My six year old Placo fish has developed several black spots arount his face. Any idea what they are?

Answer 1

There are a couple of things that spring to mind, neither of which rings alarm bells in my mind. The first is just a change of pigmentation. Many fish do this to display mood or maturity. Plecos and their relatives have an amzing ability to change colors, within their natural limits. varuous stimuli can cause pigment change - a change of diet, temperature, a water change or a change in the chemistry of the water, amongst other things. The other thing i know of that causes black spots, is a parasite known as black spot. it's not dangerous and is rare in the aquarium. it is most common in pond fish, as the parasite has a complicated life cycle that will invilve birds and snails. The parasite is common in pond snails, in turn eaten by a bird. The bird then goes about it's business in the pond and passes the parasite to a fish. The fish is then eaten by the bird or the parasite hatches and infects a snail and that is eaten by a bird. either way, the cycle starts all over again. Due it's complex lifestyle, the parasite cannot infect more fish in the aquarium. Unfortunately, once hatched, the black spots stay on the fish. There is nothing you ca do about it.
In the meantime, make sure your fish is behaving normally and feeding properly. Make sure he is not flicking or scratching excessively. in my experience, armoured catfish like plecos do not often get parasite infections. I find that parasites prefer softer tissue and a plecos plating does not make the best material for burrowing into.

Answer 2

fall out from the war in Iraq. In 1945 the same thing happened to salmon and other species. course it would not be the governments fault,Nooooo.

Answer 3

Sorry but i have no idea..... But take it down to Pet co, or to a vetrinarian. Good luck.

Answer 4

it could be costia or some other type of infection you need to get to a pet shop and get medication to treat it