Rays melting and Paleness

[SilverCaracal]

I've tried about everything and Ares is still so pale and his rays are still melting!! He's in a filtered 2.5 gallon tank. I do regular 10-20% water changes every day and a 100% about every 2 weeks. There are even live plants to keep the water clean. Ares acts fine though...he eats like a pig and is active like always. He's just so pale. I can practically see through his rays :( Aquarium salt seems to stress him out, so are there any suggestions?

[DragonFish]

Temp of the tank?
Since your tank isn't cycled, you should be doing more frequent water 100% changes...depending on how many plants. If the tank is very heavily planted, once a week with a couple 50%s inbetween should be fine. If there's just a few plants, probably two 100% water changes a week will do.

Hmm...that is quite strange though. Have you ruled out the possibility of internal parasites? Is he skinny? What does his poo look like?
As for ray melting....do you know the PH/Hardness of your water? Ive discovered(much to my dismay)that I can't keep CTs unless they have very thick, strong fins and rays because I'm on well water and my PH is pretty high....I have no issues with other tail types, but the fins of my CTs are always tattered ;P

[SilverCaracal]

The temperature of the tank is 80 degrees. I'm sure he doesn't have internal parasites because his poo looks the same.

[DragonFish]

Hmm...and no spots? Nothing white and fuzzy? No bloating...? How long have you had him?

[SilverCaracal]

There's no spots, bloating, and fuzzy stuff. I've had him for 6 months.

[DragonFish]

Hmm....that is really, really strange....are you sure hes not naturally pale and color? Any way to get a pic?

[Adastra]

Is it possible to get your water tested? Given your water change schedule we need to rule out ammonia poisoning as the culprit--you should take some of your old water to the pet store and get it tested for free to make sure your schedule is really as efficient as you think it is. Any detectable level ammonia is detrimental to your fish, so keep that in mind.

Also, not all internal parasites manifest themselves in the GI tract--if your fish is wasting away, he could have internal parasites that live in the muscle tissues of the fish. Although intestinal worms are more common, he could feasibly have an infestation in other tissues. If he's still eating and wasting away, it may be prudent to use a medication that includes praziquantel and metronidazole to help flush out any nasties that he might be carrying. Deworming medication is a lot less harsh on your fish's health than other treatments like malachite green or antibiotics, so keep that in mind as well. Methylene blue is another treatment that might be a good idea to help keep him from succumbing to secondary infections in his vulnerable state--it is a much more effective preventative than aquarium salt and gentle and quite helpful for dealing with ammonia poisoning.

In my experience, I have found that crowntail rays are a very good reflection of their general health--chances are if the rays are thin, brittle, and breaking, something is going on that should be remedied, be it water quality, sickness, temperature, etc.

[SilverCaracal]

I'll test the water as soon as I can. He's been like this for at least 2 months. When I first got him, he was really dark with full red rays. So...I should get Methylene blue and test the water?

[Adastra]

Yeah, and you might want to pick up an internal parasite med--I've had some success with Jungle's Parasite Clear. If he's still eating, Jungle also makes a medicated anti-parasite pellet that works well.

[SilverCaracal]

Oh he's still eating. This disease he has seems to be only affecting his appearance, but who knows? Thanks so much!!