Black spots

[gem fish]

HELP!!! I have come across one or two of my african cichlids with some kind of black spots on them. One of them has it on its face as well as its back fin. I have no clue what to do with this. Please help me with this

 

[jonclark96]

Can you post up some pictures?

 

[gem fish]

I have tried to take several pics and their not turning out good. pic the face half black and his top fin all black now. It is a lithobate red fin juvie

 

[Avatar]

Hate it when that happens

Half black face, and I assume you mean one side of the head, is terminal IME. Someone told me it's caused by nerve damage - have seen it twice in 4 years, fish lasted about 1-2 weeks in each case and then went downhill fast and died within 24 hours. Could also indicate a circulatory problem I suppose, hence the discoloration (remember bilateral symmetry), unlikely there's any treatment in either case, good chance it's a result of physical trauma (like smashing into something).

 

[gem fish]

ok so I dont have to worry about something wrong with my tank...

 

[Avatar]

Well

Suppose that's one way to look at it assuming that my conjecture is correct - admittedly a dicey proposition....

 

[Andrewtfw]

Are they spots as you first stated, or is half of the face black as Sam discussed?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[gem fish]

the one with the black face had a black spot on his top fin as well

 

[ezrk]

Our red zebras are prone to black spots, but this is likely the "pond disease" type of cosmetic thing. They are slowly going away and less are recurring. They are small isolated black spots/patches that can appear on the body or fins. Fish act completely normally.