Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, pH 8.0, Nitrate 40. He's 4 years old and has always lived in this area with our chalky, high Nitrate water. He is in a 400l aquarium and is about 7 inches long.
He moved to us about 2 months ago. After a shaky week or so he settled in and has been eating well, is active and responsive and enjoying his new home.
He gets very stressed with water changes so we monitor the levels and do a 30% change every 2-3 weeks. We feed cockles and mussles daily or every other day and feeder shrimp every 1-2 weeks. He also gets occasional snails. I add Ferropol plant food weekly.
The tank was cycled for about 3 months with my Tiger Barbs (Who now have a tank all to themselves because they're such little thugs!).
His appetite is unchanged. He is darting and rubbing against the Bogwood, obviously irritated by whatever it is. He is bright and happy most of the time but does turn black and quiet occasionally for no apparent reason so I assume it's because of the spots. The spots are raised and look like pustules. He has about a dozen. I first noticed it Thursday and he hasn't any new ones since then. I will post a couple of photos.
Can anyone tell me what this is, whether the treatment I have will work, whether it will harm him and therefore need a lower dose. Any and all information will be gratefully received. Thank you for reading.
