What do my fish have?!

[juhason]

I purchased some fish from the bait shop and they are all acting normal but have this white stuff on their mouth. I know they live in terrible conditions and generally have tons of diseases but I just really like these fish. It doesn't look puffy or fuzzy really like a fungus. But it still could be. If someone could help diagnose this for me so i can treat them properly, thank you!

 

[Byron]

I have a few fish that have this (going from the photo), and I have had them for several years with no sign of disease.

 

[juhason]

I have a few fish that have this (going from the photo), and I have had them for several years with no sign of disease.

That's a relief!!!! I was doing a little bit of research also and was worried they might have columnaris and infect my whole tank. I had some left over melafix and starting dosing that since I had it (I know this doesn't cure columnaris), they also have tattered fins as so it'll help at least with that. I also put a tiny bit of salt in the water and fed them some garlic with their food to try and boost their immune system. Hopefully it clears up a little!

 

[NickAu]

What sort of fish are they?

 

[juhason]

What sort of fish are they?

Golden Shiners, sometimes called roaches at the bait shop. There are a lot prettier shiners in our rivers but these are easy access cause every bait shop has them by the hundreds lol. I still think they're cute

 

[NickAu]

Hope you got a big tank.

Though it has been known to reach lengths of 30 cm (12 in), in the wild the golden shiner is usually between 7.5 and 12.5 cm (3.0 and 4.9 in) long.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_shiner

 

[juhason]

Hope you got a big tank.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_shiner

I already know all about them, but thanks anyway.

 

[Byron]

That's a relief!!!! I was doing a little bit of research also and was worried they might have columnaris and infect my whole tank. I had some left over melafix and starting dosing that since I had it (I know this doesn't cure columnaris), they also have tattered fins as so it'll help at least with that. I also put a tiny bit of salt in the water and fed them some garlic with their food to try and boost their immune system. Hopefully it clears up a little!

It is not columnaris, I have once had that. I have thought it might be some sort of injury, fish hitting a solid object. I once thought it was possibly bacterial; if it was cottony, fungus would be likely. Anyway, I never treat for it, and as I said I do see it on a few fish that I've had for years. It is best not to use those generic drugs like malafix as they are usually too weak to really help, but when you don't know the actual issue these can do more harm as they do stress fish. Keep the water clean by substantial weekly water changes, not overcrowding, not overfeeding, and the fin issue (this can be caused by several things) shouldn't be a problem.

Byron.

 

[juhason]

It is not columnaris, I have once had that. I have thought it might be some sort of injury, fish hitting a solid object. I once thought it was possibly bacterial; if it was cottony, fungus would be likely. Anyway, I never treat for it, and as I said I do see it on a few fish that I've had for years. It is best not to use those generic drugs like malafix as they are usually too weak to really help, but when you don't know the actual issue these can do more harm as they do stress fish. Keep the water clean by substantial weekly water changes, not overcrowding, not overfeeding, and the fin issue (this can be caused by several things) shouldn't be a problem.

Byron.

I actually woke up this morning and some other fish (not the ones in the above picture) had fluffy white films growing on their mouth. I immediately pulled them out and gave them a salt bath. All other fish are showing no symptoms. Now there was one fish who always looked like he had his mouth stuck open. After the salt bath some of the fungus had shrunk and now I can see that in fact his mouth is not stuck open, the skin under his jaw is literally falling off. Is this something that will heal itself or should i do something?

 

[Byron]

That is something very different than the previous, and likely completely unrelated. I do not guess at disease issues, with my very minimal experience (thankfully) even after 20+ years, so I will leave this latest issue for those with experience to help.