byte Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 (edited) Hello... A few days ago a friend noticed white lips on my Pseudotropheus flavus. We thought either fighting or changes in colouring as they grow. They are about 2 inches now and about 5 out of 10 flavus have this. It was not until looking at pictures I noticed that the white looked more like a fungus or something. 90 gallon-- 1 month since setting up-- used filters, water, and gravel from my 55 gallon-- Tank mates-- Pseudotropheus saulosi -- Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos -- Labidochromis caeruleus --Synodontis lucipinnis -- all these fish have always been in the same tank... nothing strange with any other fish but the flavus... temp-- 27C ph-- 8.1 kh-- really high gh-- high ammonia-- 0 nitrites-- 0 50% water changes weekly (W.C. done Feb 7) thanks for the help Edited February 9, 2008 by byte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Mitch, I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless for some reason it starts to really get out of hand. The 4 males that I have in my 135 regularly have this too. I was a bit panicked the first time I noticed it on them as well, but it's always healed up fine and then come back again. I'm guessing it has something to do with the dentition of these guys and how they lock lips, b/c they're the only mbuna I've ever kept that I've noticed it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoiBoi07 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Hello... A few days ago a friend noticed white lips on my Pseudotropheus flavus. We thought either fighting or changes in colouring as they grow. They are about 2 inches now and about 5 out of 10 flavus have this. It was not until looking at pictures I noticed that the white looked more like a fungus or something. 90 gallon-- 1 month since setting up-- used filters, water, and gravel from my 55 gallon-- Tank mates-- Pseudotropheus saulosi -- Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos -- Labidochromis caeruleus --Synodontis lucipinnis -- all these fish have always been in the same tank... nothing strange with any other fish but the flavus... temp-- 27C ph-- 8.1 kh-- really high gh-- high ammonia-- 0 nitrites-- 0 50% water changes weekly (W.C. done Feb 7) thanks for the help Maybe it's some kind of fish herpes? Just a thought. I'm not really sure though, I'm pretty new to fish. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 It could be columnaris, which is a bacterial infection that can be spread to your other tanks through shared nets and equipment. It can be lethal. High water temps help accelerate the bacteria growth. Best treatment for columnaris is increased water changes to ensure the water is pristine, because the bacteria feeds on organic wastes. Do a thorough gravel vac. You could add some aquarium salt too. If it isn't columnaris, increased water changes and a thorough gravel vac won't hurt anyway, and will help the fish strengthen their immune system to fight it off. If it continues and starts to get really bad you can consider treating with copper sulfate, Acriflavine, Furan, or Terramycin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks everyone I will keep an eye on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharuq1 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Could it possibly have been from getting into a mouth fight with another fish? That would give his lips reason to look like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted February 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 I added aquarium salt when setting up the tank, but was not replacing the salt lost through water changes. I seen a big improvement one week after adding more salt. Thanks for all the help :w00t: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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