Fungus treatment

[TorPeteO]

Hello everyone,

On Saturday (yesterday) I noticed that one of my platys has what appears to be fungus on her side.

So far, I've;
a ) removed the carbon from the filter
b ) medicated with methylene blue (I don't know if this treats fungus, but I figured it wouldn't hurt)
c ) changed water, about 15%
d ) medicated again with methylene blue (24 hours after first treatment)

Now, it's a 38 US gallon tank with the following livestock;

5 swords (3 full grown, 2 fry)
4 platys (2 full grown, 2 fry)
7 neon tetra
4 delphax corys
3 hatchetfish
1 hillstream loach

Parameters: 20 ppm Na; 0 ppm Ni; 0 ppm Am; 7.0 pH.

A 2.5 gallon quarantine tank is coming tomorrow, and she's going into that. In the meantime, though, the lack of carbon in the filter means that the water's gotten really foggy. Is this a terrible thing?

A couple questions;

1. What else should I do, if anything?
2. Should I add less methylene blue because of the neons?
3. I don't want to add salt, for the corys. Is it true corys don't take salt well?

Thanks a lot, everyone.
TorPeteO

 

[Polardbear]

Is it a white kind of fluffy looking fungus? If it is you may have the same problem that I'm fighting. Check out my post from earlier today -

My battles with columnaris

Wilder posted a link to a good article in my post about columnaris that also includes recommended treatment.

Good luck with it!

 

[Polardbear]

You might also check out this link that discusses medications -

Medications

From what I read in this article it doesn't sound like the methylene blue is going to do anything for the fungus.

One thing I do know from past heartbreak is don't waste a lot of time not treating it, if it is columnaris. It can kill them very quickly. Be sure to keep a close eye on your other fishies as it is contagious.

 

[WILDER]

Yes if there are white patches on the side of the body it's columnaris.

 

[TorPeteO]

I don't think it's columnaris (knock on wood).

I've got her in the 2.5 gallon hospital tank. I put some salt in it, as well as some MelaFix. While the fungus doesn't appear to have gotten any better (it actually looks a little worse) since yesterday, Xena appears to be alright otherwise. Her fins are no longer clamped together, her colouration is good, and her appetite is normal.

To keep the water clean (it's got an undergravel filter with no gravel, so essentially just moving the water) I'm replacing at least 50% of the water in the tank with water from my 38 gallon main tank daily, for as long as she's in the hospital. Then I replace the water for the main tank...which I figure will be good for everyone in there, too. After changing the water, I add 1/4 teaspoon more MelaFix.

Any other things anyone would recommend I do?