Help my blood parrot fish!!

Apr 6, 2009
17
0
0
Florida
#1
okay so i just got a blood parrot fish about 2 weeks ago, and 2 dojo loaches a week ago. my tank is doing great i did a water test a few days ago, and all my ammonia, pH and other levels seem fine. but today i noticed my parrot fish had light brown splotches near the back of his tail. they are barely visible but they are there. i love my parrot fish and my loaches, and all the other fish that are in there and i really hope its not ich because i made sure my tank was disease free before i got the loaches sense they are really susceptible to ich.
PLEASE HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS AND I DONT WANT HIM TO DIE.
thank you :)
Sarah
*GOLDFISH*
 

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#2
Okay, ich looks like somebody salted your fish, so that's not it.

Your tank is developing a population of beneficial bacteria that will consume the ammonia from your fish's waste and convert it to less harmful substances. Now is the most dangerous time -- before the bacteria have multiplied sufficiently -- and you must be diligent about monitoring your water conditions.

Here's what you need to do:

First, test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You most likely have at least some ammonia in your tank by now. It can rise very quickly during the beginning phase of the cycling process, so you should test daily for a while. Ammonia will rise and peak; then once it falls to zero and stays there, nitrites will do the same. Once it stabilizes at zero, you'll begin to have readings for nitrate, at which point your tank will be cycled.

Ammonia and nitrite are both toxic to fish. Whenever the tests for them read 1.0 or above, you need to do a 50% water change, being sure to match the temperature and use dechlorinator (water conditioner). You may end up doing water changes as often as daily for a while. It may take up to a couple of months to complete a fish-in cycle.

The best way to safeguard your fish's health is to keep the water in tiptop shape. It will allow your fish to heal much more easily. Also, feed lightly, only as much as your fish can consume in a couple of minutes, and only every other day until your tank is cycled. Also, if you don't have anything with which to vacuum your tank, pick up a tank vacuum. They're pretty cheap. You can vacuum a portion of your tank each time you do a water change.

one more thing -- if one day your water suddenly gets whitish cloudy, like somebody spilled milk in it, that's a population explosion of the bacteria. It's a good thing, and it will clear up in a week or so.
 

Joeyb1731

Large Fish
Jan 20, 2009
214
0
0
37
Oceanside NY
#3
also blood parrots are the only fish in the world that get black spot disease, however its not really a disease its more of an indicator of emotion, any sudden changes in the tank will cause some of these black blotches, my 2 parrots went through a phase of having alot of black spots, during the cycling process, and then they went away, then they got it again when i added some more fish, every once and a while if my nitrates take a big jump or if im a little late on water change, their black spots will remind me its time, so dont think too much about it and just keep your eye on the other fish.
 

unwritten law

Superstar Fish
Sep 2, 2008
1,471
0
0
35
DC
#4
one of my keyholes had something similar and I read it could have been some parasite if they were wild caught but was not a big issue... since id say your blood parrots are not wild caught, Joey's idea seems more plausible
 

Joeyb1731

Large Fish
Jan 20, 2009
214
0
0
37
Oceanside NY
#6
by the way dont let people hate on your blood parrot, they are absolutely my favorite fish in my tank and have TONS of personality, they are like little underwater puppies and I dont know how stocked your tank is, but try to get another BP for that one, I dont know if every1 agrees but my 2 are best friends and the aggression against any other fish that my first one had all went away when i got her her buddy. And please please please tell me your parrot is a deep orange or red I hope you didnt get the dyed one :( if so that may be the cause for discoloration you are seeing.
 

Jul 27, 2009
1
0
0
#7
hello - newbie here.. just want to get an idea how much an aquarium water test kit would cost? just set up my tank last July 5.. i would really appreciate all your inputs... and my concern right now is water chemistry of my setup...

thanks a gallon! :)
 

Apr 6, 2009
17
0
0
Florida
#8
well waterlou i bought a testing kit and mine was around 30 dollars. and its really important to have one, its def worth the money.
and joey- yeah i was hesitant to get them cuz someone said they were man created, but i LOVE my parrot fish. he always swims up to the tank to greet me, and sometimes ill give him a krill as a treat and he'll eat it out of my hand. he and my dojo loach are best friends they always hang out together and when i was cleaning the tank it was stressing the parrot fish, and my dojo swam over to him and laid himself OVER my parrot fish until i was done cleaning. it was truly amazing.

but now i have a new problem.
my wild colored dojo loach is healthy and fine.
but my super tiny gold dojo is acting wierd.
well not really acting too weird but he has little super tiny specks of white on his tail, and i mean like on the actual tail fin. some of my other fish have had this before but it goes away in about a week, almost like the specks float off. what is that?
is that ich, ive had ich before but it never did that, once it was on a fish it stayed on. whats going on?