I have a blue african cichlid and i just noticed he has three white spots just came up on him. any idea what?

Question

The white places just came up in the last few days. They dont look like a fungus because they are not cottony. They dont look like ich because it looks like it is part of his skin. it dont even look like a wound. I have no idea. He is not acting funny though.

Answer 1

Wayne,

More likely an injury then.  I know you say it doesn't look like one, but I have a feeling I know what you're talking about.  Like a patch of skin that looks kind of gray looking?  My Africans in my tanks get this from time to time and then goes away.  Since my tank is much more aggressive then most, I can associate this to just another fish being aggressive, or it scraped against a decoration.  It's quite normal I think.  As long as you are keeping up your maintenence and not letting nitrates build up, it shouldn't be much to worry about.

Keep in mind, when you ask about African cichlids, you really are better off naming your species though, and not just blue African cichlid.  What are all the tank mates?

Answer 2

Ich can present itself with just a few to total body coverage. Ich is very small like sugar grain size and can look like it could be part of the fish if it shows up with only a few of them. Please treat as if it were ich...just to be sure, if you don't and it is ich, your fish will have a tougher time recovering...treating at the first sign is much better than waiting till the last minute.

Answer 3

If they are on his back bottom fin, it means he's male, and he's supposed to have them.

If not... I'm not sure.