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Genocidal fungus
#1
Guest_WhereWolfe_*
Posted 19 July 2011 - 08:39 PM
#2
Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 19 July 2011 - 08:53 PM
Measure your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I bet there's something off there. If it was just one fish it could be that it was old or weak, but two sounds like a problem with water quality.
If your nitrogen is high, then what I would do is to do a 25% water change with dechlorinated water every day until the level (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) gets back to a safe number. Don't medicate just yet. It's possible that the medicine's side effects could stress the fish, so you should get the water clean first and then see if the fish fails to recover after that.
If, after a few days of clean water, the fish continues to worsen, then yes, add the medicine. It's recommended that you do a water change a day or so after adding the meds, to remove the little buggers that have detached themselves from your fish and are floating in the water column. After you've finished the course of the medication, use some activated carbon or Seachem Purigen® to remove the medicine's decaying molecules.
Edited by EricaWieser, 19 July 2011 - 09:01 PM.
#3
Guest_WhereWolfe_*
Posted 19 July 2011 - 09:23 PM
#4
Guest_WhereWolfe_*
Posted 19 July 2011 - 09:34 PM
#5
Guest_gzeiger_*
Posted 20 July 2011 - 07:01 PM
Overfeeding could be a contributor.
#6
Guest_gerald_*
Posted 21 July 2011 - 09:27 AM
#7
Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 21 July 2011 - 01:35 PM
If it is bacterial, furan is good stuff. I've had Furan 2 completely solve a couple of the bacterially based disease problems in my tank in the past. It's expensive but worth the money if you're using it right.Sounds like it could be Flexibacter (aka Flavobacterium or Columnaris), a bacteria not a fungus, although it is the cause of "mouth fungus" too. Ich/parasite meds will not cure it. Kanamycin, Cephalexin (Keflex), or Furan meds like Jungle Binox might work. It kills fish fast - not much time to diagnose and treat.
Of course, it also wiped out a few of the plant species I had at the time, and it has some significant side effects. Yes, it cured the disease it was supposed to, but at a cost.
The issue here is properly diagnosing the "white spots" you saw. If it's a parasite and you treat it with an antibacterial or an antifungal, then all the medication can do is have its normal side effects on your fish without having any of the beneficial effects. Ditto if it's a fungus or a bacteria and you use an anti-parasite medication.
If medications didn't interact with one another or cause any harmful side effects to the fish, then you could just add the meds for all three types of pathogen and your problem would be solved. But they do interact and they will stress your fish, and fish can and do often die of the compounded stresses you've given them above and beyond the stress of the pathogen on them.
If your tap water is a significantly different pH or hardness than your tank water then you don't want to just do indiscriminate massive water changes because forcing the fish to adapt to drastically different water parameters stresses them, too.
Here are some good diagnostic dichotomous keys:
http://www.fishyfarm..._disorders.html
http://www.fishyfarm...s/bacteria.html
You shouldn't add medication without knowing for sure if you've got a parasite like ich, a bacteria like columnaris, or a fungus. Testing the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and keeping those levels controlled goes a long way towards helping the fish recover.
Edited by EricaWieser, 21 July 2011 - 01:37 PM.
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