fish skin?

Question

I was wondering if guppy fish shed skin? Cause i found some sort of small weird layer of skin. I also have platies and mollies!I don't think they do but what could this be? It is also see through. I did not take it out yet.

I don't know if it's the guppy. it could be my platies. It can't really be my mollly cause he/she is black . thanx

Answer 1

No, guppies don't shed. If they are missing scales, it may be because they're being picked on by other fish in the tank, or they might have a parasite that's irritating them, causing them to rub against objects in the tank, and this may also cause them to lose their scales.

It's hard to say what you might be seeing without being able to see it myself. Is there any chance of getting a digital photo and posting it using a photosharing website like photobucket?

Do you have any freshwater shrimp (ghost shrimp or others)? These will shed their exoskeleton as they grow, so this could be what you're seeing. If this is the case, they'll often eat the shed skin as a source of the minerals it contains.

Answer 2

Fish don't have skin, but they do have scales. And on top of their scales, there is a layer of mucous to protect them from diseases. It is likely that you found a sheded slime coat (which is BAD). This means your fish is very stressed and susceptible to diseases. Be sure to keep your tank as clean as possible over the next week and add a capful of stresscoat... Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: It doesn't matter what color the fish are, the slime coat is colorless and will look almost like crumpled up saran wrap.

Answer 3

fish oftenly will replace old or damaged scales. as long as it's see through and not cloudy white it's fine otherwise it's ick or fungus usally(unless scale have been cut or riped off) only one scale will be sheding at a time.