possible disease?

[gli0sca]

hi everyone, new to this board and the hobby. i have a 55gal fowlr. two things, first, i have some fake plants in there for decoration and on parts i am getting brownish spots;mostly towards the top of the plants and none on the bottoms. diatoms perhaps??
second, my fish are 3 false peculiars and 3 bengai cardinals. question about the cardinals, one of them isnt looking too hot, seems to be "gulping" much more than his counterparts and is hovering around the top as if grasping for air.... i know these are symtoms of ich but with white spots already being on the fish how can i tell for certain or should i just toss him in a QT and monitor more closely... params are all good...
thanks

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by gli0sca
http:///forum/post/3067623
hi everyone, new to this board and the hobby. i have a 55gal fowlr. two things, first, i have some fake plants in there for decoration and on parts i am getting brownish spots;mostly towards the top of the plants and none on the bottoms. diatoms perhaps??
second, my fish are 3 false peculiars and 3 bengai cardinals. question about the cardinals, one of them isnt looking too hot, seems to be "gulping" much more than his counterparts and is hovering around the top as if grasping for air.... i know these are symtoms of ich but with white spots already being on the fish how can i tell for certain or should i just toss him in a QT and monitor more closely... params are all good...
thanks

what is your idea of "params are all good"?
As for the plants yes that will be diatoms, very common with artificial plants in a salt water tank. The algae takes to it like crazy.

 

[gli0sca]

Originally Posted by oceana
http:///forum/post/3067634
what is your idea of "params are all good"?
As for the plants yes that will be diatoms, very common with artificial plants in a salt water tank. The algae takes to it like crazy.
pH - 8.2
salinity 35 ppt (refractometer)
specific gravity - 1.205 (hydrometer)
temperature - 78
havent tested for anything else yet... he seems to have calmed down a bit and isnt gulping as much now...