Fungus?

[derail]

Want to make sure I have proper diagnosis. My mickey mouse platy male had been acting a bit reclusive the past two days, yesterday fins were clamped. Today I spotted what looked like cotton on the base of his tail fin. Its thin, but not normal. It's slight white like cotton as well.

Don't have a quarantine tank sadly, and I blame the new tetras I acquired for it. I've treated the tank for fungus...is this the right choice? Should I treat with melafix too?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Fungus isn't very common, it's most likely a bacterial infection. To treat you can add salt to the tank and lower the temp a few degrees, give the fish a salt bath or swap the area with hydrogen peroxide. Can you post a picture and test the parameters?

 

[derail]

Insanely hard to get a picture that does justice to what I'm worried about, and also, Jig has been insanely reluctant to turn the side that seems to be infected to the camera . I finally moved him to a breeder trap contraption to keep him isolated, and am seriously considering euthanizing him to prevent the spread of whatever it is. Tank water is tinted green because of fungal treatment, something I didn't expect to last as long as it has.

The Mickey Mouse Platy (Jig)'s infected side isn't as fungal as I first thought, it actually seems like his scales are coming off, which is more concerning than the fungus possibility. They're spread off, similar to what dropsy causes in Guppies, but he's not bloated and he's not really that lethargic; he's got an appetite and was rather upset when I netted him to move him to that trap. Pretty feisty still, which calmed me a bit as he was a self-proclaimed king of that tank until I added the three spot gourami--something he overcame a few days after introduction and was still king of the tank Lol.

Parameters are as follows: Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate .5. The third picture I think best shows the problem with his side-seems lighter than the rest of his body.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Try the treatments mentioned above. I've seen fish come back from heaps worse. do you have a quarantine tank or a tub to keep him in?

 

[derail]

Try the treatments mentioned above. I've seen fish come back from heaps worse. do you have a quarantine tank or a tub to keep him in?

I have a "Pet Carrier" that he can stay in; not heated though and poorly filtered (just an air stone to irritate water surface).

 

[Mumma.of.two]

That would be fine as long as the room doesn't get too cold. Anything above 70F is fine. As for filtration you will be changing water daily so ammonia won't be a problem.

 

[derail]

Ok. Thanks for keeping me focused on remedy rather than malady. I was so set on what was wrong. Good old fashioned salt bath here we go!

 

[derail]

So, an update on Jig here. The scales near his caudal fin has all but healed, just a small patch toward the top of his body. Looks like the salt baths are helping a ton.

Now, however, there appears to be something wrong with his mouth, and I'm thinking it's not much of a cause for concern. Off his mouth, there appears to be what one would describe as a worm, but it also isn't moving around so I'm not thinking it's a worm, but possibly the skin on the membrane of his "lips" has come off a bit. Is it possible that he has scraped his mouth on the breeder trap that I have him in for now, or has he developed like a mouth fungus or is there actually a worm on his mouth? If a worm, do I need to physically remove it? Just want to cover all bases, I've had Jig for over a year now and I know livebearers don't have exuberantly long lives.

Pic isn't as lighted as I wanted, but it's not a professional quality camera and I'm not a photographer lol.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. I can't really tell from the picture. From what I can see it does look like part if his lip. Look up some pictures of anchor worms and other external parasites just in case.