Aqua Plus conditioner when tank was setup and to new water for water change
water change amount and frequency - only done 1 so far, ~20% about 5 days ago
feeding...what, how much & how often - flake, freezedried tubifex, california black worms, once daily
unusual findings on the fish (grains of salt/suger looking stuff, fuzzy growths, pop-eye, frayed fins, cloudy eyes, yellowish coating on body/fins, clamped fins, ulcers, bloody streaks /patches, etc.) -
It almost looks like grains of salt to me, whitish in color... also the fins look a little ragged, but some of that might of been there before. I would say heavy breathing, but I don't really have anything to compare him to.
Behavioral problems (not eating, hiding, sluggish/lethargic, swimming) - Hasn't eaten in 48 hours to my knowledge, tried some squash last night, looks like it didn't get touched. Hasn't moved from back corner of tank in 48 hours, let me arrange him for this picture without swimming away.

I just got him a few days ago, 2nd night I had him he was eating off of the glass, but he's gone downhill since. Now he just sits in the corner, he moves positions, but hasn't left the area, and I think there something growing on his skin. I've tried to attach a pic. The tank is planted, and there is plenty of driftwood.

[Lotus]

If I were you, I would return him to the store. He was obviously sick when you got him

It sounds like he has a lot of symptoms, and may have been attacked or mishandled in transit.

[skatoholic]

i dunno, but 6 weeks is really short to have a full tank with fish set up, id find a place for him. You keep him in there, and he'll die.

[Iggy]

No guys/gals - he is describing all the diseases (inside) and then saying it looks like grains of salt.

That my boy looks a heck of a lot like ICK! Ick is curable and fairly common but you need the right meds and you need to treat the tank.

Ick is a parasite that, when attacking a host, lives underneath the skin. The white grain-like salt spots are acutally thousands of little Ick parasites forming a small cyst. You cannot treat the cysts, however they will finish the cycle and burst, releasing thousands of free-swimmming parasites looking for more hosts, they are vunerable to anti-Ick medicines.

I reccomend getting 'Coppersafe' (by Mardel). Its likely the best medicine for the job. Remove your charcoal filter, treat the whole tank as indicated on the bottle, and maintain the treatment for 21 days! Yes, even after the spots are gone, the parasites can survive in your gravel for long periods, so treat for the better part of a month. Keeping your tank temperature at 84F will also speed-up the cycle.

Don't wait, get your meds asap. Ick will create holes in the fins after they burst, so you might want an anti-fungus medicine on hand in case the fins start to show cottony growths.

Other good medicines: Ick Treatment (by Jungle)

Don't bother using Aquarisol - it does not do the job.

My Rigel (Big Blue Betta) had Ick and survived just fine.