What you see is 99% possibility poop. You can feed him fresh cooked peas that have been peeled( just squeeze them). The peas are a tonic and a laxative. Worry about the scales later.

LOL, ok. I'd rather think that it's poop than an anchor worm or something, but this is a long thread, not a short one, so maybe it's not a worm.

Will try the peas, and maybe catch this guy later on and look at his scales.

Thanks!

Chris

I took a picture of my fish. I can't see the white thread now, but this spot looks funny to me.

Hey, Chris. At the moment it looks like he has a scrape. Watch it for a couple more days and see if it gets worse. If it is something serious it will change for the worse. If it is just a scrape it will start to heal. Sometimes an injury can get infected. That is what you need to be aware of happening. It is not a parasite although parasites are opportunistic. The lethargy is always worrisome.

Some fish can get trapped in small spaces they could swim through before or can get roughed up by other fish or panic and crash into the sides or even get sucked against a pump tube. All of those can cause scrape injuries. They can lose scales and still heal up fine. You just have to keep an eye out for changes.If those happen someone here will likely be able to tell what it is. Watch the gills and for streaks on the fins in particular.

Thanks so much for all of the help. What am I watching the gills for though?

If the gills get really red. And streaky fins can mean septicemia - which means internal infection. How is he doing now?

He seems better. I've fed him peas for several days, which he seems to like, and I think he's more active now as well.

awesome! you may want to test your water and wach for high nitrites also. :)

On that note..I've been looking for test kits online. I could really use suggestions for what kinds are best, and what tests are necessary?

Thanks All!

Chris

I personally use the API liquid test kit. I also have a digital pH meter by Koi Medic, as well as a salt meter by Koi Medic (you can find them on Ebay). What I test religiously:

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
pH

I test the salt if I am using it...obviously. :)

Chris, how is your fishie doing?

My little fishie is doing great! He seems to be eating like a champ. Once it looked like he would be ok and nothing serious was wrong, I bought him a couple little pals.
All seems well, so I'm a happy ponder. Is that a word? haha

I received my test kit today so I can find out how the water is doing. The ammonia test says it is for aquariums treated with salt water, so I hope it works for my little non-salt water treated ponds.

Thanks for asking about my fish!

Chris