The Puffer Forum

Hi. I have 2 GSPs in a 40 gal tank. They are hitting growth sputes and will transfer them to a 90 gal soon but right now one of them has developed a pinkish spot on her caudal fin. 2 weeks ago I did a 10% water change to battle a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom. I have left the lights off and havent had a return of the algae. I noticed this spot about a week ago and have been watching it. Doesnt seem to be getting noticably bigger. Her behavior is normal - appetite is voracious as normal. Has anyone seen this before?
tank parameters:
SG = 1.022
pH = 7.5
Ammonia = .1
NitrATE = 40ppm
NitrITE = .1ppm

The white spots on the fin in the pic are air bubbles - she just swam through the bubble stone.

With water parameters like that you'd be best to do a large water change ASAP. Ammonia and nitrite should be kept at 0 at all times and nitrates should be under 20ppm. I think they should be even lower than that in SW.

+1 to Flutter's comment

in SW all readings should be 0

Yes - I agree. I'm surprised it spiked like that. Parameters were normal 2 weeks ago when I changed it last. Im preparing the water for the change now.

enlarging the pics ... are those also micro bubbles? that in itself may or may not be a cause for concern but it is a separate issue all together.

The red spots seem to be right on the joint where the fins separate into the separate fingers (for lack of a better word).

I wonder if it is some kind of joint inflammation, or something else...


I am by far no pro just letting you know what I see.

Excellent pic BTW ..

Thanks.
I just took another pic of my 2 GSPs swimming next to each other and I noticed a huge difference in the fin color. The one on the left is the one with the pinkish spot on her fin - and she seems to have a golden brownish color to her other fins as well. The one on the right has alwasy had the immune system on superman - he is healthy. Does this look like velvet????

I am not that familiar with velvet other than it is a fine dust (parasite) that kills fish.

The coloration, is it noticeable to the eye vs showing up on film? When I take shots of my tanks, sometimes the lighting plays tricks and it looks considerably more yellow in the pic than to the eye.

There is also some redness at the very base of the tail on the left hand side.

Could it be a bite? How long have you owned them.. and the history etc...

The difference in coloration is noticable to the eye - not as much as the pic shows but it is noticable - sort of a light golden color. I've had the tank for about 2 years - they have been together for about 2.5 years - since they were 2" long. Her tank mate terrorizes her by chasing her often - but has never bitten her in the past. But then come feeding time, he knows to keep his distance and pick up the scraps when she's done.
I thought maybe I should catch her in a bowl and touch her body to see if the excessive golden color rubs off.

if you go that route wear gloves!!

So I put on some gloves and used a white paper towl to touch her - the color didnt seem to come off - but I dont know if velvet can be rubbed off. I sure hope thats not what it is. She still had a nice slime coat though. Im sure she's mad at me now. I didnt get a better look at her tail fin - the bowl was too dark.

I have a feeling if it really was velvet your entire tank would be contaminated. But it is good you are being careful.

There are several variations of GSP and you just may have 2 kinds.. and or the one with the yellowish tinge may not actually be a GSP

anyway .. I have a feeling it may be bite marks, bit PP or maybe Neale (nmonks) can provide more clarification. I have a feeling it is something that will pass in time, but you have to keep that water quality at 100%, testing daily if necessary.

This may be off topic but is related to water quality, how is your system setup (ie. filtration and tank setup.) I would also add some melafix to keep it from getting enfected and helping it heal faster. I dont think it would be a bite since there would more then likely be a hole in the fin. It may have scratched itself against something (maybe live rock if you have any.) I also wouldnt worry about the color variation for right now since many GSPs have many different patterns and shades. It also looks as if you have regular freshwater substrait are you concidering getting a aragonite based substrate (if not i would highly suggest it?) My suggestion would be to keep your water quality as clean as possible and add some melafix; give it time and keep an eye on it so its not getting bigger. Keep us updated on how it heals.

I have a 40 gal tank - HOB skimmer - Rena XP2 canister filter - and an aragonite substrate with some pretty gravel mixed in to make it look estuarine. They like to move the gravel under their tree root where the pic was taken - i guess its easier on the belly when sleeping. I just did a water change. I added some stress coat to speed up the dechlorination - turned off the skimmer for that. I'll add some Melafix too. Thanks for the help. Im due to go on vacation on wednesday - I may cancel if things dont look better by then.

Do you not let your water set b4 adding it to the tank? I would let it set for at least an hour or so with a powerhead, letting the salt mix better and the dechlorinator do its job. That may be why your haveing spikes.

I usually dont use a dechlorinator - I add salt and mix for at least 24hrs before adding to the tank. The chlorine will evaporate off. I used dechlorinator today because Im panicing and the Nitrates were 40ppm.