What is best to use for fungal infection?

[pixelcatt]

I have one molly that came home with moderate fungus on all her fin. I tried treating the tank with pimafix first. After a week all her fins cleared up except her tail. Her tail got worse. So i tried 4 days of maroxy. She is still worse. Ive moved her to a qt. None of my other fish appear to have any problems.

These pics are a couple days old. Over half her tail is gone. What should i try next?

 

[absolutangel04]

You can try lifting her out of the water in a net and dabbing the fungus with hydrogen peroxide. It's a bit of an extreme measure, but she doesn't look like she is doing well.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Have you tried any salt? Either in the tank or a salt bath?

 

[pixelcatt]

The peroxide itself wont harm her?

 

[pixelcatt]

I keep some salt in the main tank but not a lot bc of my adfs. The hospital tank has full dose of salt.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The peroxide itself wont harm her?

Not at all. It's used for sterilizing so it kills bacteria on the area.

 

[pixelcatt]

I can try it. Ill try dabbing her tailwith the peroxide, and maybe raising the saline level in the hospital tank?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

How much salt do you have in there now? 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons?

 

[pixelcatt]

Yes thats the amount. I tried the peroxide and the patch broke lose. I think she might be in shock.

 

[pixelcatt]

Giving her a warm salt bath and seems to be coming out of it and swimming a little.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

She will be a bit stressed because you've just handled her. Keep the tank dark and quiet for the next few jours while she recovers. Make sure the water is really clean.

 

[pixelcatt]

Nevermind. I guess those were her last twitches. She has passed away. Atleast it hasnt spread. Unfortunately she came home with the fungus. I said something about it to my coworkers cause i noticed all her tank mates were 'gone'. I know they dosed the system. RIP

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I'm sorry to hear that. You tried your best.

 

[zombiz]

I used API brand, i recenly lost a pleco to fung. I did just 5ml for thred days in my 30g. Got a little cludy but nothing has spread and my rainbow shark is acting much better.

 

[pixelcatt]

Thank you for the advice. We tried.

 

[Andy Sager]

For the future...

Thank you for the advice. We tried.

For the future, I've found that any livebearer with fungus usually responds to either Methylene blue or Nitrofurizone type products along with raising the salinity of the water. I use either Furan-2 (it attacks both gram + and gram - bacterias and funguses) or Furizone green. If you can not get either one of these meds through your LFS, you can use Jungle brand Fungus Clear ( it has Nitrofurazone and Furazolidone) which I get at my local Walmart. (Don't let the brand or the store you're buying it matter. It's the medication you need. It works wonders for the bacterial infections my Bettas sometime come down with after spawning.)

Finally, regarding swabbing the area with peroxide, sometimes the stress of the swabbing causes more harm than good. Especially once the wound is open. You also need to be excruciatingly careful to not let any med flow into the gills. Even peroxide will damage the gills when applied directly.

Sorry to hear of your loss but you are now better informed and can be prepared for the next time should it happen again