Molly Has White Lips!

[nolekid86]

Hello,

I just noticed my black molly is acting a little lethargic and has this white fuzz around its mouth!

I cleaned the 20 gallon tank 3 days ago, like I do every 6 weeks or so. I added about 5 teaspoons of aquarium salt during the 50% water change.

I decided it was time to clean the large rocks this time since green algae was building up on them. I put them in the dishwasher with a splash of clorox. It didn't really work. I made sure to rinse them with tons of water prior to putting them back into the tank.

Could this be columnaris?


Thanks for any help!

 

[Tolak]

Could be, please fill this out to help us help you;

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

 

[superguppygirl]

That looks like cotton mouth to me and can happen alot with platies, guppies, and other FW live bearers, I have had great results with Melafix, extra salt, and a 25%WC every 2nd day.

 

[superguppygirl]

It's not columnaris, that looks like a white band/saddle usually on scales in front of dorsal but can sometimes start behind dorsal

 

[nolekid86]

Could be, please fill this out to help us help you;

Tank size: 20 Gallons
pH: Unknown
ammonia: Unknown
nitrite: Unknown
nitrate: Unknown
kH: Unknown
gH: Unknown
tank temp: 78

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): White fuzz on the mouth of the molly, Sluggish movement.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 50% every 6 weeks

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Just water conditioner and teaspoon of salt per gallon

Tank inhabitants: 1 Rainbow fish
1 Black molly
1 Glass fish
1 Silver tip shark
1 Botiine loach

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): none

Exposure to chemicals: Clorox?

Sorry I'm pretty much a noob at this aquarium stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have a test kit for the water levels.

Some background info: About 4 months ago I had tank issues. I had the following fish. 4 tetras, 2 catfish, 1 glass fish, and 1 plecostomus. All of them were at least 5 years old.

Issues started when the very old plecostomus started swimming upside down. He lived for a few days and then died. I now think it was swim blatter disease. We got a new plecostomus which quickly died with no signs of disease. We replaced the plecostomus. The new one developed a white spot on it's side and died. I treated the tank for ick with quick cure for a week or so. Everything seemed fine for a few weeks then the catfish developed white spots. The fish store associate recommended fungus guard. I gave it a shot. Over the next week or so all of the fish except the glass fish died. I treated for ick with quick cure for a couple weeks all the while performing 25% water changes every 3 days. Finally everything seemed stable. The glass fish was alone for a month or so.

Four months ago we added one of each of following fish: Rainbow fish, black molly, silver tip shark, botiine loach along with the surviving glass fish. Everything has been fine since, so I can only assume that the old problems are a thing of the past.

I still have the fungus guard. Should I go ahead and administer that now?

Thanks again!

 

[superguppygirl]

Most fungus guards are usually a bit of medication and majority salt so I would say give it a shot just slowly add it, especially if your fish are not used to salt hope it works out for you

 

[Tolak]

Most shops will do the tests for free or for a minimal charge. Have them write down the numbers, fine, OK or good does not help us here.

Columnaris can show up on the lips or head first, or on the fins rather than the traditional saddle area across the back. Maracyn & Maracyn II, 50% water changes daily & redose for 7-10 days. This is generally the best starting point for columnaris before progressing to more expensive and not as easily obtainable antibiotics.

I'd consider rehoming the silver tipped shark unless you are interested in getting a much larger tank in the future. Botiine covers many species of loachs, good chance the loach will outgrow the tank, and most likely it would be more comfortable with a few tankmates of the same species.

 

[nolekid86]

Maracyn & Maracyn II, 50% water changes daily & redose for 7-10 days.

I used the tetra fungus guard last night since I had it on hand. Today I got the Maracyn & Maracyn II.

I just performed a 50% WC. The tank holds about 16 gallons with the rocks in there.

The instructions for Maracyn called for 1 package per 10 gal. I used 1.5 packets.

Maracyn II called for 2 packets per 10 gal for the first day. I used 3 packets.

Did I administer correctly?

 

[Tolak]

Sounds right to me.

 

[sadguppy]

I would be doing a lot more than one change every 6 weeks, 15% every week would be better.

 

[Tolak]

It'll be 50% daily for the next week or so if those medications are expected to work properly.