Fungus Consuming Live Fish

[spencer_41188]

I have a 55gal tank I keep 8 mollies, 4 platies, 4 guppies, a sword tail and a clown pleco
 
the mollies seem to be growing cotton in the fins and losing scales behind there head then die quickly there after.
 
this will be the 3rd molly this has happened to within a week already lost 2 of them
 
this time its a little different because I am medicating with API Furan-2 and API Fungus cure.
 
last week I did a 50% water change and cleaned the gravel from end to end making sure I got everything also cleaned all the décor.
 
I tested the water last night and everything was 0ppm and ph is 7.4
 
 

 

[Meeresstille]

Could you post a picture? It could make it easier for people to help you figure this out. 
 
Could you tell us how long your tank has been set up for, and if it is cycled (takes about 6 weeks to build up the necessary bacteria in the filter). Have you cycled the tank with those fish in it?
 
Are you using the liquid test kit or test strips?

 

[WILDER]

We do need to know your water stats please in ammonia,, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp.
 
Any redness to the area of the missing scales, or white patchjes?.
Are the scales lifting. Get a magnifying glass to take a closer look to see if you can
see any parasites under the scales?
Are there any lumps or bumps underneath the missing scales.?
Any signs of flicking and rubbing?
Darting around tank, or erratic swimming?
Any signs of laboured breathing?
Any res streaking in the fins?
Any cotton wool patches on body of fish, or bleached out patches on body?

 

[spencer_41188]

we have a fresh water master test kit  cant think of the brand name its the vials not the test strips, there was a cottony-deal on the 2 mollies we had pass, we were told by a guy who worked at the pet store that it was a fungus , hence the antibiotic and fungus treatment , all of our mollies are usually pretty active, swimming up and down, all over the tank, but now our male creamsicle lyre-tail molly has a white spot on its head , I tried to get my phone to upload a picture I took of him but it wouldn't let me upload it , all of it started with a molly from the pet store that had a broken fin that we did not see until she was already in the tank.  we have tested and re-tested the water with the same result ammonia is light blue, the molly that was injured it started with a red spot then the cottony fungus then we had a gold dust molly , that lost part of its fin also grew the cottony fungus the tank was cycled through weeks before the fish were baught and had prime cycled through during water changes, I've also thought the white spot on the creamsicle male molly might be a parasite his orange scales aren't there but im not sure, we are pretty new to this process have only had the aquarium going on 3 months
the temp is 82 , mollies range between 77-82 we have also read to start turning the heater down a degree or so every few days could slow the fungus. while we want rid of the supposed fungus, I also don't want to shock their system, so im kind of iffy on that any help would be appreciated

some of our mollies seem to scratch on the décor rub against it . but other fish in the tank do not do this
id consider what the creamsicle has a bleached patch with no scales it doesn't seem red or raised but im not sure whats causing it

 

[WILDER]

How long have you been using the medications now?
White spots can be columnaris.  Usually present themselves on the head region. But need to make sure.
Does the spot have any red, or pink areas, like in the centre, or outside of the spot.
Bigger than a grain of salt.
 
Fish can flick and rub with medications in the tank also, as well as bad water quality, parasites.

 

[spencer_41188]

we put the furan-2 in first on Saturday the instructions say wait 24 hours then do 2nd dose cycle out 25% water which we will be doing the fungus medication box says 48 hours 25/ water change up to 4 doses
we were told we could use both in unison , but have only done one dose of each thus far the next being tomorrow

there doesn't seem to be anything in or around the spot just the white patch as of now

we think columnaris is what this might be ,possibly spread from the injured molly fish we had

even though the tank isn't exactly pretty due to the medicine everything is green, the med is powder packet ammonia nitrite etc all comes back 0ppm

ive also read that a drastic water change could slow the fungus more than the usual 25-50 percent like 75 percent of it but im also not sure about that
the white patch on his head id say is bigger than a salt grain ,maybe its not infected because of the meds im not sure

 

[WILDER]

Medications can take a while to work. Even take  a few rounds.
So don't panic yet. Early days. Just hope the fish start to improve soon.
 
Good Luck.
If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to post.

 

[spencer_41188]

they had an api antibiotic for parasites the name isn't coming too me right off hand but would you think its a possibility something I might need to get I also baught pimafix and melafix

 

[WILDER]

Antibiotics are used for bacterial infections, not parasites.
It sound more bacterial to me at the moment.
 
It's always wise to have a whitespot medication at hand.
 
Melafix is only good as an  antiseptic treatment.
Pimafix is mainly used for fungal infections, but don't rate it much as not
all fish tolerate it to well.

 

[spencer_41188]

the api brand had one for parasites I just couldn't think of the name off top ezythromycin maybe the pimafix and melafix were recommended by a pet store worker, I tried asking my dad even he's had fish over 3 years and he didn't have any idea

and by white spot do you mean a bacterial?

this says your from the uk , im in the us so brands might not be the same but is there a particular one you get for the white spot or know an off brand

I was told to be weary of the ones with copper , because of my clown pleco

 

[WILDER]

 ezythromycin Is an antibiotic and treats internal and external bacteria infections.
 
Whitespot is a parasite medication. Start a thread in tropical discussion to ask which
whitespot medication would be best for the fish you keep.
 
Good Luck.