hi everyone some of my larger bristlenose have holes/sores on them .... its not just in one tank either .... ive checked all water conditions but there all fine so its got me worried ..... heres a pics to help



any help would be great ... the are 6 adult bn in the tank thats 48x12x18 and 3 albino corys and 1 sucking loach

It looks like some kind of bacterial infection to me I would treat it with something like eSHa 2000 or myxazin and hope you've caught it early enough.

where would i find eSHa 2000 or myxazin as never even heard of them before ?

Most good LFS should stock them, there is also ebay but you need them ASAP.

Product Info for eSHa 2000 and Myxazin .

If you can't get hold of them two then look for a medicine that is a broad spectrum bactericide.

There are some posts HERE about which meds people use.

thanks as all ive got is king british profesional fungus and fin rot treatment ... thats anything close to those 2 treatments you mentioned
i get paid tomorrow so will have to try n get some sent to me asap

Melafix but i would go for ESHA 2000...if you can get hold of it....but as jim says you need to do this a.s.a.p....doesnt look good atol mate good luck with them....

Melafix is more for prevention, i.e. if you see a scratch on a fish you add melafix and/or pimafix to prevent infection. This looks to be a full blown infection and needs treatment. Any of the medications mentioned before would be excellent. Although as mentioned before asap is the key here!

cheers guys ive now got hold of some Melafix from lfs but couldnt find the ESHA 2000 anywhere localy ... only there test strips so ..... water changes and treatments today to get this sorted .... thanks for the advice and will keep upto date on how there getting on

Good news, I hope they respond well to the treatment.

Would wonder what exactly the sucking loach is mentioned in original post. Could it possibly be Chinese algae eater?
Not a very nice fish by most accounts and could possibly inflict such wounds.
In absence of antibacterial med,I might consider twice weekly water changes of 50 percent for a few weeks to help with healing and removal of excess organics.
Maracyn,Maracyn ll would be my choice for medication.

yes it is a Chinese algae eater ... he maybe the problem then .... i fort it wierd that it has only effected one pair in that tank

i know algae eaters can be dominant and territorial but I have three tanks with one in each and non have done this to any of my breeding pair
in the tanks. You know it may be strange but there seems to be alot of people about the forums having Bristlenose with sores and ulcers lately...

hope mine never get any thing like this

good luck Peter...

hardly much sand in the tank to compact tbh yvette ... happening in my main tank aswel and thats got uv sterilizer onit ... so would kill all bacteria .... but not sure about swaps as ... mainly been getting rid of the fish i did have ... but other than that the browns havnt been moved atal since i got them and in main tank those lot have been in there since before i got the discus ..... but theres been no new fish in main tank