The fungus apocalypse is over, what is this dot?

[DanR]

Hi guys,

Back towards the end of June, I had a fungus incident with new German Blue Rams I had picked up that were put in quarantine before being added to my main tank. The tank contained a few small fish already that were all healthy and then I added 4 or 5 new German Blue Rams.

And then a couple of weeks in, the nightmare started:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uge-white-growth-on-head-and-tail-358809.html

After a lot of heartache and frustration, the fungus was finally killed off or ran it's course and I was left with 2 GBRs, 2 black neons and a small pleco.

It's been a couple of months and there's been no sign of fungus and no issues with the fish in the tank and I would really like to transfer the 2 GBRs to my main tank. But I am hesitant because one of the fish that has a dot at the base of the dorsal fin that was there when the fungus attack happened and he still has it now. Truth be told, he may have had it from the beginning and I never noticed. But the white dot has not changed in size, spread to other areas of the fish or spread to other fish.

I made a video that shows it pretty well:

Does that just look like a skin growth that's part of his body now or does that look like an infection? I just don't see how it could be a fungus or something that as been 100% unchanged in 3 months since I first noticed it. It is not furry or fuzzy.

Should I go ahead and move them both, move one and cull this one or just keep them in the QT tank? I want to pick up some new fish and will need this tank for them so trying to figure out what I should do.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dan

 

[V227]

Dan, you know it's always risky. Your rams looked healthy and they certainly have done their time in quarantine. IMO, go for it. You can always net them out if things go South. Keep AA updated.

 

[DanR]

Dan, you know it's always risky. Your rams looked healthy and they certainly have done their time in quarantine. IMO, go for it. You can always net them out if things go South. Keep AA updated.

I suppose you're right.. going to give it another week and make sure everything in QT seems 100% and then move them over. I've never had a serious infection hit my display tank yet, don't want to start now

 

[Matt68005]

Fish dont get "fungus infections" they have an immune system, just like all animals.
Im curious how you think you had a "fungal apocalaypse" as it was certainly not water mould. This only eats dead tissue, it will not infect a healthy fish

 

[DanR]

I had purchased some new rams ad one of them had a small dot on his head that I hadn't noticed at the dealer.. a tiny red spec that seemed static. After the second week,it suddenly exploded overnight in to a large white fuzzy dot on it's head and it spread to some of the other fish on their fins and bodies, eventually killing off half the tank before it finally cleared off with anti-fungal meds. Was a first for me and with antibiotics being impossible to get here, it was a very frustrating thing to deal with. I honestly still don't know for sure what happened or what it was, I was going by advice from people trying to help on here.

The original thread is here if you want to check it out:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/is-this-hith-with-my-german-ram-huge-white-growth-on-head-and-tail-358809.html

Dan

 

[Matt68005]

Well, i stand corrected. You dont see that a whole lot, badly infected wound looks like from a mould standpoint, must be several diffrent types that are all secondary to bacteria.
Its not something you see alot of, and there sure is alot of confusion with new uninformed hobbyist that seem to think fish get "fungus" infections when really its columnaris.
In the future you should try methylene blue, as opposed to some wierd ick medicine or furan.
Not saying youve used it or promoted it, but i have before, and its a dangerous chemical.
Furan 2 has dioxin, the same thing used in defoliants, and a dangerous chemical, as is malachite green.
Most ick problems could probably be solved with methylene blue and salt and heat, my fish never get ick

 

[DanR]

Yeah i definitely learned mblue was the way to go, it was very frustrating. Thank goodness it was only the qt!

 

[DanR]

Well, the party has started! I transferred over the two GBRs yesterday to the main tank and so far they seem to be doing well. Active, feeding and having a grand ol' time. Fingers crossed that little bump is just a skin tag of some kind, I am monitoring it like a hawk!

Is it me or are Rams really interesting and beautiful fish? I'm really starting to prefer keeping Rams more than most fish and see myself getting more for this tank. I also got a new gold ram to replace the one that passed recently.

Anyhow, we'll see how it goes!

Dan

 

[V227]

Dan, the sickness starts with rams, which transitions to a pair of Firemouths. As the illness progresses, Green Terrors. Unless an intervention occurs, it's Festae. At this junction, you have reached the point of no return.

 

[Matt68005]

Have fun with your chiclids Dan!!
I like them, but being a guppy person, they have eaten too many of my little guppies for me to raise them. They are pretty and i like how they raise their young.
A gravel tank with lots of fake plants can make a beautiful cheap chiclid tank!

 

[DanR]

Dan, the sickness starts with rams, which transitions to a pair of Firemouths. As the illness progresses, Green Terrors. Unless an intervention occurs, it's Festae. At this junction, you have reached the point of no return.

Well I guess it ended up running it's course. Once the symptoms were gone and the tank returned to normal, 2 GBRs, 1 Angel, 1 Farlowella and 2 black neons survived. I lost 3 GBRs, a bulldog pleco, 1 black neon and 1 Denison Barb.

It's been a couple of months now since the tank went back to normal and that's why I had started this thread, was wondering if it was OK to but the 2 surviving GBRs in the main tank.

 

[Matt68005]

Im still unclear what the disease was, i guess i should have read the entire thread, all i read was something about a wound.....

 

[Matt68005]

I use to collect logs and sticks and leaves, and just put them straight into my tanks. Never would hurt my fish. Some of the leaves would practically have mushrooms growing on them, and there would be a notable film of water mould on the surface of the water. It does not affect fish. So how are you suffering from a "fungus apocalypse" i guess im assuming you figured out it was bacteria, and the answer if thats the case would be you could re-stock the tank immediately.
Bacteria like that thrives on stressed fish and "growing room" like more and more fish to get sick, it lives on dead bodies until you take them out, but its 100% of the time always in the water, there is no way to get rid of it. Fish just have to be healthy and there will never be a problem. Stress is the reason fish get columnaris.
Hope im making sense, im just bored its 3am.

 

[Matt68005]

This is the problem you had, not mould. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columnaris

The solution is antibiotics, used when introducing new stressed fish, or at the first sign of tail rot.
Antibiotic Fish Flake Food

 

[DanR]

This is the problem you had, not mould. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columnaris

The solution is antibiotics, used when introducing new stressed fish, or at the first sign of tail rot.
Antibiotic Fish Flake Food

According to some other senior members, it was not Columnaris and was identified as a fungal infection that spread to other fish. Unfortunately here in the wonderful land of Canada, you can't get antibiotics without a prescription, which is a $250 visit to a vet.

Did you read through the original thread? There was a lot of back and forth, to be honest I'm still not sure what the heck happened.



Dan

 

[Matt68005]

I dont want to just show up to the party late and say no no coral is wrong, autum is wrong, blah blah. But fish do not get "fungal infections"
The nature of fungus/mould is like that of a mushroom, it eats already dead decaying matter, like a dead body or a fallen tree. You dont just see it infecting and killing healthy fish.
The fish looked like it had a giant wound on its head, and possible another wound on its tail.
My guess would be it got caught on a sharp object or in a fight, then that dead skin would de-compose and cause a fungal bloom like this.

 

[DanR]

I dont want to just show up to the party late and say no no coral is wrong, autum is wrong, blah blah. But fish do not get "fungal infections"
The nature of fungus/mould is like that of a mushroom, it eats already dead decaying matter, like a dead body or a fallen tree. You dont just see it infecting and killing healthy fish.
The fish looked like it had a giant wound on its head, and possible another wound on its tail.
My guess would be it got caught on a sharp object or in a fight, then that dead skin would de-compose and cause a fungal bloom like this.

That certainly does make sense. Other GBRs in the tank had white marks as well, it was just pronounced on that one fish. The non-GBRs died had no visible fungal infection but all died within a couple days of each other. So basically you're proposing that something else killed them and the fungus issue with the GBR was more of a red herring? Could very well be, I'm just not experienced and knowledgeable enough to know yet.

The two surviving GBRs are doing well in the big tank now, eating well and looking nice and clean, so happy about that.

Dan