White Ring around Mollie

[Burkey]

One our favorite fish has developed what we assume is cotton fungus. The black mollie has a white ring around his entire body. Appears to be sort of low energy but is still eating. Also appears to not like the tank light on. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[jaysono]

Quick Cure

There is a small bottle of a liquid called 'Quick Cure', and its relatively cheap. I think it's one drop per gallon of water...It works really well!!

However, if you have a carbon filter you need to remove it. Though the direction say to remove carbon for 24 hours, most people and my own experience is you can remove and replace the carbon in a few hours, not 24.

Also, do you have an aquarium salt in your tank? Aquarium salt can aid in the destruction of certain fungi and aid in reducing stress and increase slime coat. Generally it's 1 Tablespoon for every 5 gallons of water. Hopefully you'll see an improvement in 24-36 hours.

Good luck!

 

[Menagerie]

Meds are good, but make sure you know what it is you are trying to cure. Bacterial infections can look like fungus.
Burkey, what else is going on in the tank?? What other fish/how many are in the tank? What are your water parameters?
These disease charts/descriptions may help:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.everythingfishy.com/med_info.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm

 

[Burkey]

Thanks, folks. I'll check the sites listed. The tank is also home to a couple of small sharks, 5 tetras, a gold and black mollie and a lyratail mollie as well as a small catfish bottom feeder. As other fish in the tank appear to be O.K.

 

[Menagerie]

Burkey--how is it going today??
BTW--what are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

 

[Burkey]

Well, it's still there. We put the Mollie in a "hospital tank" treated with "Fungus Guard" by Jungle. The rest of his buddies in the main tank still appear to be O.K. The infected Mollie is eating but appears as if his back end is sort of immobile. Thanks for checking in with us.

 

[Burkey]

An update. The fungus is still with the Mollie even after treatment in the "hospital tank". We have done a complete water change in the tank and are re-treating again with Jungle fungus treatment. The fungus is very sticky. Is there any way to clean it off the fish and have ithe fish survive? Again, your help has been great and more suggestions will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Menagerie]

Is it really a ring around the Molly and not in clumps? I just wonder if this is fungal. If you can post a pic, that would be helpful.

 

[Burkey]

Not really a ring anymore although it started as such. Now it's just a sticky "cottony" mass around most of the mollies back end. It appears to immobilize him. No digital camera, sorry.

 

[Menagerie]

I don't think you are using the correct treatment. Did those charts help at all? Also, what are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, temp)? If these are off, the fish will not be able to fight off the infection as well as it could in perfect conditions.

It appears to immobilize him.

This isn't good. Does it look like the infection is growing on the fish's skin, or eating away at it?

Here's what I would do:
Start treating with kanamycin immediately.
I have Seachem's KanaPlex and it says, "KansPlex is a blended kanamycin based medication that safely treats several fungal and bacterial fish diseases...." Since the fish is getting worse, it's time to treat with serious meds.

No digital camera, sorry.

I don't have one either Just trying to see what was going on with your fish :?

 

[Menagerie]

I just read a reply you posted to Keepers_girl. IMO, a one gal QT tank is not adequate. There is an article on QT tanks in the Articles section.
Melafix can be found in most LFS and is a common product. However, since your fish is getting worse, go with kanamycin.