My tetra has symmetrical white bumps

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I have a 10 gallon tank with about 8 fish who get along surprisingly well since I think I have one too many. I started my tank around June of last year after I inherited a Goldfish that died but made me realize I'd like to have more fish. They never touched the same water as the Goldfish. I change my water every 2 weeks and I do add stress zyme and tap water conditioner (I follow the directions according to the bottle). I feed my fish a tropical fish flake once a day at night. The tank normally stays around 72 degrees.. I have a hood which has a light. I turn the light on during the day and I turn it off at bedtime. I'm not exactly sure about the details of my filter but it is made for a 10 gallon tank and I try to change the filter weekly. I have to admit that I haven't been as attentive to my cleaning habits recently. I bought a ph reader that suctions to the wall as well as an ammonia reader. Since I started my tank they have both had very steady readings. I have a fake plant and two rock pieces and a gravel bed. My concern is with one of my black phantom tetras. I'm not sure if its male or female, but I just happen to notice today that right before its tail fin starts, there are two identical white, pimple-like bumps on either side of its body. The fish is only about an inch long. It seems to be fine but I have noticed that when it swims in place its bumps seem to be heavy for him to keep up. I don't really know how to explain it.. I looked online but found nothing and if you could help me that would be great! I really have not had any problems before this so I hope this isn't detrimental.

Thanks a million! :)
Leah

P.S. - I can get a picture if you'd like but it might take a day or two because the fish is quite fast!

ANSWER: Hi Leah,

First of all, kudos on changing water every 2 weeks and being diligent with the filtration.  Time to go back to that habit.  It sounds as if it was a good thing.:)

Neon Tetra have a brighter dot of reflection just prior to the tail and it seems to show more on one tetra when compared to another.

When I was a teenager, I acquired Black Neon Tetras.  Not realizing that there were brighter spots on either side of the tail, I treated the entire stock for Ich, believing they had Ich.

What I didn't realize is that a few of my Tetra had really bright white spots on either side of the tail and were not sick at all.

In fact, I still have Tetra, now some 30 years or so later, and they are still exhibiting the same white spots on either side of the tail.  Not all of them seem to have as bright a spot area as others do, but some of the school do indeed have it.

Once in awhile, I have to get out the magnifying glass and spy on them at close range to realize once again, it isn't Ich.

That's not to say yours isn't Ich or a parasite of some kind, however, double check it by magnifying glass, under bright lighting.  If it is indeed 2 bumps, and not the mirage created by the brighter areas just prior to the bottom fin on either side, then take the fish out of the main aquarium, put him in a hospital tank and treat him with 2 teaspoons of marine salt per gallon.

If your tank is 3 gallons, please add six teaspoons of salt.  Leave him in there for about 3 days with the salt.  It should be sufficient to kill anything parasitic, bacterial or fungal, but if it's still there after 3 days and you see no improvement, add another half teaspoon per gallon.

Make sure you dissolve the salt thoroughly.

Hospital tank setup:

Get an aquarium (You can buy 5 gallon tanks for about $10 at Petco).

Fill with high quality filtered water. (I fill from a water fill station, five gallons for a dollar at Food Max).

Add a heater.  Heat to 75 degrees F.  With other breeds of fish, generally we heat the tank to 80F, but a Tetra only requires 72 to be comfortable in captivity, so we don't heat it as high as for other fish.  Ich infestations can take 3 days longer to mature and die because of the lower heat requirements for tetra.

Add salt in this case.  2 teaspoons per gallon for 3 days.  Add one more half teaspoon per gallon after that if no sign of improvement.

Filtration - the hospital tank needs a HOB filter.  HOB means Hang On Back.  This will be easy to maintain and change the filtration out for the fish while he's being heated.

If after the second installation of salt, you see no improvement on the spots, then please get a photograph and send it in.  I'd have to look at it to see what they are, however it may be something which would require a Formalin product.  

Please feel free to respond with more questions or followups.

Renee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will try the hospital tank and get back to you if it doesn't work. The two spots aren't really spots but bumps. They have grown since I talked to you last but the fish seems fine. White stuff was coming out and I thought it might be parasitic, but it looks nothing like the pictures online! Another fish of mine, a dwarf gourami, is now bloated and has a white bump on his side, too. I don't want to assume it's the same thing because the bloating did not occur with the tetra. I feel like my tank is just not going to get better! Should I hospitalize the gourami as well?

-Leah

Thanks again!

Answer
If you believe it is parasitic, Leah, get him into a hospital tank, and add 2 teaspoons of salt per gallon.  Use Marine salt.

If it's a parasite, it will die within a few days.  It sounds like Skin Flukes to me, if not the fish's coloration.

If it's skin flukes, they will kill him if you don't remove them.

Renee