Black spots on Tropheus

[Lydia]

I have a colony of WC with their F1 juvies still in tank right now. Noticed LATE last night one of the bigger juvies had a couple of black spots on one side, then on other side a much larger black area. Alot of breeding going on right now, so I assumed maybe it is a young male growing up & he was sticking his nose where it wasn't appreciated & got roughed up and has some missing scales - maybe took a pretty good beating. "He" did not appear to be bothered in any way - eating like a pig, swimming like a maniac,surfing the waves....giggle ( I love to watch them ride the waves koo koo ka choo dude!) No apparent signs of anything wrong besides spots. Plan to do a water change tonight, add more salt and melafix.

Then I started to second guess myself............want to run by the more experienced tropheus keepers to make sure I am not overlooking anything.

Water parameters are fine; temp stable-no change; nothing new introduced to tank at all
2 or 3 x water filtration required
Plenty of water circulation - 2 Koralias
Feed NLS exclusively with occassional seeweed paper snack

Thanks for any input!

[Gene D]

Lydia I can't tell you a scientific reason behind this most of what I know is anecdotal. However it sounds like what you are describing may be what a lot of Tanganyikan keepers refer to as "lake spots". It is widely believed that these spots are only found on wild caught fish. Tang keepers have often used these spots as proof that their fish were WC as only WC were believed to have them. I was on board with this until I recently saw these spots on an F1 Lunangwa South.

What I can tell you is that it is common with Trophs and Frontosas (more so in WC than F1,F2,TR). It does not appear to have anything to do with water quality or any other known reason. They seem to just appear. The good news is that fish with these spots don't suffer from any specific health issues. They can and should live normal healthy lives.

[Lydia]

Gene,
Thanks so much for your reply. I searched online all day and didnt find anything! This is great news actually. Yep, they just appeared out of nowhere and upon inspection tonight it is indeed like a coloring. And yes, this is a F1 juvie from my WC colony! Thanks again!

[eklikewhoa]

I think its something to do with genetics.

You can find talk about ammonia burns from poor shipping which was always the main cause everyone blamed it on but seeing that tank raised/bred fish would get it made the cause unexplainable.

Poor water quality
Ammonia burnsi
Damage from aggressions
Genetics
Poor quality
Bacterial infection
Etc.

Based on all of what makes most sense I would go with genetics.

[Lydia]

EKlikewhoa, thanks so much. Yes, I feel comfortable with genetics. When I did water change/maintenance last night, noticed a spot on one of the WC adults, and a couple spots on another F1 juvie. With their constant color fluctuations I had really never noticed until this one had a larger than normal area of "connected spots" !!! Dang, after water change last night it was like someone handed out free passes to breeding - got up about 3am to check on them (yeah I know, obsessed) and literally sat there and watched the entire tank in active breeding with the exception 3 already holding and my young surfer babies......

[supadave]

What varient are you keeping...Lydia ?

[Lydia]

I have gorgeous WC Golden Kazumba and WC Chilambo Yellow Rainbow. (These Kazumba are more vibrant than any Ilangi I've ever seen )Currently seeking a red species.

[slydoh]

Hi all, I have a similar issue in that a couple of my lufubu have spots (and they seem to move/disappear/appear).

But I noticed yesterday that a red zebra also living in the tank has a black spot near the tail. Now I am thinking I might have a parasitic infection in the tank. Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.