What is this spot on my butterfly’s tail?

[Amber]

I just noticed this spot on my butterfly’s tail today. Anyone know what it could be?

[Amber]

[koko]

That looks irritated😞

When you can fill this out for us so we can help ya better. Welcome to koko'S☺

Test Results for the Following:

 Ammonia Level(Tank)

 Nitrite Level(Tank)

 Nitrate level(Tank)

 Ammonia Level(Tap)

 Nitrite Level(Tap)

 Nitrate level(Tap)

 Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)

 Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)

Other Required Info:

 Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?

 Water temperature?

 Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running?

 What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)?

 How often do you change the water and how much?

 How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change?

 How many fish in the tank and their size?

 What kind of water additives or conditioners?

 What do you feed your fish and how often?

 Any new fish added to the tank?

 Any medications added to the tank?

 List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank.Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment.

 Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?

 Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.?

"If copy and paste doesn't work for you, quote this post and put your answers after each question."

 

[Amber]

Ammonia Level(Tank) 0

  Nitrite Level(Tank) 0

 Nitrate level(Tank) 10ish

 Ammonia Level(Tap) not sure about tap. Tested my tank last night and got the above levels.

 Nitrite Level(Tap)

 Nitrate level(Tap)

  Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)6.5

 Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)

Other Required Info:

 Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?api, drops

 Water temperature?71

  Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running?  quarter cylinder 110 gal.

 What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? Casquade 1500 canister 

  How often do you change the water and how much? 50-60% every Sunday 

 How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? 4

 How many fish in the tank and their size? 4 butterfly’s size 4”-5”

  What kind of water additives or conditioners? prime

 What do you feed your fish and how often?

peas, bloodworms, brineshrimp, spinach, jappies everyday pellets and hikiri extreme color. 2-3 times a day. A mix of the pellets every night. I feed the other stuff in the morning and usually peas in the afternoon.

 Any new fish added to the tank? No

  Any medications added to the tank? No

  List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank.Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment.

 Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? the spot on her fin

 Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? No

 "If copy and paste doesn't work for you, quote this post and put your answers after each question."

[Amber]

Tank has been running for 4 years. Than transferred to our new home in May. Saved 35 gallons of existing water to add when set back up here. 

[Amber]

Also I had a rose tail oranda in there that I just gave to my sister because he was a bully. Sucks too because he was beautiful🥺

[koko]

If you can please test your ph in the tank and the tap.

 

When was the last time you cleaned your canister? And how do you clean it?

It looks like a cyst of some kind. Have you ever Prazi the tank?

[koko]

Also to help a full tank shot😁

[Amber]

Tap is 6.5

 

Since they can see me they’re currently staring at me and begging for food right now🤦🏻‍♀️

They’re piggies.

Bottom left is Odin (red & white, he only has one eye)

Next to him is Tot(calico)

Top right is Tator(calico) 

The one in front of Tot is Suki (red & white Sakura)

[Amber]

I’ve used paraguard before but it’s been a long time. 

[Amber]

Oh! I cleaned the filters on 8/4. I also have a 45ish gal fluval canister filter in there.

[Arctic Mama]

Wow your tap water stinks!  Sorry for that stroke of bad luck  Goldfish are very adaptable but it is still tough to keep them in more acidic conditions, especially if the water also tends to be soft.

That spot looks like a bacteria cyst.  My favorite method of dealing with those is just putting the fish in a hospital tank until it bursts, then using meth blue and daily water changes until the spot is healed over.  Warm water - 78F or so.

While sometimes we see other infections with that sort of cyst they tend to be one offs.  It could potentially be a tumor as well, but that is less likely.  If it hasn’t burst in several weeks please poke us again and we can pursue additional treatment

[Amber]

Hmmm. I didn’t know it was bad. Must be a Nebraska thing? I’ve had 2 of the fish since I first set up my tank over 4 years ago and have never had any fish die😔

[Arctic Mama]

8 minutes ago, Amber said:

Hmmm. I didn’t know it was bad. Must be a Nebraska thing? I’ve had 2 of the fish since I first set up my tank over 4 years ago and have never had any fish die😔

That just means your an excellent fish mama   goldfish prefer harder water in the 7.2-7.8 range, though that can handle variation on either side.  Softer water tends to be a little more volatile in terms of chemistry too, but obviously you’ve found a way to manage it.

[Amber]

Our water isn’t soft either it’s in the 350-400 range😱

[Amber]

Maybe I need to buy a new testing kit. This one is kinda old. I’ll go tonight and do that and post the readings from the new kit.

[Arctic Mama]

15 minutes ago, Amber said:

Our water isn’t soft either it’s in the 350-400 range😱

That’s helping you a lot!  Acidic but hard is better for the osmotic balance of your goldfish and helps prevent big swings in pH as more organic matter is added to the system.  That’s VERY hard, but also better than the alternative.  Mine is hard like that too, but also more alkaline (7.8-8.0 pH).

[Amber]

Not sure how accurate the tetra strips are for fishtanks (I bought them to test hardness for my sons cloth diapers) 

but it says between 7.2-7.8 for tap and tank water. 

[Amber]

Also could this be carp pox? And what is your opinion on aquarium salt? My sister told me to try that before using the paraguard. 

[Amber]

I unfortunately don’t have the option for a hospital tank🥺

[Amber]

Hmmmm. I think it may be a bacterial or fungi infection just found this on Odin’s butt😩

I ordered some API melafix. It’ll be here tomorrow.

[Arctic Mama]

Please don’t order any medications without asking first, that stuff is completely useless

 

Okay, if multiple fish are showing ulcers the best solution is to use a plastic tote as a hospital tank - one of the big flat underbed ones works great, along with an airstone to keep things moving, and a heater obviously.  

 

It isn’t fungal, and unless you’re brought in live food or plants it’s unlikely to be viral either.  But if you did have a dip in your tank’s water quality or a longer time between filter servicing that could have stirred up stuff and stressed the fish (which weakens their immune systems) and made them susceptible to one of the typical bacteria that tend to exist at low levels in all aquaria. I’m dealing with that myself with one of mine, if it makes you feel better.

ALL fish showing symptoms need to be moved out of the main tank for the duration of the treatment, that’s non-negotiable because meds are both expensive AND can do a number on your filter and plants.

You need to ship Metronidazole to yourself, along with Nitrofurazone Green (Furan 2).  We will run both of those in a two weeks course.

Here are links to both meds:

https://smile.amazon.com/MetroPlex-Metronidazole-Parasite-SALTWATER-FRESHWATER/dp/B01M5LEDRA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2VTUZLHVQB53U&keywords=metronidazole+for+fish&qid=1567118202&s=gateway&sprefix=Metronidazole+%2Caps%2C243&sr=8-3

https://smile.amazon.com/Pack-Furan-2-Powder-Packets-each/dp/B01JSMR7WO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Furan+2&qid=1567118232&s=gateway&sr=8-1

 

Aquarium salt can be useful to have on hand but in this case I wouldn’t use it.  My favorite basic aquarium pharmacy has methylene blue, metronidazole, oxytetracycline OR kanamycin, nitrofurazone green OR triple sulfa, aquarium salt, and acriflavine. 

This hits pretty much all of the basics - gram positive and gram negative topical, antiparasitic, antifungal, broad spectrum, treatment of wounds and lesions, etc.

[Amber]

Ok. I can still cancel the api. I will go and get all the stuff tonight for the tote. Thanks for your help!

[Amber]

I do have a live pothos plant in the back of the aquarium. Have had it in there for quite a while.

[Amber]