Cotton fungus killing off fish, how should I proceed?

[priamarie]

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

Cotton-like, fuzzy, flaky stuff coating the whole fish. After they have been like this for a few days they start swimming funny and eventually I find them stuck to the filter either dead or half dead.


2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

I don't know


3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

20 gallon. about 4-5 months

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

Aqueon Quiteflow 10

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

To start with I had 2 Dwarf Gouramis, 1 small plecostomus, 2 dalmation mollies, 2 red minor tetras, and 2 red platies.

These fish have died in the past few days after I started noticing the fuzzy white stuff coating them:
2 red minor tetras, plecostomus, and 1 dalmation molly


6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

Once every 2 weeks, did one about 5 days ago. We don't have a heater yet so my boyfriend dumped warm water in which I told him not to do and I think that may have weakened them and maybe caused them to get infected faster (?) Usually change about 30% at a time.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

1 dalmation molly we've had for 4 months. 2 gouramis, other molly and plecostomos we had for 3 months. 2 platies and 2 tetras we had for 2-3 weeks.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

No

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

Basic flakes. no





Basically I have given up hope on any of these fish surviving as they are all infected with this fuzzy white stuff. My question is, how should I proceed after all these fish die? I want fish but I don't want them to all die again. I've spent so much money already on these fish I don't want it to go to waste but it seems like every time they get infected with some disease! If I do decide to add more fish to the tank, should I empty all the water and start new?

[Shetland James]

Have you tried any treatments?

Edit: wait, no heater? what is the temperature of the tank?

[i3k]

Dumping warm water into a cold water tank is pretty much a guarantee to do some damage to the fish. This shocks the fish and stresses them out. The shock and the stress alone can kill the fish, and can also weaken them enough to become susceptible to disease.

You definitely need to get a heater and a test kit. If the fish don't have the proper temperature, they will always be stressed and unhealthy.

You said you do water changes every 2 weeks...but how much water do you change? I would suggest 50% every two weeks or 35% every week.

As far as treating fungus, try pimafix and melafix together. I think most pet stores sell these.

[priamarie]

I went and bought the medications and started using them yesterday but I think it might be too late for my fish. 2 more were dead this morning now I only have 3 left and 2 of them look heavily coating in this white fungus.


Since I am pretty sure all hope is gone and these fish aren't going to last much longer, what should I do after they die? I don't want an empty tank in my living room so I might just throw a few goldfish in there. Should I empty all the water and clean everything and start new? Or should I leave the water in since it is already finished cycling?



temperature on the tank is usually around 70-72 degrees

[i3k]

What meds did you buy? There is always hope. If your fish are swimming around, they have a good chance of recovering if the meds are used properly. Make sure you take the charcoal out of the filter while medicating, if you are using charcoal that is. You'll need to do 35% water changes before each treatment.

I would not suggest putting goldfish into a 20gal tank. You need 20 gal per one goldfish.

[priamarie]

I bought melafix and pimafix and added 10 ml of each yesterday. So I should do a 35% water change now and then add 10 ml of each again and do this every day?

I guess I will just buy a heater and test kit and try to do this the right way. When I started a few months ago I had no idea how much or what kind of equipment I needed besides a filter. The 3 fish that are left seem to be hanging at the top of the aquarium. I have some ammonia killer should I add this too?

[i3k]

You should not add any ammonia killing chemicals. Best way to get rid of ammonia is water changes. The only chemical you need to use, is water conditioner when you do the water changes.

It is suggested to do a 35% water change before each dose of pimafix & melafix. I believe you have to treat for 7 days.

Also, cut back on feeding. If you feed multiple times a day, cut down to 1 time a day while you treat the fish.

[WhiteDevil]

Sounds like columnaris or saddleback disease.

I just lost a crap load of fish and income to that, and pima/mela fix does not fix this at all.

Heaters are needed for those fish you listed as your stock, you need to buy a test kit(drops not strips) and really pay attention to the parameters of the tank.
Columnaris is a pain to get rid of, good luck.

[priamarie]

Whitedevil: what did you do after the fish died? Did you empty the tank?

[i3k]

I treated cottonmouth on my rainbow with pima/mela with great success. There are plenty of stories on people treating columnaris with mela/pima with success.

I know people on here have mixed results...but I know I myself had positive results.

[WhiteDevil]

Be careful with PimaFix, as one of its ingredients is clove oil and an overdose can kill all the fish in the tank, even the healthy ones.

I stopped using the mela/pimafix when I noticed it wasnt getting any better.

[HUKIT]

I had columnaris rip through my mbuna tank last year killing over 20 fish, I tried Melafix/Pimafix and that did nothing to slow the disease down. I tried Maracyn 1&2 with Maroxy with no effect and the only thing that finally worked was Jungle's fungus clear.

[WhiteDevil]

HUKIT, where did you find the fungus clear? was it local?

I went as far as using paranox and quanzipranquel and de-los from fishyfarmacy.com and NOTHING worked, Once everything was figured out I lost 10 of 13 angels, 6 of them being breeding pairs.

Where did you get the MBUNA from, Hukit? I got a feeling mine was sold to me the columnaris that is.

[HUKIT]

Originally Posted by WhiteDevil

HUKIT, where did you find the fungus clear? was it local?

I went as far as using paranox and quanzipranquel and de-los from fishyfarmacy.com and NOTHING worked, Once everything was figured out I lost 10 of 13 angels, 6 of them being breeding pairs.

Where did you get the MBUNA from, Hukit? I got a feeling mine was sold to me the columnaris that is.

I found Fungus Clear and Parasite Clear(works great for Bloat) from Walmart on RT.31 in Crystal Lake, I recieved a shipment of Ruby Red peacocks from Liveaquaria last year, quarentined the fish for 3 weeks then added them to the display tank and all **** broken loose. I spent over $150 for meds and that didn't include the fish I lost. The funny thing the Ruby Red's all survived.

I now keep 10-12 boxes of each on hand in the medicine chest. I know Jungles on the lower end of meds but I swear by both of these and they are around $3 a box.