Hello Please Help With Melafix

[Badgerfish]

Hello to you all. New to the forums so please be gentle

I noticed the other day a slight cotton wooly growth on the mouth of my rainbow fish. I was recomended Melafix by a friend. They said I need do a water change and treat and leave my tank light off. I picked up a bottle and it says to treat and then do a 25% water change and no mention of turning the light off??

I was just after some advice on dosing and way to go abhout it. All help appreciated

Many Thanks

Badgerfish

 

[loraxchick]

Hello to you all. New to the forums so please be gentle

I noticed the other day a slight cotton wooly growth on the mouth of my rainbow fish. I was recomended Melafix by a friend. They said I need do a water change and treat and leave my tank light off. I picked up a bottle and it says to treat and then do a 25% water change and no mention of turning the light off??

I was just after some advice on dosing and way to go abhout it. All help appreciated

Many Thanks

Badgerfish

water change water change waterchange. clean water is the best remedy. melafix is usually used for antibacterial remedies. like if the fish had a torn fin or open sore and is healing. PIMAFIX is what would be more helpful in this situation as it is fairly effective against fungal issues (which the mouth fuzz sounds like.)
turning the light off helps reduce stress on the fish. some folks even throw a towel over the tank to keep it completely dark.
all the best.

 

[Anna Robinson]

If you think the fuzz is definitely fungus, then Pimafix would be the remedy of choice. However, if it's actually mouth rot (also known as mouth fungus, even though it isn't actually a fungus) then Melafix would be the recommended treatment. It seems your friend thought it was mouth rot, which is why she recommended that. You can actually use Pimafix and Melafix together if you need to - Pimafix has some anti-bacterial activity, as well as anti-fungal. Follow the instructions on the bottle, remembering to remove any activated carbon you might have in your filter, for best results.

As Lorax says, good water quality is vital, and it would be worth considering what caused the fish to become ill in the first place. Turning off the lights can be a good idea to reduce stress, but it might also make it hard to observe the fish and see how the illness is progressing, or if any others are becoming affected. It isn't a standard recommendation for these medications: it's probably best for you to decide, really.