the fungus among us?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

the fungus among us?

by a1k8t31524

ok so i just added 2 small ryukins to my goldfish tank one of them has two small whit blotches on it one on its tail one on its body, from what i have read i am thinking that it is fungus. if so will salt cure this i would like to stay away from the medications if i can ind if the salt will do it how much should i add?
should have listened to all the books and magazines ...and quarantined huh


spongebob4460
 
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 am

by spongebob4460

i believe this is ich? only know of medications that treat this, and its common so i wouldn't worry about using them rather than salt


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Ick is one of the most common parasites that fish can get and it has a very distinctive look to it. It looks like little white whitehead pimples and can be on any part of the body. Fungus looks like fussy patches of white stuff. Ick can be treated by raising the temp to say 85 to 90 degrees (depending on the fish) and treating with formalin blue, or Ick medication avaliable at any fish store. You have to treat for a few days after the spots are gone because it's actually the ick organism in it's free swimming form that can be killed and you need to kill all of these. Remove any charcoal during the duration of treatment. Fungus is potentially harder to get rid of. Check out www.plantgeek.com for remedies. Good luck!


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

its not ich i have seen that before and it is only 2 little blotches to tell you the truth it almost looks like a pimple... but like i said it is only 2 spots i thought ich was all over that body


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Sorry I directed you to a plant site. Well, I don't know. Sometimes ick only shows up with a few spots at first. I've heard ick can be in the gills of the fish. If it were on the lip of the fish I would say it was fungus. I don't think I can help you unless I saw it myself. If it gets worse you'll probably figure out whether or not for sure it's ick, and you can go to the store and get what you need. Good luck.


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

we shall see what what becomes of this... but back to the salt question. i have herd 1 table spoon for every 5 gallons... is this correct? and do i really have to buy that "aquarium" salt....at my home for me i use natural un-iodized sea salt you think that would work
and to respond to the water temp question.... i have a cold water tank. lost my heater awhile back.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

No you don't have to spend on fancy aquarium salt. As long as it's not iodised and doesnt have any other ingredients in it, and I believe you're right about the amount. The purpose of heating up the water for ick is to speed up the ick organism's life cycle, to get it to it's free swimming form so it can be killed. With cold water treatment will just take a few days longer (if you have ick). If it's fungus it will look fuzzy.


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

well i salted my tank.......and didnt seem to help now what i thought was fungus seems to look like ulcers and the affected fish has one his stomach, what is the best way to treat this, or is there any?


spongebob4460
 
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 am

by spongebob4460

ulcer looking stuff is fungus, isn't it peter?


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I'm not a total expert on this. From my experience fungus looks like fuzzy stuff. Ulcers sound like a result of poor water quality to me. Maybe the new fish were injured a little during transport or somehow, and these injuries allowed infection to set in. The other fish's skin is probably intact enough to ward off infections in their skins. I would take some of your water and have it checked out at the aquarium store. If there are elevated levels of waste products you can take care of that with frequent water changes, add dechlorinator to the new water, change the filter material or if it's intact rinse it in dechlorinated water to retain any beneficial bacteria and reuse it, add new charcoal and add Cycle, a product made of beneficial bacteria. An alternative to adding charcoal, and others may have more knowledgeable opinions on this, would be to remove the charcoal and use a product called Melafix. It's made out of tea-tree oil and is a natural disinfectant. So, feed less, check the water, and ask the aquarium store. They may have books with pictures and can identify exactly what your fish have. I'm not an expert on antibiotics or fugicides for fish, but if you go this route you will probably have to add a buch of benneficial bacteria during and/or after treatment to restart the cycle. Ask about temperature too. Maybe warmer water would be better and you could buy a cheap heater. The stores in my area often reccomend increacing the tempurature to combat infections, though I don't remember other than with ick how or why. I have a lot of experience with aquariums, but I don't know everything. Try to get some experienced advice from a reputable aquarium store, or if you don't have one near by I would try to research it on the internet. Good luck.

the fungus among us?

15 posts • Page 1 of 2

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