a pair of my new fatheads spent several hours yesterday depositing eggs all over one of the rocks in their tank. i was thrilled until this morning when i found that the female who had been laying the eggs now has a really nasty looking raw patch behind her head. i know a lot of rubbing is involved in their mating behavior but this just seems excessive. i am about to remove her from the tank and put her in another container which holds about 2 1/2 - 3 gallons. i have aquarium/conditioning salt, and i have rid ich+ from kordon which claims to also treat fungal diseases. i caught these fish in the wild on friday. i don't know if that puts her at a higher risk for infection or not.

should i add salt to the little tank, and if so, how much?
should i use the rid ich stuff in a small dose as a preventative measure?
if that wont work, what should i go get from the pet store?

should i also remove that rock? it seems to be a very rough one and both males are using it as a spawning site. i could replace it with some pottery which is much smoother.

thanks very much

ps. i just realized that this is probably in the wrong place. if one of the moderators would move it to the right discussion area i would appreciate it. sorry about that.

Edited by brynneth, 04 June 2009 - 01:32 PM.

Somethings are inevitable. I lost my male spotfin shiner do to an irritated vent after spawning for weeks on end.
I wouldn't treat the tank for Ick if there are no signs of it. No need for unnecessary risks. A salt bath would be a good idea, but I wouldn't keep her in the 2 gallon container for very long - that might add even more stress. If the rock is very rough and they use it repeatedly as a spawning site, then you may want to remove it, if you aren't trying to keep any young.
Hop[efully the salt will start healing the wound before any disease or fungus starts.

ok, thanks. salt it is.
also, i have removed the rock to a small tank where maybe the eggs will have a chance to hatch. i replaced it with two halves of a flower pot and the males seem pleased enough with those. shame about this female, but at least i caught it now. there was another female just beginning to spawn, and when i took the injured one out, i noticed that she was starting to show a similar irritation.
i plan to partially cover the little tank with the female in it to reduce her stress. hopefully she will just rest while she heals a little bit.
thanks for your help