Fungus, Bacteria Or...? How Do I Treat It? (Images)

[gabriel.mihu]

36g, 1inch of fish/gallon (neon tetra, cory cats, mollies, guppies), 0, 0, 10ppm(nitrates), pH 8.0. 2215 canister, tetra air pump with one small stone. All fish have been in there for months. 
 
I put in a canister about a month ago.
 
About two weeks ago:
- built a hood, four 55Watts CFL bulbs for the plants
- tried to put in some travertine
- about 12 hours/day light
 
-> the result was a nice algae bloom
-> water started being cloudy (green/whitish)
 
A week ago:
- I played with some travertine about a week ago, but took it out yesterday.
- algae bloom somewhat continued
- about 10 hours/day light
 
-> water still milky
-> travertine in/out as I made some changes to it
-> fish don't like something, the female molly starts being slow, his fins are not spreaded nicely anymore, they are tight to the body
 
Three days ago:
- I mounted an inline algae filter (general electrics home water filter) about 3 days ago - no more algae.
- all fish are very calm, stay near the surface, mollies lost their balance a bit. My female silver molly rolled upside down a few times.
- 8 hours/day light
- pH 8.4
- 50% water change
- water milky
 
Two days ago:
- pH 8.4
- 50% water change
- water less cloudy
 
Yesterday:
- male silver molly dead
- neons seem to be doing somewhat ok so far, and also the guppies and the black skirts. My mollies seem to be in the worst condition (3 of them now).
- mollies and guppies stay at the surface
- black skirts are losing their balance
- travertine out
- 50% water change
- pH 8.0
- water as cloudy as yesterday
 
I read it might be an air bladder infection, or fin rot caused by bacteria, but I would not like to put antibiotics in my tank. Let me know if I should do that or not, and how, and if you have any diagnostic. Thanks.
 
This has been on one of my cories for about a week now, started as a small dot, now it's like his flesh is exposed.
 
Below the fins of my black skirt tetra.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I read it might be an air bladder infection, or fin rot caused by bacteria, but I would not like to put antibiotics in my tank. Let me know if I should do that or not, and how, and if you have any diagnostic. Thanks.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Awwww sorry to hear and see. Think the Travertine might be the culprit. It's Calcium Oxide to my believe, raising Ph (fast) and maybe causing more chemical reactions inside your tank. I'd get that out of your tank.
The damage looks like a bacterial infection with a secondary fungal one. Do you have Esha 2000 available overthere? 

 

[gabriel.mihu]

Thanks for replying - every time I post here with photos and detailed history I get a very low count of replies. I guess I should now write any history in the first post, so readers don't get bored by reading it, and I should fill in the details later, after "catching" some viewers .
 
Travertine's been out for a couple of days now. Did another 50% water change today. pH ~7.6-7.8. I didn't think travertine could affect fish so fast. I read allot about it, and it seems there are different opinions: some don't recommend it, other use it successfully, with fish at 8.2 doing fine. I guess my try failed.
 
I have another tank in the bedroom (small), diy slate pieces background about a month ago, water has been CRYSTAL clear for months, right after I got rid of an ich infection. Anyways, I got some travertine in that tank, too, but it seems another type of travertine, not as porous as the one I used in the big tank, and it seems not to release anything, since the pH is at about 7.6-7.8 - like the tap water.
 
Hmmm... let me see about Esha... I don't think we got it, at least I can't find it on the net. Can you recommend anything else? I'll try to look for something similar.

 

[sawickib]

Sorry im really bad with illnesses, sorry to hear about your fish, just gotta say amazing photography.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Really think you've done great. Diseases / problems are often hard to diagnose and especially if it's a cumulation of things. If you've had one fish, with one spot lots more would have reacted I think. Your  pics are super.
Often when fishes are damaged by one thing or the other, bacteria / fungus take their changes. So though I think what we see is bacterial/fungal I think it's a secundary infection.
 
About the travertine it's only guessing and a bit of common sense I think. To my knowledge Calcium(oxide) is often just the stuff we try to get out of the water, so putting it in could raise Ph / hardness to my believe.
Often you have to eliminate possible causes one by one to find the culprit.
 
I'd buy a broadband anti bacteria / anti fungal med and try to keep the water pristine. I am not familiar with the brands in the US, cause living in Holland at the other side of the pond !!!
 
Other ideas and thoughts aprriciated !!
 
Cheers Aad
Slate doesn'n contain calcium(oxide) neither does granite a.s.o.

 

[sawickib]

API MELAFIX is for fin rot, ulcers and open wounds, also says safe for scaleless fish such as corydoras

 

[WILDER]

I would use maracyn plus but its an antibiotic. But looking at some of the pictures you have posted 
I think they do need antibiotics for treatment.
Can you isolate the sick fish for treatment?
 
 
Melafix is antiseptic and only good on external infections.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Agree with Wilder.

 

[WILDER]

The fish finrot is bad and needs urgent action to save the fish,
 

Fin Rot

 

 

Symptoms:

Fish may have deteriorating fins, often with red or white edges. Secondary Fungal infections often occur.
 


 

Cause: 

Bacterial infection caused by Aeromonas and/or Pseudomonas bacteria often precipitated by poor water quality, low water temperatures, or a combination of both.
 


 

Treatment: 

You will first want to determine the specific cause of the illness, so check your water�s quality Ammonia, Nitrite, pH, and Nitrate levels as well as the temperature. Be sure to provide optimal water conditions and the correct water temperature for the species of fish you are keeping. Treat with Kanacyn, Tetracycline, Furacyn, Nitrofura-G or Penicillin. Basically, you want an antibiotic specific for Aeromonas and Pseudomonas bacteria. The use of a medicated food is also wise. Treat the fish in isolation (i.e., quarantine tank) if only one fish is sick. If not, the whole tank should be treated. In either case, water conditions must be improved and proper temperature maintained for all fish. Adding salt to the water may be helpful.

The success rate for treating Fin Rot is good providing the illness is caught early and water conditions are kept optimal. Left untreated this infection can be deadly. Early treatment is essential! Once treated, fin tissue lost to this illness will grow back providing the fin rays and/or fin bases have not been damaged.
 

 

[gabriel.mihu]

Thank you so much for the advice. I'll try to see what can I get here in US to fit the symptoms. I can find API Melafix, and that's good, so what's left to find is something on the antibiotic side.
 
I wonder if a UV sterilizer like this would be better for the tank, considering also that I was never able to get the water perfectly clear in my tank yet. http/www.bigalspets.com/turbo-twist-uv-sterilizer-3x-9-w.html
 
I will start the treatment today on the whole 36g tank. Another molly died last night, he was doing pretty bad for the last week. Anyways, I will work on the whole tank, to make sure I treat everything.
 
I guess I will have to:
1. remove the carbon
2. keep an eye on water parameters, as the antibiotic would probably affect the beneficial bacteria, right?

 

[WILDER]

How many fish and which type do you have the tank please?
 
Maracyn plus is a good antibiotic. 
But you don't want to use the medication due  to not having an isolation tank. Which I do understand. But some of your fish
are getting  ill and now need this medication.
Do you know any fish keepers who could give you some mature filter sponges after the medication course
 has finished?

 

[gabriel.mihu]

I got the API Melafix and I am going to start the treatment today.
 
1inch of fish/gallon (8 neon tetra, 2 cory cats, 2 mollies, 9 guppies, 2 black skirt tetra, 1 sword female),

 

[WILDER]

Good  Luck.

 

[gabriel.mihu]

4 days into the treatment with Melafix. The situation has improved a bit in the sense that I don't see fungus anymore on the black skirt tetra's fins, and the wound on the cory cat seems to be a bit better.
 
BAD PART: the black skirt tetras seem very tired/lifeless + another mickey mouse and two neon tetras. The black skirts stay low in the tank, in the shadow, not really vertical and they don't seem to like to move around anymore. I don't want to lose them, as they have REALLY NICE LONG fins and they're hard to find with such long fins.
 
What can I use besides Melafix? I do have a small (5x3x3 inch) breeding tank with 5 fry, and this one has fungus on the bottom. Can this be the cause for all this mess? Good idea: I'll move the fry in another "tank", temporary, to eliminate this possibility.
 
Anyways: how do I treat my black skirts?

 

[WILDER]

Maracyn plus but it will wipe the good bacteria out in your filter.
 
 
Is the fry tank bare bottom. Can you post a pic of the fry tank please.
How often do you maintain the tank?