Fuzz?!

[brunettebaby4571]

So I woke up today and went to check out everyone in the tank and well didnt find good results. My black molly has white fuzzies on her tail and her eye is got it too. Ugh what could this be and how should I treat it? Should I treat the whole tank? I do water changes twice a week. Should I start doing more? There are two other mollies, two platys, platy fry and snails in the tank. Thank you!

 

[butterfly_koi]

It could be white fungus or fin rot, do you have a picture?

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Not at the moment. I can get one here shortly though. Would the fin rot affect her eye?

 

[butterfly_koi]

I had a black moor that had fin rot and after a while it affected its eye so I assume it can I'm not and expert on it though

 

[brunettebaby4571]

I tried taking a few pics but you couldnt see the fuzz at all in the pictures. Both of her eyes just look a little cloudy and she has a few white patches on her tail that are really small. Just white and fuzzy. How should I go about treating this? Is is contagious? Should I treat with salt?

 

[butterfly_koi]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/fungus.php


This might help a little bit, I am not an expert on sick fish I hope the best for your fishies

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Thank you for the help!

 

[jlk]

I dont believe your dealing with a true fungus. Fungus is opportunistic & usually only affects fish that are already sickened by something else. What are your exact readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitate & ph? How often & how big are your wcs? How long has the tank been setup? We need to look at water quality first before addressing anything else. What your likely seeing is a bacterial infection. Do you have access to fish meds? Some countries are very strict.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok please dont freak out...I have never tested my water...I know I know...I usually do water changes twice a week and usually a little bit under half. Its a 40 gallon. I did have a 20 gallon but I just recently got the 40 gallon and used the older filter and a new aquaclear on it. Yes I have access to fish meds I just don't know what I need :/ I live in west virginia so I believe I should have access to whatever I need. This morning she has wayy more spots (looks almost like ick but fuzzy)

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Also the 20 gallon was set up for about a year.

 

[jlk]

Are all your fish ok with salt? I would treat with salt & Maracyn 2 or Maracyn Plus (not regular maracyn). Petsmart usually has them in stock. Kanamycin would be my first choice but I have only found it online & not in any lfs.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

I have two platys and 3 mollies and platy fry and some snails. Would they all be okay with salt? And I have plants in the tank. How much could I use before it would hurt my plants? And okay I will check for the maracyn and the kanamycin...How long do I have to treat this?

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok so now my other fish are starting to flash and really are scratching on the gravel...what do I do now?! I just put some salt in there I really hope it helps...I was just reading about some different causes of the spots and I forget what the two were but one said it needs the water to be colder for it to get better but the other one said that it needed warm water to cure but I don't know exactly what it could be? I dont know if the flashing points me in any better direction but none of the other fish have any spots or anything on them :/

 

[jlk]

I have two platys and 3 mollies and platy fry and some snails. Would they all be okay with salt? And I have plants in the tank. How much could I use before it would hurt my plants? And okay I will check for the maracyn and the kanamycin...How long do I have to treat this?

A low dose of salt wont hurt plants or fry. Not positive on the snails but i think they will be ok. You could always remove them to plastic container if you are concerned about them. I am not 100% sure what exactly you are dealing with but most fish bacterial infections are gram negative thus a gram-negative antibiotic (which why regular maracyn wont work-its gram-positive). Dropping the temp down some (@72-74) will also help keep the bacteria from multiplying as fast.

edit- treat for a full course of treatment per directions on the meds & see how everyone is doing after course of treatement & we can go from there

 

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok Im not sure when I can get the meds. Hopefully asap :/

 

[brunettebaby4571]

After adding the salt everyone stopped flashing and the mollies spots are almost completely gone...what should I do now? Everyone is swimming around and eating fine.

 

[jlk]

Thats great! Salt can work wonders- continue to treat with salt for atleast a full 7 days. Only add back what you remove with a water change (ie 50% wc, add back 1/2 original dose). No other meds are needed as long as everyone continues to do well. At the end of 7 days, just continue to do water changes as usual but dont re-add the salt. The salinity will gradually drop with each water change & your fish will adjust back down to the decreasing salinity.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

She is looking better and better everytime I look at her! I only added 3 tsps over two days but after the first dose she looked ten times better the next morning!! What could the flashing have been caused from?? I havent seen any of it since I added the salt so hopefully that fixed whatever it was! Thank you again!