Treatment of fungus

I'm dismayed to find that a fungus has been attacking my natives in my 55 gallon. It would appear that there is ich also. I used "aquarisol" for the ich, and I think
it killed it off. But the fungus seems to continue creeping up. I've lost several fish to it. Now I see it's on my prized Crescent Shiner. I've started with Melafix two day's ago,
but don't see improvement as yet.

The fungus seems to vary as to appearance and location. One of my swallowtail shiners has two clumps on it's head. Some fish have a bit on the tails. Other fish seemed to get it
as a pale haze on their skin, which spread, then killed them.

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas on treatment other than what I've tried, I'd appreciate it.

remove fish from tank and place in a smaller tank cover fungus with povidone iodine or mercurochrome.
on a cotton ball and blot it several times a day for the first day,leave this fish in this tank for 2 weeks with salt in the water.
in your 55g tank vac the gravel and clean your filters out then do a 35% water change the first week and add salt.
second week do a 25% water change add salt vac the gravel every other week.
keep your tank clean and the fish free of stress and this trouble should stop.

Edited by CATfishTONY, 13 September 2010 - 08:53 PM.

I did the mercurochrome once, and it worked, but I hated handling the fish. They don't hold still good. I couldn't get real mercurochrome, I don't think they sell it anymore, but got a substitute. I use Maroxy now. It's worked well for me, and I can just dose the display tank.

It might not be fungus. The first thing you should do is correctly diagnose the disease. Do you own a microscope or have access to one? Because if you sample the growth that was on one of your fish and look at it under a microscope, you'll know definitively what it is.

Here, follow these diagnostic charts:
http://www.fishyfarm..._disorders.html
http://www.fishyfarm...al_changes.html
http://www.fishyfarm...s_in_color.html
If you have a microscope: http://www.fishyfarm...s/bacteria.html

I mean, I'm just saying, if it's actually columnaris (a gram negative bacteria often mistaken for a fungus because it looks cottony) and you're treating it like a fungus, then it will simply laugh at you and continue to kill your fish. http://www.americana...Columnaris.html
To me, I can't rule out the scenario that your fish contracted columnaris first and then got ich as a secondary infection. Ich is an opportunistic disease that often colonizes diseased hosts. It's possible that that's what happened.

Only once you have positively identified the disease can you begin to effectively treat it.

Edited by Okiimiru, 14 September 2010 - 06:48 AM.

If it is columnaris, the only medication that I have been able to cure it with is Maracyn-Plus.

Firstly, I thank all of you for taking time from your busy schedules to give me some ideas as to what's attacking my fish. Your efforts are really appreciated. As okiimiru suggested, I think I've got a combo illness, ich, which set the stage for what might be the dreaded flexibactor/ columnaris. Based on the info you supplied, it looks like the salt and Marycin Plus might work.

Thanks again!