Please Help!

[TeresaMV]

Hey everyone,

I realized a ball of fuzz on one of the barbs of my panda cory about two days ago and it's getting a little worse everyday. Can anyone tell me the problem? Possibly Fungus?
It's a little red around its mouth...

I appreciate it!

I attached a picture but I don't see it?

 

[This Old Spouse]

It's called mouth fungus and can be fatal. I lost 13 cory to this nasty disease. You need to get an antibiotic specifically for fish. You might want to repost this in the Tropical Fish Emergencies section for better response.

Start off by doing a large water change. How many other fish and what kind? How big is your tank? How long has it been cycled? What are your water parameters, and what kind of test do you use?

 

[TeresaMV]

Thanks for replying!
Did a 40% water change about an hour ago. I currently have a fifteen gallon with 2 pandas and 5 neon tetras, it's been cycled for about 6 months now... I use the API Master Test Kit and the ammonia spiked the past two days to about 1.5 ppm- I've never had a tank with ammonia this high unless it's cycling... and no nitrite or nitrate.
Should I use prime just for today until I find another antibiotic?

 

[This Old Spouse]

OMG!! 1.5 ppm ammonia??? Yikes! You'll need to do about a 90% water change again, and right now, to get that ammonia down. Then do another test to see where you're at. Yikes.

 

[TeresaMV]

I just retested- 1.0 ppm... still not satisfied so I think I'll add another filter... Thanks for the help Old Spouse! I'll be back!

 

[Tizer]

adding another filter wont do anything, if its a new one. have you been doing a water change without dechlorinating? i suggest regular testing and water changes until the filter kicks back into life.

 

[TeresaMV]

Nope- always dechlorinate the water... I'm doing the 50% daily water changes.
Thanks by the way!

 

[nurglespuss]

Grab some API stresszyme, and put it in with next water change (after dechlorinating), it should help temporarily! (plus its easy to get hold of!)

 

[TeresaMV]

I'll see if I can find it! I just isolated my Cory into a 5 gallon quarantine tank and added API Fungus Cure... hopefully it works!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Better to get StressCoat+ which dechlorinates your water plus it neutralizes the ammonia that could be in your tap water. I have ammonia in my tap water and since switching to StressCoat+ I don't have a problem with it anymore. If you're in the UK I believe it's Prime that's best to use.

Any ammonia in your water is harming your fish. Any.

 

[nurglespuss]

Better to get StressCoat+ which dechlorinates your water plus it neutralizes the ammonia that could be in your tap water. I have ammonia in my tap water and since switching to StressCoat+ I don't have a problem with it anymore. If you're in the UK I believe it's Prime that's best to use.

Any ammonia in your water is harming your fish. Any.

Hi there - API stresszyme neutralises ammonia too... (it just halted a spike in my tank)

 

[This Old Spouse]

Oh good! Didn't know it did that. There you go!

 

[nurglespuss]

Lol no worries I only found out out of neccessity! ;D

 

[TeresaMV]

Sadly my Cory died in the quarantine tank today- I used API Fungus Care
I'm about to bring back the other Cory =/ I feel guilty I only bought 2 because I know they're schooling fish- they seemed lonely =/

As for the ammonia, I think I know what caused the spike! I clean the tank every week with the water changes so I'm assuming poor quality isn't the source. I added new sand about a week and a half ago called Instant Aquarium sand- it says it contains a biological additive that starts cycling immediately, however, my tank has been established for about 6 months! Can the new sand be the cause the spike?

 

[Harlequins]

Well according to the write up it's suppose to eliminate ammonia??

"Tap water is all you need to get started. Instant Aquarium immediately begins the cycling process, eliminating new tank syndrome, and discourages nuisances algaes. Instant Aquarium detoxifies metals, eliminates ammonia, neutralises chlorine and chloramines, and provides a slime coat for stressed fish. Instant Aquarium also reduces nitrates and nitrites."

It could be possible you caused a spike when you remove the old substrate from your tank,did you remove all the water at the same time??

Sorry to hear you lost your cory

Plus some meds can mess your stats around also...