black spots on golden peacock

[billta]

i bought 10 golden peacocks from thailand. a week or 2 later i noticed one of the fish had about 6 tiny black spots and a larger oblong spot. the spots were on the head and body. i added 5 tablespoons salt (55gallon tank) and raised the water tempature to 83 degrees, a week later things looked the same so i cleaned the tank and lowered the tempature to 80 degrees. a couple weeks later i noticed most of the fish were glancing or rubbing in the bottom of the tank. all water parameters looked good. i decided to use parasite clear from jungle, used it twice, no apparent changes. a couple weeks later 2 more fish have black spots ,one fish has a spot on the side. the other has a lite black smear on the tailfin. i am using 3 table spoons of salt now. water test results= kh-12 ph-8.2 ammonia=0 nitrite=0 . the person who sold the fish to me said (this could be alligator virus ,dont worry it will go away) can anyone help?? new member bill, thanks

[Cichlid Connections]

Hello Bill,

First of all welcome to the forums. Do you know what's the scientific name of your golden peacocks ? From what I gather it could be Aulonacara Baenschi or Aulonacara Nyassae 'Albino'. I don't know what you mean by black spots ?
What sizes are your fishes ? Could it be that your fish is immature and that the color has not developed. There's also the possibility that your fish has been laced with hormones and colored up beautiffully in before you bought it and now its deteriorating with the actual colors coming out b'coz you have not laced them further. Cichlids don't usually developed colors until later.

As for rubbing themselves against rocks its usually the case of parasites lingering on their bodies. Some salt and Methylene Blue usually helps.

[billta]

the black spots vary in size, mostly they are the size of a pencil dot up to 1 quarter inch by 1 sixteenth inch. i suspect the fish were on hormones because of their bright colors, even on small fish at 2 inches. the fish with most of the spots is a 3 to 4 inch female. i noticed 2 more fish with a single spot, pencil dot size. the fish appear vigerous and healthy. no clamped fins. i will try the methylene blue and more salt.. thanks

[winksta]

i couldn't be hormones as if the hormones are too strong the fish cant even swim around. are they eating well? if they do i would suggest its a parasite. ive seen it in this website www.aquariumpharm.com. they do have that type of disease you called it the black spot. but i do think it is harmless. i do have some cichlids with this black spots it doesn't do a thing. for a week or two it'll go off. in that website it says there is no prolific cure of this disease. not too. well if your fishes "touch wood" doesn't die and healthy , dont bother bout it anyway. maybe you could try some anti parasite meds. i found that this med named coppersafe is good. its from some mela or something lab. good luck aight?

[winksta]

and one more thing, dont feed any cheap colouring food as it contains hormones in it. try to get those wardley cichlid food. it does help to keep your fishes healthy. its around rm 7 and it lasts me for 2 months depending on how much are you feeding them anyway.

[RazorBlade]

I've previously had some Vic Haps with those 'black dots / streaks' you mentioned. Agreed, they don't go away ... and they don't spread either.



I've tried various meds, but they didn't seem to work. I was once told it could be 'acid' marks or 'fighting' marks, but they were never confirmed. It is important to note that the fish looks healthy, eats well, and even fights well all the time.

I still have a Electric Blue which has some 'black dots' on him, but when he colours up you can't see the black marks at all. The fish is doing well, eating well, and trying to mate with the female (with no luck still).





If I had to guess - these "Black Dots" could be signs of decay due to external and/or internal parasites. Don't take my word for it though.

To be safe (& spend some money) - get some of those "Ocean Free" meds (or other brands if you prefer) ... treat for External Parasites for one week (ie. one dosage followed by another dosage after 3 days, then a 50% water change after seven days). Then treat for External Bacteria (again, 1 dosage, 1 more dosage after three days, then a 50% water change after seven days). Finally treat for Internal bacteria (1 dosage, 1 more dosage after three days, then a 50% water change after seven days). You can also choose to treat for Internal Parasites after that.

The "Black Dots" disease (forgot the actual term) don't usually affect freshwater fish - it's more of a marine fish disease. I've yet to see it personally (touch wood).

Good luck!

[billta]

RazorBlade good pictures, the fish look just like my fish.My fish are on the second course of parasite medication now.I will follow your recommendations. Thanks.

[RazorBlade]

Thanks for the good comments on the photos.

On putting meds - just remember not to overdo the meds (and kill the fish or fishes in the process).

You might also want to consider giving the fishes "a break" in between meds, especially if it's sick.

However, if the fish is healthy - med away. Correct dosage is still important!