erosion???

[morales67]

I need some help. today saw some erosion on my fish in my freshwater aquarium. the fish still eat and seem okay. im thinking that it might be caused from the ph, but do not know. i cannot test because all of my equipment is at my other house with my brackish aquarium. please help.

 

[ophiura]

Fresh water fish can develop similar issues to saltwater fish - things like hole in head disease and other "erosion" diseases.
What kind of fish are these?
How long have you had them?
What is your water change schedule like?
Without knowing parameters, though, it is hard to start eliminating issues.

 

[andy51632]

I had a Oscar that died from erosion. Now that I look back at it I think it was from poor water quality and diet. All it ate was feeder gold fish which I later found out is not optimal nutrition. He was stuck in a 55gal tank and he was at least a foot long. Poor guy had to swim in his waste all the time. I wish I would of done some research. Any way I would check your nh,no2,no3, and get a couple different high quality foods to feed. IMO I would Probally do a good cleaning to the tank with a 50% water change.

 

[ophiura]

I would say one thing.
Be real careful of a "good cleaning" of the tank. I have seen more than one person lose a tank after neglect in this fashion. Basically they decide to really spruce things up...what they haven't realized is that the pH had dropped due to organic load (lots of waste). Ammonia is also high, but at low pH, it is not toxic. They clean, do a big water change, knock the pH up and bam, lose fish they've had years because of the sudden ammonia toxicity.
So if there is an issue with maintenance on the tank, get on top of it, but be slow and consistent, IMO

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by ophiura
I would say one thing.
Be real careful of a "good cleaning" of the tank. I have seen more than one person lose a tank after neglect in this fashion. Basically they decide to really spruce things up...what they haven't realized is that the pH had dropped due to organic load (lots of waste). Ammonia is also high, but at low pH, it is not toxic. They clean, do a big water change, knock the pH up and bam, lose fish they've had years because of the sudden ammonia toxicity.
So if there is an issue with maintenance on the tank, get on top of it, but be slow and consistent, IMO

I agree, I have seen this happen too many times in freshwater tanks.

 

[morales67]

It is a 20 gallon
1 pictus cat, 2 weeks, shows no visible signs of any erosion
2 angelfish, 2 weeks, both have major erosion on fins, one on its side (these and the catfish were a present)
2 other angelfish, 4 months, one has slight erosion on its fins, other has no visible erosion
I have never seen the angelfish fighting at all, not even when I feed them, and all the fish are still active and eat (a lot)
I change approx. 4-5 gallons of water every 2 weeks(out of 20 gallons)
parameters:
nitrite-0
amonia-0
ph-between 7 and 9(i think)
cant test for nitrate or alkaline yet
I have also started to use melafix (bought the big bottle this time)

 

[morales67]

Also, the angelfish have all stopped grazing for food, and one also twitches every once in a while, but i see no spots