Mouth Rot and fungus

[AaronD]

Hi all

i have quite a serious problem. Since ive come back from holiday, my fish are dropping like flies!

I believe it started off with a black molly with Columnaris. Everyone else seemed ok but then about a week later, they are all starting to catch it. Ive had two kissing gouramis go (could not see it, but i think they had mouth rot) and ive had 2 dwarf gouramis die (disease affected their skin) and now the other black molly has caught it!

Stats:

ph 7.2
amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 80

ive used medicines (esha 2000 - recommended by lfs), that did not work, and im now trying mouth rot and fungus treatment by aquarium treatment. Is there anything else i can try?

 

[WILDER]

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdcolumn.htm

 

[AaronD]

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdcolumn.htm

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thanks, but its not very helpful

like ive said, the first treatment did absolutely nothing and the second treamtment isnt helping too much. ive run out of ideas...

it really is quite aggresive this one and i cant get rid of it, or stop it spreading

 

[millym]

hi
im presuming your in the uk & you cant buy antibiotics like they can in the usa.
i found that interpets finrot & fungus treatment works well BUT be careful with the stuff & make sure you increase the tanks oxygenation if you do use it ( increase flow airstone bubbles or move filter flow if possible to increase surface agitation at the top of the water)

we found some fish very sensitive to the ingredients - the stuff knocked out our tiger barbs for nearly 4 days ( sent them to sleep we thought we'd killed them , the ingredient in this treatment used to be used as a fish anaesthetic as i found out after a mad google search trying to find out what id done to our barbs!!!!!! at the time)

it gave us a scary couple of days but did cure a bad case of tail rot on one of our tigers & none of the other fish in our tank were adversley affected by the stuff at all, surprising cos youd think the barbs would be quite hardy. the barbs did finally wake up after a few water changes & 3 & a half days & didnt look any worse for their long kip. but we didnt have loaches then and they are v sensitive to lots of meds so i wouldnt advise using this stuff with loaches at all.

if you're not keen to try another over the counter med you could as a last resort try ringing some vets - you may find a friendly one who may be willing to give you a prescription for some antibiotics ( i know this wont be a cheap option but if your desperate may be worth a try)
good luck

 

[black angel]

Do extra water changes to bring your nitrate level down a bit, less than 40 is what you should be aiming for.
Upping your water changes should also help keep the bacteria down as this is what causes most disease outbreaks.

 

[AaronD]

Thanks for your input guys

i started using a different med yesterday and i stayed away over night. Got back this morning and it seems the 2nd treatment is working! they all seem much more active and the black molly that caught it seems to be doing much better!

i think the first med i got was absolute crap. Im never taking the advice of a LFS person again! (i know i shouldnt of, but i havent got a clue when it comes to disease )

If i didnt use the first treatment, i think i could of saved ALL of my gouramis because it was a three day treatment, and every day they got much worse

will let you all know how it goes

 

[Inchworm]

Hi AaronD

When you are treating your fish for bacterial infections, it often helps if you increase the oxygen content of the water by adding an air stone and lowering the temperature to no more than 75-76 degrees F. This will create conditions that will slow down the reproduction of the harmful bacteria.

Also, be sure that when you think it's cured, it really is. Never stop treatment before the recommended dosage is given and give an extra day of it if you think you should. Bacteria tend to mutate and produce strains that could be resistant to the medication if any are still in the tank or fish.

 

[AaronD]

Hi AaronD

When you are treating your fish for bacterial infections, it often helps if you increase the oxygen content of the water by adding an air stone and lowering the temperature to no more than 75-76 degrees F. This will create conditions that will slow down the reproduction of the harmful bacteria.

Also, be sure that when you think it's cured, it really is. Never stop treatment before the recommended dosage is given and give an extra day of it if you think you should. Bacteria tend to mutate and produce strains that could be resistant to the medication if any are still in the tank or fish.

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lol, ive still got a few

yep, ive decreased the temp and oxygen levels should be ok as ive got a few rather large plants and my juwel filter pumps in a lot of air


i was thinking though, ive always wanted to keep cichlids and now my fish population has been depleted, i can move the ones left into a smaller tank and get some cichlids. But i really want a good start for these guys so how would i go about making sure the water is ok? will plants etc carry the bacteria?

 

[AaronD]

Do extra water changes to bring your nitrate level down a bit, less than 40 is what you should be aiming for.
Upping your water changes should also help keep the bacteria down as this is what causes most disease outbreaks.

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hi

my nitrate levels have shot up due to the fact ive been on holiday and ive been using the med so no water change. Would it be ok to do a water change if i added some med yesterday? would it not lower the effect?

** edit - just checked and this med says i have to wait seven days till next water change and re dosage... would that mean no water change by itself?

 

[black angel]

If the meds say no to water changes then best to leave it. Its not at a dangerous level yet but just something to keep an eye on. Sounds like you have it under control now

 

[AaronD]

If the meds say no to water changes then best to leave it. Its not at a dangerous level yet but just something to keep an eye on. Sounds like you have it under control now 

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lol, i wouldnt say that just yet

im think im going to take this chance and imrove my set up. The juwel internal stuff is getting old now and im thinkin of replacing heater and filter. Im thinking of a eheim 2213 (i think) and a ELITE 200 watt from ebay. its a rekord 120....

and then ill get some cichlids??