# Tetra has a swollen nostril...



## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

I have a white skirt tetra that has what looks like a cyst/pimple (round) where his nostril is. It's raised up a good bit. It's white and clear (no color). It's been there since I got him 2 weeks ago. (It may not be his nostril. It's above one eye...not quite in the middle between the eyes.)

Otherwise, he's eats and swims and looks great.

I put 5 WS tetra's in my planted tank after I got it set up. I didn't quarantine them first since they were the only one's that would be in there for awhile. Now I can't catch him to get him out. How in the world do you catch fish in a planted tank?

I will go try to get another picture of it. The lights will be coming on soon.

I watch him all the time and it doesn't seem to bother him. Anyone have any idea what this could be?

Thanks


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Don't know what it is, or how to treat it, but in order to catch fish in the planted tank, first you have to get on your all black NINJA outfit and Think like a martial arts expert.
Then get 2 nets and leave them in the water for some time until the fish are used to them.
Then as he approaches the nets like they are nothing, you do some "Wax on" - "Wax off" moves until you trap him between the nets, or up against the glass and then, assuming the "Flying Eagle" stance, remove him from the tank


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

LOL! I'll dig out my ninja outfit.

Here are the images. If they show up too big, I'll come back and shrink them more. The bump has grown in the last 1.5 weeks.





































Two weeks ago it looked like this.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Could be infection from wound, or parasite. I would expect to see more of this stuff if we're dealing with parasites after two weeks. Plus the fish still has a good appetite, so we may be able to rule out parasites, fungus, or bacterial infections.

If the fish does not exhibit abnormal behavior, and there is no stringy clear/white poo, then I would isolate the fish in a 2 to 3 gal bucket and add one teaspoon of salt per gal (plain table salt or iodized salt from the supermarket). Maintain 75F temperature. Add another teaspoon/gal the next day. Repeat for the 3rd day if the fish shows no sign of stress. If there is no improvement by the 5th day, then change 50% of the water and return the fish to the community tank the next day.

Do not feed the fish during the salt treatment. If you cannot catch the fish, then you can treat the entire tank with salt using the same dosage. Note that a concentration of salt above 3 teaspoon/gal will weaken plants. The plants will recover if you change 50% of the water by the 6th day.


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## Valley (Feb 28, 2007)

I may be seeing it wrong but it looks like in the second pic you can see a Y shape coming out of the area. That looks a lot like a crustacean parasite. They are pretty big for external parasites and will cause a "pimple" like that. The salt method sounds like a good one since I believe they are resistant to a lot of regular parasite meds. I'll look into it a bit more and see what I can find. Good luck with it.


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

I got him out (using my ninja suit, a big long plastic spoon and a net) and I'll do the salt thing for a few days to see how he does. Thanks for helping.

I'll update in a few days for anyone that's interested. I don't know what it is, but it keeps getting bigger. It isn't his nostril, it's right above his eye.

I'm going to read more on the C Parasites. That Y thing is very hard to see in person. I'd really like to know what it is. Could just be a little infection from a wound.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Since the fish it out of the tank, see if you can net it for a closer visual exam. Could be fish louse. You can manually remove it with a tweezer, then dab the infected area with neosporin ointment or mercurochrome to disinfect the wound. Jungle parasite guard may be effective. To facilitate removal, you can put the fish in potassium permanganate for 30 minutes (40 mg per gal of water).

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/argulus.htm

http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/recreational/articles/sealice.html

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/fishlab/vol2issue5.htm

http://www.fishpalace.org/argulus_qianhu.jpg


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

I set up my 10 gallon this morning. I'm going to put him in there after I get home. The tank isn't cycled, but I took some stuff out of my main tank filter and put it in my 10 gallon filter....so I hope that will do. I added a few floating plants too.

From now on, I will not add fish to my tank without putting them in a quarantine for a few weeks first. Especially after reading about all the diseases and fungus they can get. He did have a small bump when I got him, and I just didn't think it was anything.

I don't think it is Argulus. It looks fluid filled, but the top looks like cauliflower. It's white. I swear it's smaller than it was last night.

I will read more later when I get home.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

Try to take a good portion of water out of your bigger tank. If you can put precycled water into the new tank you may help the cycle to never happen.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Yep, everytime I set up a hospital tank, granted I do 2.5 gallon tanks for that, but I take about 1 to 1.5 gallons of the tank water to start, and put the fish in and slowly add the other gallon of fresh water in and then the salt or medication. With one fish, feed very lightly and you should be able to run the course with just a couple of 3rd day water changes and be fine.


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

I didn't even think of doing that. Glad I popped in here before I put him in. I took out some water and added water from the other tank, then I put "bugger nose" in. The thing on his nose must have burst. Now it just looks gray. More like a little sore instead of a big pimple/blister thing.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

You might want to look into using some sort of Topical treatment instead of treating the water column. I have not used them before, so I don't know if you can do a topical and treat the water with salt / meds or not,.

Anybody,

Bueller,

Bueller,

Bueller?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Different ball game now. Maintain salt concentration at 2 teaspoons per gal for five days while you monitor the fish. DO NOT FEED the fish. Change 50% of the water every other day. Use Amquel or equivalent to neutralize ammonia. Add salt as required to maintain saline level in the tank. Frequent water change reduces fish waste build up. It would be beneficial if you could swab the damaged area with neosporin or mercurochrome once every other day.

When setting up a quarantine tank, use the water from the old aquarium. Replace with tap water at the same temperature when you do the water change.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Just a note on using tank water: The only reason to do it is to not have a huge swing all of a sudden for the fish you're moving.
The beneficial bacteria does not live in the water column, so it does nothing to help with the cycle. It does live on the other surfaces in the tank, like the filter media, plants, the glass and any other things you have in the tank, so you did it exactly right when you took stuff from the other tank and used it in your filter Gracie. 

I hope he recovers for you. Keep us posted.


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

Thanks for the treatment help. I really didn't know what to do with him.

Here's a new picture from an hour ago. It's not completely gone, but much smaller. Also, I see his fins are ragged. My other 4 white skirts have perfect looking fins.










Valley mentioned seeing the "Y" and it's been bothering me. Here is a link to the large version from yesterday. Now I think it is/was a parasite of some sort. Wish I had taken the time to get a better picture.

The only thing that keeps me from thinking it was argulus was the color. All I saw was white. Link to Argulus pics.

Just kinda interesting trying to figure out what "it" is. Hope he heals up, and I hope he didn't spread anything in my main tank.

I'll continue to treat him.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Gracie said:


> Thanks for the treatment help. I really didn't know what to do with him.
> 
> Here's a new picture from an hour ago. It's not completely gone, but much smaller. Also, I see his fins are ragged. My other 4 white skirts have perfect looking fins.
> 
> ...


Your water quality is deteriorating (eroding fins). Change 60% of the water everyday. Don't forget to make up with the salt. Get an airstone in the tank for water circulation. Also use Amquel to neutralize ammonia. Use a bare tank. Plants will not do well in saline solution. DO NOT feed the fish. Maintain tank temperature at 75F.

The fish look a little weak, but he should heal. Would be nice if you could treat the wound with neosporin or mercurochrome. Provide another pic on the 3rd day of treatment.


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Is Amquel saline solution?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

I mix sodium thiosulphate to create my custom dechlorinator (one drop treats 5 gal). Amquel is hydroxymethanesulfonic acid (a type of salt). Ammo-Lock is a similar product that converts ammonia to ammonium.

Stress Coat can also be used to treat minor skin damage.


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## Gracie (Apr 16, 2007)

Sorry I haven't updated. It's been crazy around here.

The little guy looks a lot better. On the 9th I remember him hiding most of the time. Now he's been staying out to swim around except when I approach the tank.

I've been putting on the neosporin every other day and he's still in water with 2 tsp per gallon. Should I start reducing the salt levels now? Can I feed him now?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Glad to hear he's doing better now Gracie.  
Yes, I would have been feeding him all along, and by all means, you can start changing out the water to get rid of the salt concentrations.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Gracie said:


> Sorry I haven't updated. It's been crazy around here.
> 
> The little guy looks a lot better. On the 9th I remember him hiding most of the time. Now he's been staying out to swim around except when I approach the tank.
> 
> I've been putting on the neosporin every other day and he's still in water with 2 tsp per gallon. Should I start reducing the salt levels now? Can I feed him now?


Change 50% of the water, and replace with dechlorinated tap water at the same temperature, or 2 to 3F warmer. DO NOT add anymore salt. Wait 6 to 12 hours and return the fish to the community tank (add neosporin for the last time). The fish should eat within two days. Keep the light OFF for the first day.

Post back with pic if you seen additional growth at the infected area.


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