Help: Stringy things on side of Hillstream Loach?

[mevans]

I am a new Hillstream Loach owner and I am not sure if the appearance of my new guy is normal or not. I got him from my LFS about 5 days ago, and his behavior has been normal all along, from what I can tell. Unfortunately, I don't think my LFS know all they need to know about these guys as they sold him to me as an alternative to a pleco (for size reasons.) Once I realized what he was and I found this website, I have been reading up on the care for him like mad. Anyway, like I said, he is active and eating, and his color is good. I am concerned though about some stringy things that appear to be hanging from the side of his body, or the edge of his fins. They are very thin, almost hairlike, and they are transluscent. I didn't notice them until tonight. Is this normal, or could it be a parasite? I appreciate any info anyone can give me.

[Mark Janssen]

do you have a picture?

[mevans]

Unfortunately no picture. My digital camera is at the office and I won't be able to get to it until tomorrow. I maybe able to come home and take some pics at lunch time. These "hairs" are so fine though, I don't know if my camera will even pick them up.

[brett_fishman]

hmm..sounds like some sort of parasite..worms?

im not an expert though, but they will tell you with a pic.

-brett.

[shari2]

Do you know what kind of hillstream it is? Could you find a pic in the Species Index?
Are there many 'hairs' evenly distributed, or is it more like 1 or 2 in odd spots?

[mevans]

He is definitely a Beaufortia kweichowensis. I have kept a close eye on him the last couple of days and he seems to be doing well. I may have just been over reacting because when I came home to take pics of the hair things the next day, they were gone. On a positive note, I got to see him stand his ground with the other fish in my tank the other night when I dropped an algae wafer in there and he pushed my mystery snail out of the way to get to it, and guarded it from my two platties at the same time! I tend to drop the wafers in the same area and he has figured out to wait in that spot in the evening so he has first dibs. Smart little guy. I will keep a look out for the 'hairs' coming back and take pics if I see them.