Clarity on injury/whitespot

[pauldadams1984]

Hey guys. Woke up today and just turned my tank lights on.

Seems like one of my rainbows has even got white spot or an injury on the top of its head.

I don't see any other spots and it's one big mark, which makes me think it's an injury. Although any clarity or help would be appreciated.

All fish including the subject are swimming happily and waiting to be fed.

Thanks in advance

 

[Aiken Drum]

There is nothing in the photo that would suggest to me anything wrong. Certainly not ich. But they aren't very clear photos. Can you get clearer photos or maybe take a video, upload it somewhere like YouTube and post a link.

Ich would look like white grains of salt and will often be accompanied by the fish rubbing itself against things trying to scratch then off.

This thread suggests good first aid measures to take before you are sure of a diagnosis.

First Aid for Fish

BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms. Do...

www.aquariumadvice.com

This thread goes through information required to help get a diagnosis.

Before posting about unhealthy fish, read this!

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment: 1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.). 2~What are your tank...

www.aquariumadvice.com

 

[pauldadams1984]

They're not the best. I'll take more.

Before I do it I've cropped one of the older ones as I think you may have been looking at the wrong fish

 

[pauldadams1984]

So here is a video and an image.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Yes, you are right i was looking at the wrong fish.

That looks like the beginnings of hexamitiasis/ hole in the head to me, but that's not common in rainbowfish.

TB is more common in rainbowfish and can present as a pimple on the head in the early stages. And I understand this is getting increasingly common with rainbowfish.

10.4. Fish Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is probably the most common fish disease and few hobbyists even know the symptoms. Fish TB is best treated with added filtration and UV sterilization.

aquariumscience.org

 

[pauldadams1984]

Oh dear. Thank. I'll look this up fully, thank you

 

[Andy Sager]

A lot is gong to depend on how quickly this developed. If it happened overnight, it's more likely an injury. If it was smaller or pimple sized, as Aiken said, then grew, it's more likely hole in the head. There are a lot of different opinions on the cause of Hole in the head but the common denominator to them all is improper diet and poor water quality. In the past, it was thought that HITH was caused by the hexamita parasite but as Dieter Untergasser stated in his book " Handbook of fish diseases", the hexamita parasite has been found in similar amounts in both fish with HITH and fish without the condition and nothing more than an advanced diet change and pristine water was needed to reverse the condition in fish. So let's start with how quickly it got this bad.

 

[pauldadams1984]

Yeah it was definitely overnight as I keep close watch for anything resembling an issue.

It's in an odd spot to get an injury. That night, rhizome plants had also got loose and suspended in the water, so something went on. I do have sharpish rocks at the bottom, although with it being on the top of its head, it's unlikely to have came from that, but a possibility. Possibly another fish but again it doesn't look like a fish on fish injury.

Last night I changed a bucket (more just to add some stress coat)

I will change a high volume of water today, clean the glass etc, run tests and add extra filtration, as per the tb instructions (usually do it every fortnight with a filter clean each month and weekly 25% water changes. I haven't had an issue for some time as I'm very understocked, so I'd be shocked if it's down to long term poor water - although I expect this isn't the first time someone's said that and it turned out to be poor water).

One thing I did notice on the instructions was about water flow.

Mines low, I add floss to cut the flow. 3 reasons, I read that turquoise rainbows don't like high flow. My floating plants really don't like it and my Mrs doesn't like the noise. So I might need to figure something out with that!

Hopefully whether it's an injury or TB, there's no further issues. Although if I'm right in what I've seen. Once it's in the tank, I can't get rid fully, just treat symptoms as such.

I'll keep informed anyway

 

[Andy Sager]

Yeah it was definitely overnight as I keep close watch for anything resembling an issue.

It's in an odd spot to get an injury. That night, rhizome plants had also got loose and suspended in the water, so something went on. I do have sharpish rocks at the bottom, although with it being on the top of its head, it's unlikely to have came from that, but a possibility. Possibly another fish but again it doesn't look like a fish on fish injury.

Last night I changed a bucket (more just to add some stress coat)

I will change a high volume of water today, clean the glass etc, run tests and add extra filtration, as per the tb instructions (usually do it every fortnight with a filter clean each month and weekly 25% water changes. I haven't had an issue for some time as I'm very understocked, so I'd be shocked if it's down to long term poor water - although I expect this isn't the first time someone's said that and it turned out to be poor water).

One thing I did notice on the instructions was about water flow.

Mines low, I add floss to cut the flow. 3 reasons, I read that turquoise rainbows don't like high flow. My floating plants really don't like it and my Mrs doesn't like the noise. So I might need to figure something out with that!

Hopefully whether it's an injury or TB, there's no further issues. Although if I'm right in what I've seen. Once it's in the tank, I can't get rid fully, just treat symptoms as such.

I'll keep informed anyway

Actually, head wounds are more common than you think because fish go head first into wherever they are going so they bump their heads on things., especially if they are being chased. Side wounds often come from fish fights whereas lip and face wounds are common in fish that are pairing up to breed. Of course none of these are a 100% of the time situation but you start with the obvious then go from there.

I doubt it's TB, again because of the speed in which it developed. I'd just watch for infection because that you'd need to treat. Clean water does a lot but it doesn't cure everything. As for the not being able to get rid of TB in a tank, that is totally false. TB is transferred from fish to fish when the healthy fish eats the infected fish. To control it, you do not leave the infected fish in the main tank with the other fish so that they don't catch it. TB is treatable but needs to be caught early, the meds can get expensive and the treatment period is long. Quite often it's cheaper to replace the infected fish rather than treat them. :^( It really just becomes a cost effectiveness issue. Remember tho, fish TB is transferrable to humans so you want to make sure you do not put your hands or arms or parts of your body that have cuts, scrapes or abrasions into that water. Where gloves and give yourself a good sterilizing after dealing with the fish and sterilize any equipment you used with infected fish just to be on the safe side.