Fungus on a Zebra Danio

[jk10]

I have had my 5 zebra danios for about a month now. I just noticed tonight one of them appears to have a fungus growing near his tail fin. It's a fuzzy looking fungus from what I can tell. He is the only one that has this. I have done some research about what it could be, and everything I've seen says to put the fish in a separate tank for awhile and treat with some fungus drops. Since I just noticed this, the earliest I'll be able to get another, smaller tank and the drops will be tomorrow after work.

Through further reading, I have found that it could be over feeding that is causing this and it's nothing to worry about? Another few water changes over the next few days could help?

Am I correct that the white on the tail is some sort of fungus? What is the best approach for someone who does not have an additional tank? I knew I should have gotten one when I bought the other things.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Angela1108]

Definitely do a water change and make sure there isn't extra food/gunk laying on the bottom of the tank. In a worst case scenario since he is a relatively small fish you can always use a big Tupperware dish as a very temporary qt tank. Just make sure to rinse it super super well and don't use soap. Personally after that I rinse it with prime then add new water and the correct dose of prime. You just need to watch the parameters closely without a filter and at least daily water changes if no bubbler


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[jk10]

I did a water change yesterday and tried to syphon the bottom of the tank/gravel. They were all fine this morning when I fed them, but about an hour ago, I noticed the fungus.

If I were to put him in a container, do I take the water from the tank and put it in said container?

Is there anything I can do to treat the whole tank tomorrow?

 

[jk10]

He did not make it through the night. The other fish appear to be okay this morning. I'm going to head to the store and pick up Pimafix and Melafix tonight to treat the tank. I'll probably wait until the weekend or next week to pick up a replacement or two.

It's weird, I feel like I let down the other fish and myself by letting one die from a fungus.

 

[Angela1108]

Awww sorry to hear


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[jk10]

I stopped at Petsmart after work. The lady suggested I buy some API Super Ick Cure, Pimafix, and some other stuff to add to the water during water changes.

When I got home, I have another one of the little guys with the same stuff on it. I put in the Super Ick Cure according to the bottle, little less to be exact. I'm hoping this will cure whatever is ailing the zebras.

Hate to think this will take all of them out. Does the API Super Ick Cure cure the fish or is it a preventative? Should I have used the Pimafix instead? Suggestions.

 

[Angela1108]

Well ick cure will only cure ick not a fungus. Did they have a bunch of white spots or was it actual fin rot? Ick cure won't touch fin rot/fungus as ick is parasite.


If she suggested it for extra slime coat you should just get the slime coat/stress zyme.




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[Angela1108]

You might want to look into fungus cure instead.


Is it on their faces at all? It seemed like the first progressed to his death pretty quickly which makes me wonder about columnaris. It's a pretty fast acting and deadly if it isn't caught thing


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[jk10]

The color of its stripes went from bright blue to pale white, there is a film/fuzzy mold looking thing wrapped around it between its top fin and tail fin. No spots on the face, just the change of color in its stripes and the fuzz around its back portion. Since adding the Ick Cure, the fuzz seems to have gone down, of course the wear is a shade of blue because of the solution, but the color also seems to be coming back.

 

[jk10]

He is also swimming towards the top and no where else. The other fish will swim by him, but not much.

I have Pimafix and also purchased Stress Zyme, too, for water changes.

Any recommendations are good before I lose more of my little dudes.

Update: Just added Pimafix after talking to someone who has had several tanks. Said it might hurt them a bit, but it might work . Going to try it out and hope for the best. Come on Minion and the Mob (names for the fish).

 

[jk10]

Well, been a rough week with the fish. Monday morning, one was dead. Monday night when I got home with the Ick Cure and Pimafix, another was sick. Wednesday that one was dead. Yesterday, another was a goner. Sadly, this morning another was dead. I have two of the five original zebra danios left. The biggest and the smallest, the two that seem the healthiest. I think I might do a water change tonight and quite the treatment of Pimafix. They haven't been eating are less active. The biggest one will start doing hot laps around the tank for 10-15 minutes at a time.

The first one to go had the fungal stuff on its tail. Same with the second but was found trapped against the part of the filter that was in the water. This morning, the one I found had seemed healthy last night. I did notice that it's tail was kind of drooping a bit last night, which I read was some sort of disease.

Next step will likely be to see if the two remaining can survive for a week before I think about adding any new fish. Otherwise, April will bring a restart to the tank.