My Fish Has White Gut-like Stuff Coming Out If Its Stomach.

[swissarmy]

the fish is an african brown knife. it is in a 55 gallon tank with a tiny catfish and a tiny rainbow shark....there are also many shrimp in the tank. the knife never comes out from under the rocks till night time. ..i bought it from a petstore 7 days ago..
what is this gut-like thing that is coming uot of its stomach?

 

[Lynda B]

Do you have a picture?

 

[swissarmy]

no he only comes out at night ..but i will be sure to take one tonight.
but might you have any idea what it is?
it sort f looks like a tiny white cotton ball hanging out og its stomach

 

[Lynda B]

Off the top of my head, it sounds like a fungus. But without seeing anything to be sure, that's just a guess.

Can you isolate him in a hospital tank?

 

[swissarmy]

yes ....i have an extra 10 gallon tank i could put it in.....but what will i do with it when it is in there...observe? or can fungus spread to my other fish?

 

[Lynda B]

I'm not a fungus expert, by any means, but I believe that some kinds of fungal and bacterial infections are contagious, some are not. It's always best to isolate until you can get a handle on what you're dealing with. Watch your other fish carefully. You may find that it's a wound inflicted by one of the other fish. But, at least, you'll know. And, as you said, you'll be able to observe. I don't keep decorations or gravel in my hospital tank. It's bare bones. Then I can see everything I need to see, and medicate without any adverse effects.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Scroll down and you'll see my thread, the same thing happened to my molly a week ago. We couldn't pinpoint the problem.

 

[WILDER]

The ball stuff does it look solid or soft.