Fungus? Ich? What is it?

So, my Oscar has been getting sores on him. I figured it was from him brushing up against something in the tank. He would get a sore, and the next day it would be healed. Now he has a pretty bad sore on his head, and it has white stuff on it (im guessing fungus). He now has white spots on his fins and his fins seem pretty beat up :( Is it a fungus? Or Ich? Or both? I bought some Melafix and dosed the tank (my cory catfish has white spots on his dorsal fin too). What else can I do? I dont want to lose my Oscar, and I dont want my pleco to get sick.

Also, is there a dip that I can use for my Oscar? Thats what I was trying to find when I got the Melafix, but I was told that there arent dips for fungal issues, only for parasites.

Can you get some pics?

Fungus will look like cotton. Ick will look like salt crystals on fish. Fungus only grows on dead tissue. Formalin will stop fungus. Ick is treated with Quickcure and salt and heat. As far as a dip for ick make up a saltwater bath. Put fish into bath. Do not leave watch fish. When fish starts to seem stressed put back in tank. Like Flip pictures would help.

Dr. Who wrote:

Fungus will look like cotton. Ick will look like salt crystals on fish. Fungus only grows on dead tissue. Formalin will stop fungus. Ick is treated with Quickcure and salt and heat. As far as a dip for ick make up a saltwater bath. Put fish into bath. Do not leave watch fish. When fish starts to seem stressed put back in tank. Like Flip pictures would help.

Just to make sure , if you started treatment with formalin or quickcure do not use heat. The heat deprives oxygen in the tank, a combo of the two can be fatal for your fish. The only med to use with heat is salt.

I will try to get pics. My camera is dying, tho, and I cant find the charger :(

Flippercon wrote:

Dr. Who wrote:

Fungus will look like cotton. Ick will look like salt crystals on fish. Fungus only grows on dead tissue. Formalin will stop fungus. Ick is treated with Quickcure and salt and heat. As far as a dip for ick make up a saltwater bath. Put fish into bath. Do not leave watch fish. When fish starts to seem stressed put back in tank. Like Flip pictures would help.

Just to make sure , if you started treatment with formalin or quickcure do not use heat. The heat deprives oxygen in the tank, a combo of the two can be fatal for your fish. The only med to use with heat is salt.

Is Melafix the same as formalin? I was thinking about adding a little salt to the tank, but I wasnt sure if it was necessary.

red_dragon_girl_69 wrote:

Is Melafix the same as formalin? I was thinking about adding a little salt to the tank, but I wasnt sure if it was necessary.

No it is not. If you suspect it is fungus I would use formalin and formalin only. You do not want to stress the all ready stressed by adding salt and meds. Its one or the other. Save the melafix and get formalin. Like we said pictures would help a bunch. You also might want to pull out some of you BB from your tank just in case.

OK, I tried to get some pics, but they arent very good. My Oscar is a little camera shy.



You can see the white line that has formed on his eye over night. The lines on the fins arent really lines, they are spots and it looks like the fin is gone in some spots.



You can see the white spot on his head here. This is where the main injury was.



Another of the head injury



Head injury from behind. And a blurry view of the stuff on the fins.


Also, is it OK to switch meds if I already used a dose of the melafix? And would I be able to find the formalin in a petco or similar store? My fish place is closed today.


PS: All the "Lines" that can be seen in the water are just bubbles. I dont have any thing floating around in the tank that looks like lines.

From the pictures It looks like a cotton to me so i would treat with formalin. Yes you can treat with a new med , but since you treated with melafix a water change is needed. Also since you have scaleless guys in there be cautious about the amounts of medications you use. I have found formalin at chain stores before. For the time being I would turn the light off,do a water change, put carbon back in, and go find formalin. Look at API General Cure,API Fungus cure, and MaracynII too, if they don't have formalin.

Flippercon wrote:

From the pictures It looks like a cotton to me so i would treat with formalin. Yes you can treat with a new med , but since you treated with melafix a water change is needed. Also since you have scaleless guys in there be cautious about the amounts of medications you use. I have found formalin at chain stores before. For the time being I would turn the light off,do a water change, put carbon back in, and go find formalin. Look at API General Cure,API Fungus cure, and MaracynII too, if they don't have formalin.

OK, so Petsmart did not have formalin. I did pick up the fungus cure, tho. (This was before I saw this reply, so I guess I psychically read it, lol). I think I will try the fungus cure. It looks like the pleco is getting it too :( Im really worried about this. :(

Your tank will be green . I mean like anti-freeze green. Keep the lights off and remove all carbon. Treat as directed. I would also use gloves when handling it. Also try to take out some or your media in your filters so you can have a back up just In case the meds kill your bb.

Flippercon wrote:

Your tank will be green . I mean like anti-freeze green. Keep the lights off and remove all carbon. Treat as directed. I would also use gloves when handling it. Also try to take out some or your media in your filters so you can have a back up just In case the meds kill your bb.

OK, so I did a water change, put in 2 packets of the meds (it said one packet per 10 gallons, I have a 25 gallon, should I add another half packet, or will 2 be enough?). As for the media, I use those filter cartridge things and I took them out yesterday and replaced it with just the blue filter stuff. The cartridges were pretty gross so I threw them away. should I be worried that my Oscar is now laying at the bottom of the tank looking like he is scared s%*tless? He has his fins tucked closed to his body, and is just.....not moving much at all.


Oh, and what is the protocol for feeding sick fish? Should I continue to feed as normal, or should I cut back, not feed at all?

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.

Your fish is just reacting to the meds. If i remeber correctly its a 4 day treatment . In 48 hrs just dose 3 packets. I would cut back feeding to keep levels in tank as clean as possible. Oscars are really sensitive to change so he is most likely just stressed. As far as your media you will just have to hope for the best. Keep an eye on the levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates.

Flippercon wrote:

Your fish is just reacting to the meds. If i remeber correctly its a 4 day treatment . In 48 hrs just dose 3 packets. I would cut back feeding to keep levels in tank as clean as possible. Oscars are really sensitive to change so he is most likely just stressed. As far as your media you will just have to hope for the best. Keep an eye on the levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates.

Thanks....

My pleco is dead, tho Im not sure when exactly it happened. He was swimming this morning, but I think he died before I put the new meds in. He didnt even have any fungus on him at all. There is $40 down the drain.


Ugh. I hope the fish guy will cut me a deal once I get this fungus issue cleared up. I really liked that guy.

Sorry about the pleco. How were your levels in the tank before any treatment?

Flippercon wrote:

Sorry about the pleco. How were your levels in the tank before any treatment?

Im not sure. Im bad about checking the levels of everything. I did a water change last Sunday and ever since the tank was cloudy. I was planning on doing a water change today (which I did) hoping to clear up the water.

Hubby is wanting me to take the pleco to the fish store to see if they can figure out what happened. Im not getting another one until my tank is cleared up tho. This is so frustrating.

I would suggest getting a API freshwater master test kit. When you did your water change last Sunday was that the day you replaced the inserts in your filter? If so did you replace all of them at once? I'm thinking you went into a mini cycle since you said your tank was cloudy.

Flippercon wrote:

I would suggest getting a API freshwater master test kit. When you did your water change last Sunday was that the day you replaced the inserts in your filter? If so did you replace all of them at once? I'm thinking you went into a mini cycle since you said your tank was cloudy.

Hmm, maybe. I have a test kit, but Im so bad about using it. I need to get in the habit of testing.

After I get all this cleared up, I will start testing regularly. I want to avoid more deaths.

I take tests once a week before water changes and anytime I suspect anything out of the ordinary.

OK, so I talked to my fish guy and he checked all my levels for me. They were pretty bad. So I am now working on getting those fixed. That is what likely killed my pleco along with the meds. Lesson learned here. Hopefully my Oscar will be saved. He seems to think that he will be OK.

As for the fungal infection, he said to use salt and that once I get the tank healthy again, it should go away. Fingers crossed here.

Salt will not rid the fungus. I would finish this treatment and keep a close watch on the fungus. It may look like its gone but as soon as they get stressed it can come right back. Just be ready for the water changes ahead, you want to keep the levels in the tank low while cycling so your oscar can manage through it.