Fishymishy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2023
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Help! Fuzzy fins on pigmy Cory
- Thread starter Fishymishy
- Start date
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Please take a read through the "unhealthy fish" sticky and give as much detail as you are able.
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html
Fishymishy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2023
- Messages
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Tank parameters are perfect.
Water changes weekly (min 50 percent)
23 gallon tank stocked with 8 pigmy corydoras, 6 tetras (will move them soon), one honey gourami, 1 bamboo shrimp and one female guppy.
Went away for 4 days, came back and saw rotted fungus covered food (looked like fish feeder was dumping too much food). Cleaned everything. Now a week later I see what looks like fungus on this fish.
This Cory was always a rant. I didn’t even think he’d make it. He will sometimes be on his side on the bottom of tank. Doesn’t interact with others. Few times I thought he was dead.
Water changes weekly (min 50 percent)
23 gallon tank stocked with 8 pigmy corydoras, 6 tetras (will move them soon), one honey gourami, 1 bamboo shrimp and one female guppy.
Went away for 4 days, came back and saw rotted fungus covered food (looked like fish feeder was dumping too much food). Cleaned everything. Now a week later I see what looks like fungus on this fish.
This Cory was always a rant. I didn’t even think he’d make it. He will sometimes be on his side on the bottom of tank. Doesn’t interact with others. Few times I thought he was dead.
Fishymishy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2023
- Messages
- 34
Moved him into a bucket with water and heater. Dosed with aquarium salt, ice x and Maracyn combo. What else can I do? I don’t want to lose him - so sad to see this.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Are you sure the fuzz is on the fin or is it a piece of fuzzy food that the fin picked up? (I can't tell in your pictures.)
Fishymishy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2023
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Thank you so so much!!! I used a tiny brush to gently clean his side and it looks like it was rotten food stuck to his fins! I am still going to treat him in case he has an infection. Also because he is so small and not growing, I added paracleanse to the mix.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
It is Saprolegnia fungus. Just leave the fish in the main tank and add some salt to it.
Do not use medications unless you know what the problem is. Maracyn is an antibiotic and the fish does not have a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections appear as red sores or patches. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, fish, reptiles and mammals all around the world. Antibiotics should only be used on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments.
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SALT
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of external protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Do not use medications unless you know what the problem is. Maracyn is an antibiotic and the fish does not have a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections appear as red sores or patches. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, birds, fish, reptiles and mammals all around the world. Antibiotics should only be used on known bacterial infections that haven't responded to normal treatments.
-------------------
SALT
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of external protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
I wouldn't do that. The salt and clean water should be all the fish needed to heal. If this is Fritz Paracleanse, it will not treat fungus so you are putting the fish through a treatment that it doesn't need. I am not familiar with ice x so I have no idea what that does but the maracyn will only be effective if your Ph is over 7.2 and truthfully, maracyn ( erythromycin) does not treat fungus and is rarely the correct medicine for most aquarium diseases. Most if not all antibiotics are Ph sensitive so some will work in high Ph while other sin Low Ph so you really need to be particular in which meds you use.
Since this was a food issue and not a disease issue, I would replace the fish's water with just the salt and keep the water clean to help any injury heal. If you HAVE to use a antifungicide to make YOU feel better
, Frtiz aquatics now makes a med called EXPEL F which is made specifically for fungal infections. THAT is what I would use.
Presumably a typo. Ich X
Fishymishy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2023
- Messages
- 34
He is swimming upside down (more like floating). I wonder if he had parasites and I killed him by adding paracleanse in a panic to save him. He looked okayish earlier and then this. I am devastated. I think he will die and all because of me. I gave him fresh water in a desperate attempt. He is two times smaller than other Pygmy corydoras and they were all the same size when I got them. I suspect he was a rant and probably had parasites.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Being a runt is mostly genetic, not from disease or parasite. The fish probably reacted to too many medications. Putting him in clean water is it's best chance of survival. Just clean water, no meds at all. If you think it had a parasite because of it's size, you are on the wrong track. It was destined to be a runt from the moment it hatched so you had nothing to do with it.
