1 fish that's ill, all the rest are fine...

[pnyklr3]

I noticed that one of my mollies developed a fungus (I think) shortly after droping her fry. She has clamped her fins very tight, and her ususally transparent tail is now opaque with white fuzzies. None of the other fish in the tank are showing any signs of stress or disease. I have already treated the entire tank (55 US gallons; and no hospital tank) with Pimafix for 7 days, and there has been no improvement in the fish. She still eats and has no trouble swimming, but she spends a lot of time resting.

My biggest questions is: why just this ONE fish?

My water parameters are normal, and haven't changed at all in the past few weeks. Thanks in advance!!!

~Jade

 

[gaya]

I would think because maybe she has a weakened immune system from dropping her fry. You could probably get a 5g pretty cheap for a hospital tank.

 

[Bignose]

It may also be bacterial fin rot, to which Pimafix, an anti-fungal would not help. It is cottony? Cottony usually indicates fungal, but if it is just white or opaqued it is more likely bacterial. It can be caused from some tankmate taking a nip of the fin and then after dropping the fry, her immune system may just be a bit weakened as gaya said.

Melafix (from the people who brought you Pimafix) is usually a good first treatment. Do a water change, and if there are no salt intolerent fish in the tank, a little salt may help too. Then, you can dose Melafix in the community tank. If it does not improve, you may need to quarantine her and get a little more stronger antibiotic. But, only use this if you have to, casual use of antibiotics selectively breeds antibiotic resistant strains, so in a few generations if you overuse antibiotics we will not be able to kill them at all.

 

[pnyklr3]

I used Pimafix because (I was told) that my clown loaches would be hurt by the Melafix. Is this true? Also, my bottle of Pimafix says that it treats both fungal infections, and internal & external bacterial infections (fin rot, open red sores, and mouth & body fungus cottony growth).

This whole thing is making me crazy !


~Jade

 

[Bignose]

I have no idea about Melafix and clown loaches. You may want to post in the bottom feeders board and ask some of them. Melafix is just a stabalized solution of water and eucalyptus oil, a natural oil that usually does not irritate fish. But, ask someone who owns cloan loaches and has had experience with this.

But, if the fin rot is just white or opaqued, it is most likely not fungal fin rot, but bacterial, so pimafix probably is not doing much. All of these products, including the strong antibacterials are mostly bacteriastats (err, that may not be spelled right). That is, all they do is stop the growth of bacteria, but do not do much killing off. By stopping its growth, it gives the natural immune responses a chance to catch up, so to say.

Ultimatly, if you just step up your water changes or buy a cheap hospital tank, that will not hurt anything at all, so long as you match the added water's temp and pH to the tank's.

 

[pnyklr3]

Oh, ok! That explains why the Pimafix says its a antifungal and will treat the bacterial infection, and Melafix says it is an antibacterial. I went to my lfs yesterday with more questions, and I found someone a bit more informed who said that Melefix was used on saltwater reef tanks and that it is safe for use on loaches (sigh, where was this guy 8 days ago!). When I checked the back of the Melafix bottle, it treated almost exactly what the Pimafix did, do I didn't pick it up Looks like I'll be heading back today if it kills the bacterial instead of only stunting its growth!!

THANKS A BUNDLE!

~Jade

 

[Bignose]

Well, even Melafix and the bigger guns (like Marcyn, Maracyn Two, Maracyn Plus, tri-sulfa products, etc.) really only pause the growth of bacteria. There are very few chemicals alone that kill off bacteria -- at the doses that will be safe to your fish and to you for that matter. This is why biology lab workers use high pressure steam to clean their lab equipment -- not really an option to help fin rot

But, at least the Melafix is designed to help bacterial infections. Pimafix will treat some of them as, simply put, any change in the environment stresses, well, everything in the tank. But fish, being a higher order organism, can tolerate changes much better than the bacteria or fungi. To the buggies, the changes = stresses = death or at least stalling... and as I said above stalling = giving a chance for the fish's own immune system to catch up.

And, I know a lot of people on here swear by Melafix almost as a miracle cure. While I remain skeptical as to its 'miracle' nature, I have been using it to help a tiger barb whose tiger barb tankmates have taken more than their fair share out of her tail. It does seem to be helping, so maybe now I am a Melafix convert, too.