AAAAAAAAARGH!!!

[3fsh]

OMG!!! I am sooooo frustrated!!! I just looked at one of my black mollies and she has white patches of fuzz on her back and fins!!! Why?! Why?! Why?! This is so unfair... I thought it was over. I also just noticed that another one of the guppies has a fin that is "rotting". I am so depressed. I have decided to treat the entire tank with Maracyn... should I also isolate the fish showing the symptoms? I am so frustrated right now.

 

[Dakota Ice]

You need to find the root of all the problems or else they will just continue to come back over and over again.

For now, what you are treating with is fine. Don`t remove them, treat the whole tank just in case.

What are your water readings? Size of the tank? All the fish in it? How often do you do water changes?

edit: typo.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Hey 3fsh, like Dakoda Ic said, treat the whole tank, not just the infected ones, and you need to find the cause too.

Remove any eccess dead plant leaves etc that have died and are floating around. This can cause fungal and skin etc problems.

Hoope all is good.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi there, ok firstly lets calm a bit .
The rotting fins on your fish are likely to be fin rot, can you explain in more detail what the white patches look like on you other fish, like cotton wool like/just white slimey looking patches? What are your water stats(ammonia/nitrates/nitrites)?
If the patches look like little bits of cotton wool, it is likely it is fish fungus but it could be other things depending on any other info you can give us.

 

[3fsh]

Mkay, here we go...

What are your water readings? Size of the tank? All the fish in it? How often do you do water changes?

I haven't checked all water params... ammonia is zero, I know that for sure. I used to test for everything once a week, but everything was always at zero because the tank was doing reeeeeaally well. Maybe there have been changes lately? I dunno... I'm off to buy a test kit just in case, but I have a feeling that all levels are ok. The tank is a 10g and I probably have 12-15 fish in there (all under 1in). I do a 1-2g water change once a week.

Remove any eccess dead plant leaves etc that have died and are floating around. This can cause fungal and skin etc problems.

You know what... this might be the problem. When I first set up my tank, I didn't have the best lighting for the plants, so I think their roots rotted away a little bit... and I read somewhere that if you have plants then you shouldn't vaccuum the gravel... uh oh... I'm sensing a problem here. I have a feeling that there is a lot of rotten, decaying matter in the gravel that is making the water... well... icky (for lack of a better word). Should I transfer them + most of the tank water to a bucket and then do a huge gravel vac and clean-up?

The rotting fins on your fish are likely to be fin rot, can you explain in more detail what the white patches look like on you other fish, like cotton wool like/just white slimey looking patches? What are your water stats(ammonia/nitrates/nitrites)?
If the patches look like little bits of cotton wool, it is likely it is fish fungus but it could be other things depending on any other info you can give us.

They are kind of cottony patches. Not too raised, though. It's kind of hard to see them because the fish are sooo tiny. As I said (above), I haven't tested lately... I'm planning on buying a new kit tommorrow morning.


Thank you guys for all your help!!!

 

[BettaMomma]

Hey girl - yep, you should be vacuuming a tank like that like nobody's business.
I would do a massive vacuum, taking out along the lines of a 40-50% of the water. Someone may disagree w/this just because of the cyclage mess up, but this is what I'd do and just monitor levels after you do the massive cleaning)...
Someone else could suggest a regular vacuuming schedule - cuz I don't have any tanks that I need to vacuum, but I used to so I know you should be vacuuming.

If I were you, I'd treat the whole works with Maracyn and Maracyn Two at the same time. They're perfectly safe to use together, and with those 2 you pretty much cover most illnesses that they could be battling.

It sounds like it could be columnaris creeping around in your tank.

My most recent rescue, Jack, had oodles of cottony patches all over him - some of them were even growing out from under his scales, causing 2 of his scales to stick straight out. He also had severely shredded fins and pinholes. After just one round of M and M2, the cottony junk is gone and by all appearances it looks like he's on the road to recovery.

 

[3fsh]

Well, I think I have some good news!!! *fingers crossed* The minute I saw that the molly had white patches on her, I put in Maracyn and Pimafix... today the patches are almost gone!!! None of my other fish seem to be affected... so I'm really relieved. Today I performed a tank "overhaul". I completely re-aquascaped the tank and changed 75% of the gravel to flourite. I also did a 50% water change... so we'll see. I'm off to buy a new test kit! (I'm gonna have to physically force myself to not walk past the fish section or I might accidentally pick up a betta. )

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

good to hear the good news; from my experience black mollys can be a bit prone to skin problems as mine has had quite a few in the past but the seem to recover from them at the same time faster than most fish; hope all goes well for you

 

[BettaMomma]

Great!
I bet there's a great buzz in your fishtank now between the fishes about how happy they are!

Yay

 

[3fsh]

I picked up a test kit and the results are.... drumroll please...

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10

I didn't test for pH because our water is at a constant 7.5-8 and I just started the Co2 cannister up again (not producing anything yet) so it's around there. I'm going to test tommorow morning and post the results to see if there is any change. All fishies are happy and swimming around, eating all the gunk that got stirred up, and... well... mating. Seems like everything is back to normal! Thanx for all your help guys!

BTW- I HAD to walk past the betta section and there were no bettas!!! Somebody must have known I was coming. Lol...

 

[3fsh]

Yeeeeeeeeess!!! Woohoo! Yipee! Uh huh, uh huh, no more sick fish, no more sick fish, uh huh, uh huh... *does a happy dance* Everyone is doing AMAZING all the fungus/fin rot is gone and they all look extremely healthy and happy. Water parameters are perfect... life is good. Thank you guys soooooooo much for all of your help!!!

 

[WILDER]

Great , keep up the good work.

 

[BettaMomma]

YAY for you!
I bet it's fabulous to have everyone happy and healthy.

Maybe one day i'll be there too. lol