Fungal Infection?

[Silencedogood]

My young guppies in my 10 gal have a weird fungal infection. They have cottony spots all over their tails and bodies and wherever the spots are, the color on the fish turns yellowy. I was away for five days so I'm not sure how this started. My fish are between 1-5 months in age. I was a little apprehensive with treating them since they are so young. I added 3 tablespoons of salt last night and today I added one dose of Marineland Ick Remedy; it treats ick and fungal infections. I have 40+ guppies in this tank and at least 10 of them are affected.

 

[threecharacters]

I've never kept guppies, but 40+ guppies in a 10 gallon sounds wildly excessive. How does the water test? Fungal or bacterial infections are typically due to an unhealthy environment. By all means treat your fish, but they may just get sick again if you don't reduce the stocking.

 

[Colin_T]

Any chance of a picture of the fish?
If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

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I assume your water quality is good?

You should always find out what the problem is before adding chemicals. Many fish health issues can be treated with water changes or by adding salt. Chemical medications should be used as a last resort.

What other fish are in the tank?
If it is only guppies, then you can add heaps of salt but post pictures before you do.

The first thing to do with sick fish is test the water, then wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Then post pictures.

 

[Silencedogood]

 

[Silencedogood]

I only have guppies in this tank and my water quality is good. ( I use API master test kit). Most of the guppies that are sick are my ugly ones but some of my promising ones are also getting affected. Will their color come back?

I did a second dose of the Ick Remedy and they don't look as bad today. They do have clamped fins though. I also didn't do a water change yet. If I do a 75% water change, how much salt should I add back in? ( I already added 3 tablespoons).

 

[Silencedogood]

I've never kept guppies, but 40+ guppies in a 10 gallon sounds wildly excessive. How does the water test? Fungal or bacterial infections are typically due to an unhealthy environment. By all means treat your fish, but they may just get sick again if you don't reduce the stocking.

The guppies are still fairly small so I assumed it was okay to have that many. Half of them are about half the size of an adult and the rest are no longer than a fingernail.

 

[FishGuest5123]

It could be fin nipping since it’s on the tails. I would get a larger tank for that many.

 

[Silencedogood]

It could be fin nipping since it’s on the tails. I would get a larger tank for that many.

I don't think it's fin nipping; they have cottony dots on their bodies as well. I was planning on bringing the bigger ones to my LFS but then they broke out with this fungus.

 

[FishGuest5123]

You can raise the temp a little too. Fungus doesn’t like heat. If you do a 75% water change then you need to add 3/4 of your initial salt dosage back in.

 

[Silencedogood]

You can raise the temp a little too. Fungus doesn’t like heat. If you do a 75% water change then you need to add 3/4 of your initial salt dosage back in.

I raised the temp to 86 F. Is it critical that I do a water change or can I wait until I have finished the round of medication?

 

[Byron]

I only have guppies in this tank and my water quality is good. ( I use API master test kit).

For the future so you know, always post test results regardless; different people have different ideas as to water values. It would help to post them here too.

 

[Silencedogood]

I just retested my water and the parameters changed drastically from two weeks ago.

ph-6.4
nitrite-0.50 ppm
nitrate-160 ppm
ammonia-0.25 ppm

I found my problem. How big of a water change should I do?

 

[Byron]

I just retested my water and the parameters changed drastically from two weeks ago.

ph-6.4
nitrite-0.50 ppm
nitrate-160 ppm
ammonia-0.25 ppm

I found my problem. How big of a water change should I do?

OK, with these numbers forget the medication as it is only going to harm the fish even more when they are struggling with nitrite and nitrate.

Ammonia is not significant when the pH remains acidic as here. However, this raises another issue...guppies are livebearers and require moderately hard (or harder) water (what is the GH?) and a basic (above 7) pH. In softer and/or acidic water they are struggling with this as well, and that weakens them further. You can see how all these things relate to each other when it comes to fish health.

Nitrite must be zero (as you undoubtedly know) and nitrate must be as low as possible and not above 20 ppm at the max. Do significant water changes daily to get these numbers to where they belong. Use a good conditioner, no other additives. Getting the water quality restored is way more important at this juncture.

On the nitrate, test your tap water on its own if you haven't already, just to see if any nitrate is coming in that way. Nitrates occurring within the aquarium are easier to handle and clean up, but having nitrate in the source water can require different remedy as well.

 

[Silencedogood]

The highest nitrate reading in my water source is 20 ppm.

 

[Silencedogood]

I'll do a water change and then get the gh and kh reading. I can't do that now because my water is blue with the treatment.