Black Spot Disease
The purpose of this page is to inform you of a parasite that only Blood Parrots contract. It is called Black Spot Disease. There isn't much know about this infliction, it's not even known for sure to be a parasite. It is however, very common among Parrot Cichlid's, and often mistaken for natural black coloration on the fish. One of our's, named Princess, had a very cute black dot on her head when we got her. We thought this was so unique and loved her for it. When I Transferred our 6 PB to a new 65 gallon home, about a week later she started getting this grey looking stuff around her mouth and down her belly. I soon noticed it starting to streak her fins with black. Then it moved to her hump. Upon closer inspection of the other fish, I noticed all but 3 of them had this strange grey coloration. They do not show any signs of sickness other than the blochy black-grey spots. They eat and act fine. I asked around the internet and found out that this was Black Spot Disease.
Treatment
The following is a post from the Blood Red Parrot Cichlid Message Board posted by Angela in Flagstaff, Arizona
Re: Black streaks on my Parrot fish???
Sunday, 05-Mar-2000 19:11:07
The black streaks are common with parrots. Several things can cause it. First of all, check your ammonia & nitrite levels. I have found the parrots are a first indicator of water parameters being off. If the ammonia/nitrite is raised do a water change immediately and siphon off any debris.
If its not the water, then you can watch the parrot a few days & see if the spots disappear or treat with medicine. I spoke with a guy at the Tetra company who said it is called black spot disease & is thought to be a parasite. Only parrots get it and he recommended using Maracide. I have used Maracide which cleared it up but takes over a week. I have also used Malachite Green to cure it & also done nothing & it went away. I've also heard Jungle's Parasite Guard works on it. I usually don't treat it unless it starts covering a lot of their body.
Someone here also told me the streaks will show up if the parrots is in the mood to mate. I have found that is true. Both my male & female parrots get streaks on the pelvic fins when they are preparing to nest. But since your parrot has a spot on its nose then it sounds more like the parasite. With my parrots, the black spots show on fins first, then the nose & face, then on their hump.
I hope this helps and is not too confusing. It's just no one quite understands the black spots, but it is a problem for parrots & shows up for diff reasons.
Siesta
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