I know it isn't a very clear picture... I am going to buy a better camera with my Financial Aid refund money...

Okay, so I was doing a complete tank clean/vacuum/water change today, and I caught a glimpse of my ever allusive, shy rubbernose pleco, Shakira. I don't know if any of you guys remember, but when I first got her I had made a statement about seeing something that looked like eggs on her tail fin. I don't think they were eggs... After a couple weeks of whatever it was being there, I netted her and put her in a small glass of tank water and picked off the stuff on her tail fin. It looked like fin rot, but I wasn't sure so I left her alone and her fin grew back nicely. Everything looked great so I forgot about it. Anyway, today I got a look at her and her dorsal fin had these little red globs on it, so when I was done doing all my cleaning, we netted her and put her in a glass again. I tried to get a picture, but my camera is crappy. So, we got her out on a large serving spoon. I took the picture you see above. I then proceeded to pick off all the nasty globs again. Her fins again look like fin rot now that those globs are gone.

I would post water parameters, but I'm guessing they won't be very accurate as I did about a 40% water change today. Shakira is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches long and lives in my 55 gallon tank with my Oscar, Jack Black. Jack Black shows no signs of fin rot or fungus or anything. He looks perfectly healthy. I've had these fish since the beginning of June, and I'm at a loss as to what this is, as I've googled fin rot, and I have yet to see a picture with globs in it.

could you please enlighten me what globs are for the pic is not usable for I.D-ing the problem.
I'm at a loss here.
but in general, fin rot occurs when the fish is stressed. The most common cause is poor water quality. Overfeeding, overcrowded tanks, and handling of your fish can also cause fin rot. To help prevent fin rot, make sure you do water changes every week, and test the water to make sure all is ok. Try not to over feed.

Instead of a treatment type med, a little bit of stress coat should help keep out bacteria and allow electrolites from being lost.
If there are red streaks or fuzz growing on the affected areas, then you can treat for baterial or fungal infection.
Otherwise, just keep nitrates low and the pleco will heal up just fine. Sometimes these things may have permanent damage so if the slits don't fuse back, but don't become infected then don't worry.

The globs are like little balls of jelly looking stuff. There was one big one, about 1/8 inch across and several smaller ones, not even half that size, all stuck to her dorsal fin. They were red in color. The globs she had when I first got her on her tail fin were a beige color, not red, but just like this time, when I picked them off her fin, it looked like fin rot afterward.

JennyTmouh wrote:



I found this article in regards to the zebra pleco, sounds somewhat similar:

Fungal Fin Infection

Fungal diseases and infections are one of the most common ailments an aquarist has to treat. With the zebra pleco it's most common form appears to be brought about by territorial disputes. Despite being a relatively timid fish, the zebra pleco will defend its territory from other zebras with great vigour, often resulting in injury or in some cases the death of a fish.

In normal conditions the zebra - and other fish) are protected by a mucus that covers the skin of the healthy fish. After territorial disputes or spawning activity however it is often common to see a reddening of the pelvic fins and areas around the vent. Although in itself this is not a major worry it can lead to further complications in the form of fungal growth. Any 'break' or rupture in the protective mucus, exposing damaged flesh will provide an area for the infectious spores - which are naturally abundant in most aquarium) to form a foothold and form fungal infections. As you can see from the picture, an otherwise healthy female has been in a territorial dispute resulting in a damaged pectoral fin. Despite starting off as slight dispute, resulting in a reddened fin tip, the territorial fight increased until the injury removed all flesh from the tip of the fin. This area, then became susceptible to fungal infection which , can be seen as cotton wool like strands. If caught early enough, fungal infections can be treated relatively easily with a suitably applied Methyl Blue solution. - This should only be done if the fungus is clearly visible). It can often be easier to catch the fish and place it in a breeder hanging inside the tank. Then using a clean cotton bud, dabbed Methyl blue, gently dab the affected area. It is also important however to ensure excellent water quality to reduce the chance of the infection increasing.

www.zebrapleco.com/core/hypancistrus_zebra_health.php

The article is great, up until it mentions the fungus looking like "cotton wool strands", which mine doesn't. So, that leaves me confused. If it isn't a fungus, and it doesn't look like fin rot because fin rot doesn't have little globs, then what the hell am I dealing with?!? LOL I'm confused and exasperated, because usually I can figure things out like this by Googling images, and I have yet to find an image that looks like what my pleco had.

Can you get a clear pic? That will help loads.

I tried so hard, Nicki! I really did. But if you've seen ANY of my pictures, you know my camera is CRAP! LOL I'll be buying a new one on Wednesday. Hopefully I won't need to take another picture of this stuff because it will all just go away! LOL But, miracles rarely happen, so I'll at least have a decent camera to take aquatic pics with. Like I said, I picked all the globs off (and washed my hands afterwards) hoping that that would help it. I found http://www.jbl.de/onlinehospitaluk/perpicture/index.php?Step=2&GalleryId=2 and I'm leaning towards thinking it may be bacterial because of this picture.
The stuff on that fish's body is similar to what was on her tail fin when I first got her. But, it also looked a lot like this, in fact it may have looked more like this than that first pic.

Anyway, the thing is, now it doesn't look like anything in ANY of those pictures...

Thats what I was gonna say, like the injury caused the reddening and then a bacterial infection set in. Really all I can think of.