Coral Beauty with strange spots on Sides

[frostymug]

I have a 55 gal FOWLR. I have a Coral Beauty, 6 line, and 2 false percs. My Coral Beauty has these areas on both of his sides that look like he has been scratched or bitten. They are not ick, nothing white about them, they just look like something meesed his sides up. All of my tank para. are perfect, Salinty is a 1.023, Amm 0, Trites 0, Trates 0. Temp stays at a pretty constant 78-79. These spots are behind his fins on both sides. They are not red in color or look infected, they just look out of place. He is very active, a pig at feeding time and shows no signs of stress. I am worried that I am missing something or this is something more serious than it looks. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[beth]

How long have you had this fish? Is it a juvenile? Are the "spots" identical in looks, size, placement? Are the spots raised above the surface of the skin?
Using a magnifying glass look the fish over real good, checking for swelling or raised scales, etc.

 

[frostymug]

Beth,
Thanks for the response. I have had him for right at a month. The spots run pretty much in a small group on one side and then on the other side there is just one semi large spot. They are not all the same size some are larger than others but they seem to run in a straight line. I will try to post some pics when I get home.
Thanks!

 

[frostymug]

Beth,
I am having one of those Mondays. When I got home my digital camera decided to have the battery go dead, so I couldn't take a picture. I took a close look at my coral beauty and thought I would give you some more info. He is about 3-4 inches big so I assume he is not a juvi. The spots are not all uniformed in size but they do seem to all be connected. They are not raised above the surface, but seem to be more like indentions. As I said before they look like bite marks or where he may have scraped the rocks? They are not red or irritated looking at all. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow to post for you once my battery charges. Until then do you have any thoughts or does anyone?? Thanks!