White fuzzy piece in Cory's gills. Please help

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Icyfish

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Hi all,

I noticed one of my cory's is seperated from the group (6 total), he hovers still in the flow, or goes up to the surface.

Upon close inspection i noticed a white fuzzy piece in his right gills. Any idea what this could be? It's not solid but rather fuzzy when viewing very close.
Gills seem reddened to..
Please see the pictures for reference.
Many thanks in advance for any help.

Tank parameters:

Tank size: 200L
tank age: 2 years
pH: stable 6.5
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10-20ppm
kH: 6
gH: 6
tank temp: 23c
 

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Hi all,

I noticed one of my cory's is seperated from the group (6 total), he hovers still in the flow, or goes up to the surface.

Upon close inspection i noticed a white fuzzy piece in his right gills. Any idea what this could be? It's not solid but rather fuzzy when viewing very close.
Gills seem reddened to..
Please see the pictures for reference.
Many thanks in advance for any help.

Tank parameters:

Tank size: 200L
tank age: 2 years
pH: stable 6.5
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10-20ppm
kH: 6
gH: 6
tank temp: 23c
Difficult to tell.. possibly fungal. Have you added new fish recently that weren't quarantined? Water stats are quite good, nitrate could be lower though. Do you add plant ferts? If so which one?
 
It looks like excess mucous but could be fungus. It's a bit hard to tell due to the pictures not being perfectly in focus.

The fish might have a gill infection (fungus or bacteria) and or it might have gill flukes.

------------------
How long has the fish been like this?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

How often and how do you clean the filter?


------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

If there's no improvement after a few days with salt, or it gets worse during that time, you will need a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus and bacteria.


------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
It looks like excess mucous but could be fungus. It's a bit hard to tell due to the pictures not being perfectly in focus.

The fish might have a gill infection (fungus or bacteria) and or it might have gill flukes.

------------------
How long has the fish been like this?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

How often and how do you clean the filter?


------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

If there's no improvement after a few days with salt, or it gets worse during that time, you will need a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus and bacteria.


------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Hi Colin,

Thank you very much for the reply.

To answer your questions:
The fish has been like this for a couple of days. It's been hovering on and off in the part where the flow is the strongest.
I have added a couple of new plants some days ago.

I change about 40% every two weeks, but I don't vacuum the gravel too much.
The filter i clean maybe every 2-3 months, expect for the filter floss and the sponges which i clean every 3-4 weeks with aquarium water.

In the meantime I have done a 60% water change and cleaned the gravel and the filter. I must say it was way way dirtier than i expected... This has definitely been an oversight.
Also the nitrite has increased to 30-40 ppm.

I have a question about the use of the salt, would you recommend separating the cory and treat it there, or keep it in the current tank and add salt there? My worry is that apparently the fish needs a lot of flow as it is hovering there constantly, and also i don't want to put more stress on it.

Thanks again
 
Difficult to tell.. possibly fungal. Have you added new fish recently that weren't quarantined? Water stats are quite good, nitrate could be lower though. Do you add plant ferts? If so which one?
Hi! Thanks for the reply,

I have not added fish but i did add plants last week.

I have started dosing JBL NPK ferts maybe about 2 weeks using the recommended dosage for a dimly lit tank, but my guess is that with the already not so clean tank this has been slightly overkill on the nitrates.
 
Hi! Thanks for the reply,

I have not added fish but i did add plants last week.

I have started dosing JBL NPK ferts maybe about 2 weeks using the recommended dosage for a dimly lit tank, but my guess is that with the already not so clean tank this has been slightly overkill on the nitrates.
Yeh you need to be careful when dosing a tank that has livestock with a plant fert that contains nitrogen (nitrate). I tend to go for TNC Lite, or any other reputable brand that doesn't contain N. All your N should come from the fish really. Plants will process ammonia nitrogen (from fish) before they use nitrate nitrogen. So the nitrogen you are adding might not even be getting used. Do your usual dosing and also some daily nitrate tests and see what results you get.
 
I have a question about the use of the salt, would you recommend separating the cory and treat it there, or keep it in the current tank and add salt there? My worry is that apparently the fish needs a lot of flow as it is hovering there constantly, and also i don't want to put more stress on it.
Leave the fish in the main tank and treat it there so you don't stress it out by chasing it, catching it, and moving it to another tank.

If your nitrates are high, check the tap water for nitrates, and do more bigger water changes and gravel cleaning.

Stop adding fertiliser for a few weeks because extra chemicals in the water can reduce the oxygen levels and make it harder for the fish to breathe.
 

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