This fish is a victim of aggression from looks of tail and fins. The disease appears to be velvet.
Velvet spots on the fish are much finer than the spots seen in Ich making it harder to catch until in cases too late to treat.
Some behaviors associated with a fish with velvet are :
- Scratching body against hard objects
- Fish is lethargic
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Rapid, labored breathing
- Fins clamped against the body
- rapid breathing and mucus around the gills
Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in an area where a steady flow of water and as the disease progresses outwards from the gills, the cysts then become visible on the fins and body. The fine consistency is what suggests this is velvet. Although these dots appear as tiny white dots which is often the first sign of ich, what sets velvet apart from other types of ich is that the fish have the appearance of being coated with what looks like a whitish or tan to golden colored, velvet-like film given the name Velvet Disease.
Remove fish from main tank and place them into a QT with added aeration. Treat the fish in the QT with a copper-based medication. While many remedies contain the name as ich treatment, assure it targets Oodinium. My choice is coppersafe or copper power at 2.25-2.5 therapeutic level at 80 degrees for a FULL 30 days monitored by a reliable copper test kit such as Hanna Brand (no api brand).
