hazyvonne
New Member
Hello everyone,
The fish
I need some help with my angelfish. He’s still pretty small - under 2 inches. Since we don’t know his gender yet, we’re currently calling him a boy with the temporary name Smoky.
The tank
After quarantine, he went into my 55g community tank. There are platies, cories, otos, and a handful of blue-eyed rainbowfish in there, along with some assassin snails. It’s ridiculously peaceful - I’ve never seen any bullying or fighting. A little while ago, I removed all male platies from the tank since it’s super well planted, and the amount of fry that survived was getting out of hand. Of course, the girls still have some babies even without the guys, and Smoky helped keep the numbers under control (the many, many, many survivors go into a special holding tank before I bring them to my LFS). All water parameters are what they are supposed to be, the temperature is around 80 degrees and I do weekly 30% water changes.
The problem
About a month after he went into the 55g, I noticed a white-ish spot on his side. He had been changing soooo much since we got him that I at first thought it was just another color change. I noticed it got a bit bigger over time and looked a little rough. So I thought maybe he had hurt himself on some of the wood in the tank or something. He was acting totally normal as well. I then had to go out of town for 10 days and had my husband take care of the fish (very little feeding, just enough to keep them alright while not dirtying the tank too much). I did big water changes right before I left and right when I got back. When I came back, I noticed that the white spot had not only grown, but now I could see that it was a bit fluffy. There were now also another spot by his fin and one more on his other side over his eye. I googled around, and it seemed like it was some kind of fungus. No other fish in the tank was affected (and still isn't).
What I’ve done so far
I immediately removed him from the 55g and put him in my quarantine tank. I had Fritz Maracyn at home, so I followed the instruction and dosed him with that for 5 days. He was still happy, came to me as soon as he saw me, and ate well. Five days later, I saw absolutely no change in his condition. So I did big water changes three days in a row - let him be in that fresh water and relax. Meanwhile, I got myself some Maracyn Oxy since I read online that works better with fungus problems. He has now been in that for 5 days as well (like the bottle recommends). I think I see a change in the big spot. The fluffy area has gotten much smaller, maybe half the size. I don’t think the other spots have changed at all, though. Also, he has become withdrawn in the last 2 days. He hides, won’t come to me, and barely eats. I did a 60% water change today, and I feel he perked up a bit. I’ll do more water changes in the next couple of days as well.
This is where I need advice
What do I do now? He’s maybe improved a little, but not that much. Is this even fungus? Am I treating for the right thing? Should I let him have a break for a few days and then do the Maracyn Oxy again? I read online at Aquarium Coop (link here) about a fungus treatment with salt. Any opinions on that?
Any help/advice/encouragement would be highly appreciated! Thank you!
The fish
I need some help with my angelfish. He’s still pretty small - under 2 inches. Since we don’t know his gender yet, we’re currently calling him a boy with the temporary name Smoky.
The tank
After quarantine, he went into my 55g community tank. There are platies, cories, otos, and a handful of blue-eyed rainbowfish in there, along with some assassin snails. It’s ridiculously peaceful - I’ve never seen any bullying or fighting. A little while ago, I removed all male platies from the tank since it’s super well planted, and the amount of fry that survived was getting out of hand. Of course, the girls still have some babies even without the guys, and Smoky helped keep the numbers under control (the many, many, many survivors go into a special holding tank before I bring them to my LFS). All water parameters are what they are supposed to be, the temperature is around 80 degrees and I do weekly 30% water changes.
The problem
About a month after he went into the 55g, I noticed a white-ish spot on his side. He had been changing soooo much since we got him that I at first thought it was just another color change. I noticed it got a bit bigger over time and looked a little rough. So I thought maybe he had hurt himself on some of the wood in the tank or something. He was acting totally normal as well. I then had to go out of town for 10 days and had my husband take care of the fish (very little feeding, just enough to keep them alright while not dirtying the tank too much). I did big water changes right before I left and right when I got back. When I came back, I noticed that the white spot had not only grown, but now I could see that it was a bit fluffy. There were now also another spot by his fin and one more on his other side over his eye. I googled around, and it seemed like it was some kind of fungus. No other fish in the tank was affected (and still isn't).
What I’ve done so far
I immediately removed him from the 55g and put him in my quarantine tank. I had Fritz Maracyn at home, so I followed the instruction and dosed him with that for 5 days. He was still happy, came to me as soon as he saw me, and ate well. Five days later, I saw absolutely no change in his condition. So I did big water changes three days in a row - let him be in that fresh water and relax. Meanwhile, I got myself some Maracyn Oxy since I read online that works better with fungus problems. He has now been in that for 5 days as well (like the bottle recommends). I think I see a change in the big spot. The fluffy area has gotten much smaller, maybe half the size. I don’t think the other spots have changed at all, though. Also, he has become withdrawn in the last 2 days. He hides, won’t come to me, and barely eats. I did a 60% water change today, and I feel he perked up a bit. I’ll do more water changes in the next couple of days as well.
This is where I need advice
What do I do now? He’s maybe improved a little, but not that much. Is this even fungus? Am I treating for the right thing? Should I let him have a break for a few days and then do the Maracyn Oxy again? I read online at Aquarium Coop (link here) about a fungus treatment with salt. Any opinions on that?
Any help/advice/encouragement would be highly appreciated! Thank you!
