# Dark Spots Diagnosis and advice



## Obiwantoothri (Mar 1, 2013)

I have started to notice some different pigmentation on my eureka red peacock lately. He seems to have dark spots on his body and dorsal and pectoral fins. He is currently housed in a standard 4' 55G with the following tank-mates (all Male peacocks):
Red Top Lwanda
German Red
Albino Red Diamond
Midnight Peacock
also 1 Front, 3 Labs (1M-2F), and a male Brevis
The for peacocks excluding the German red have been in the tank for about 3 weeks

Temp. 79
PH - 8.0
Nitrates - 40-60 between changes which are performed once weekly at about 40% ( I'll admit I am getting used to the impact the new stock have on this area)
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
Feed - NLS 1mm., Frozen Brine Shrimp (omega and San. Fran. Bay)

I'm wondering if someone can help me diagnose what this is and how to treat it. In the second photo you can see the darker coloration on the pectoral fins. I will say that he is displaying normal behavior and feeding. I have seen no evidence of flashing or rubbing on rocks or anything. Also the spots seem to be "in" the skin and not "on" the skin as some type of external parasite. Maybe Fungal? Maybe nothing? Thank you guys and gals for any help.


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## Obiwantoothri (Mar 1, 2013)

Well. Upon further review I can see that my Brevis has some cotton-like growth around his eyes. Also my lwanda hasn't been as aggressive as usual and I attributed it to a change of rockwork that I did recently, but I see him every once and a while do a quick twitch or snap of the head back and forth. I might have a serious problem here. Please help. I should add that this tank has been established for about 6 years although the peacocks are very new to the setup.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

The pigmentation could be a normal progression due to a change in food. I wouldn't attempt to correct this unless you're seeing other symptoms. Any pics of the brevis (shell dweller?)?


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## Obiwantoothri (Mar 1, 2013)

What do you mean by normal progression? Will these spots go away? is this indicative of stress or unhappiness with the fish? Also I would like to elaborate on something that I have seen. My male yellow lab apparently had violent shaking convulsions yesterday my wife tells me. I have also seen my lwanda have a snap spasm of the head back and forth which doesn't seem normal. I don't feel like its a frequent occurrence, but I'm scared that its neural related. Maybe some type of poisoning? I recently put some new rocks in that I collected from a business landscape. I felt like I washed them pretty well but I didn't soak them or anything like that. Is this convulsion something you have seen before?


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## Obiwantoothri (Mar 1, 2013)

I have unfortunately lost my brevis. He was very old however. I don't think he was equipped to fight infection.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I have no idea if the spots will go away. Pigmentation changes can occur for various reasons including changes in diet. Stress is another possible cause.
The shaking convulsions sounds like mating behaviour. The male will shake rapidly in front of females.


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## Obiwantoothri (Mar 1, 2013)

yeah I'm not going to lie, It did cross my mind that my wife may have mistakenly thought breeding behavior was something else. I can see that as a strong possibility. Well thank you for the feedback. I have noticed that the pigment changes from dark to faint fairly regularly in my eureka. I'll keep an eye on it. Hopefully it will go away. He does seem to be happy and healthy on all other fronts


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