# Black spot disease?



## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Is anyone familiar with this disease? I can't find too much on it.

I have 6 ember tetras that I've had for almost 2 months now. They are all healthy, but one of them appears to have developed black spots all over it's body in the last couple weeks. None of the others are affected...yet.

This particularly black spotted one did not arrive from the same source as the others and was added a week later. I do recall another ember in the same shop also had a strange black spot on his body. I remember because I specifically asked not to have that particularly one. I thought it was just an odd birthmark of some sort but thought I better be safe, but mine now has the same markings.

Is this a contagious disease or is this some sort of birthmark like a peppering pattern?



















From what I can tell she is still eating and there is no scratching, but she does tend to hang out in one spot. The markings are not bumpy but more like moles.

I would take a better photo but the bugger is always moving and likes to hang out at the back. I guess there is something definitely odd about her.


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## cpool (Apr 30, 2010)

Did you get your fish at AQUARIUMS WEST?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Atom said:


> Is anyone familiar with this disease? I can't find too much on it.
> 
> I have 6 ember tetras that I've had for almost 2 months now. They are all healthy, but one of them appears to have developed black spots all over it's body in the last couple weeks. None of the others are affected...yet.
> 
> ...


Black Spot is a Marine parasite as far as I am aware. Never heard of it on FW, likely the peppering is coloration pigment, maybe gene related?


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. There isn't a lot about it online regarding FW fish inflicted with it, but there are a few. 

I wonder what I should do. She seems fine except for the occasionally sulking away from the group.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

my parrot cichlid had something similar to this. Seemed to be an unknown disease that is apparently stress related. It did come and go...the fish is still healthy and alive. Though it seems to be mre common with parrot cichlids, may be something like that? Only thing I could find otherwise was Diplopstomiasis, which may be the same thing as Grant is talking about, but I seen it here and a couple other places regarding FW, so thought I would mention it
Freshwater Disease Charts


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## Rondelet (May 16, 2010)

Can't tell/say much from the pictures. Try looking up digenean trematodes. Black spots are often found on freshwater fish infected with the intermediate stages of digenean trematodes, aka flatworms. The life cycle of such worms usually features a snail or some other intermediate host. Final host is often something that eats the fish. The "black" that you see is a result of the immune reaction by the fish (melanization) at the site of infection. In most instances the infections are relatively benign, but can be a problem depending on the target tissues that the intermediate worms migrate to (which is often species specific). Whether or not this is what you have is hard to say, but may be worth looking into.


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