Fungus attack!

[Sylvia]

My black moor has fungus spreading badly over wounds that my new addition (the fish in my avatar) gave him, which is odd since goldfish are supposed to be peaceful.
Last week I had started a liquid medication called Ich Attack, because I suspected ich on the goldfish. Well, this medication also treats fungus, but my moor is getting worse. I've already lost a different fish to it. What else can I do?

Thanks for all your help

[rich311k]

Good clean water will help. Jungle makes a good fungus product I have had success with.

[Aussie_hippie_2]

Obviously you allready know, but still I'll say it. Clean water is the biggest help.

[Sylvia]

Ok, thank you. But why isn't the medication working? There was medication in the tank before fungus even showed up.

[joephys]

medications have a relatively short shelf life, so if its old, the fungicide may not be effective. I get the impression that a lot of medications don't really work very well to begin with, and a medication for Ich and fungus might just be hype on the package.

Its hard to get good info on fish meds for one very simple reason. Fish are pretty tough little buggers. They don't get infections very often if properly cared for, so when the good fish keeper does run into the rare fish problem, its hard to get good advice. Its sort of a catch 22. Since well kept fish rarely get infections, do you really want to take advice from people who are "experts" on fish medications? You have to ask, why do they have so much experience using meds? If you look through threads about people with questions about infections, the most respected and experienced fish keepers rarely have advice, because they simply don't know how to deal with sick fish other than lots of clean water.

Personally in my experience, I have had only one issue when I first started, and it was a similar situation, injured fish with a fungal infection. The people I trusted had nothing to offer, and the people that did end up offering advice told me to add some of this and some of that and do some other stuff. All in all, none of it sounded like things I wanted to do to my fish tank. In the end the fish ended up dying, but other than that, I have never had an issue with fish getting infections of any kind.

Sorry if you think my rambling was a waste of time, but I think it was worth mentioning.

[wesleydnunder]

Mardel makes a product called Maroxy. I've had success with it for treating fungal infections.

Mark

[Roan]

First you need to find out if this is really a fungus infection or a bacterial infection. They aren't the same thing and the meds you may be trying to use may be for bacterial.

As for goldies being peaceful, they are to an extent, however certain types of goldies should not be mixed because of aggression et al. Black moors are a type of telescope goldfish and, dependent on the degree of telescoping, should be housed with other "physically handicapped" goldfish.

Roan

[Riverfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Roan

First you need to find out if this is really a fungus infection or a bacterial infection.

I was about to post that. If it's columnaris it's not a fungal infection, it's a bacterial infection. Ich meds are sometimes used to treat actual fungus, but if it's spreading badly and you've already tried a fungal medication like you say it sounds more like columnaris.

For columnaris I've used erythromycin with good results.
Maracyn is an erythromycin based med.

Many people have had luck with Jungle fungus clear tabs, which are designed to treat both fungus and bacterial infections. This may be your best bet since you're not sure which it is.

[Sylvia]

Thank you. The symptom is a white substance all over the wounded areas. And either my goldfish is pecking away at my moor's tail, or the stuff is eating away at the tail. My moor is also breathing heavily. I am going to do another water change. The medication probably did expire.
I guess I'll filter out the medication and scramble to the store.
Thanks again.

[Roan]

Both columnaris and fungus are white -- is it slimy looking or is it fuzzy looking?

Here are shots of a fish with fungus:

Fungus Photos - Aqua Facts

Real fungus is actually rare.

Roan

[TwoTankAmin]

I would second Maroxy as a good fungus med. I can also attest to the effectiveness of maracyn (EM) for columnaris. The nice thing is these two meds can be used together safely. Fin rot that progresses is usually bacterial in nature.

As for experienced fish keepers and disease experience, I think it really depends on how many tanks and fish one has. It is a lot easier to keep a single established community tank healthy than when one has over a dozen tanks with diverse species and requirements. And if one is regularly adding new fish, especially recent imports, dealing with disease is not all that uncommon.

[Sylvia]

It's not really fuzzy, but it's not slimy either. Sort of in between. On Sunday I put in TankBuddies fungal and bacterial medication. I think it's working. Although I am concerned about the moor's back end. The "fungus" seems to focus there.
And, as if it weren't enough, I found something that looks like a small anchor worm on the other fish! Any ideas how to take care of that, minus the one that requires tweezers?
Thank you!

Too bad you can't rinse off new fish like you can rinse off plants to get rid of bad stuff.

[TwoTankAmin]

This is what I found re anchor worm- i have no experience with it myself.

Treatment:The anchor worm can be removed with tweezers from the infected fish, the bloody spot dipped once with iodine or hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab, and then daily application of neosporin creme. If the anchor worm is on a newly aquired fish in quarantine, thats mostly all thats needed. If the whole tank is infected, additional measures are asked for. Medications like Dimillin or Program as well as other readily available remedies are neccessary in that case. Anchors Away can be used, and has (Dimillin)Diflubenzuron as main ingredient. Salt is great as well.

Precautions:Even though the visible anchor worm might be removed, there is still a good chance that there are larvae in the tank, especially if the tank is heavily infested. Before the anchor worm can be seen,damage could already be done to the gills and skin of the fish. Secondary infections from the open wound are also possible, so a round of medicated food is a good idea.

Meds recommended included: Life Bearer, Anchors Away, Dimilin, and Parasite Clear. Dimlin is also mentioned on other sites.

[Sylvia]

But I can't mix meds, right? I have Tank Buddies parasite clear on hand, but I guess I need to wait until the fungus clears?
Also, more bad news. I just noticed that one of my moor's eyes is swollen, or the other one is deflated. What does that mean? The smaller one kind of moves as the fish swims. Otherwise, they aren't torn or anything. I have plastic plants and plastic wood in the tank, but they aren't pointy.

[Roan]

Originally Posted by neptune

. . .Too bad you can't rinse off new fish like you can rinse off plants to get rid of bad stuff.

Actually, you can in a way. You quarantine all new fish for a period of at least 4 weeks prior to adding them to your already established tanks.

Doing this will prevent almost all the problems you are currently encountering.

Re: your "deflated" moor -- chances are that the new fish did that. That's one of the first places they will attack in telescopes and celestrials and the like: the eyes. It's their most vulnerable area because of their genetic alterations. At a local LFS I saw a small male lacustris bow who had jumped to the adjoining goldie tank decimate the entire population of bubble-eyes and moors in no-time flat. He popped the eyes on every single one, then proceeded to harass them to death. Took the staff forever to come to their rescue.

Roan

[Sylvia]

I have a 5 gallon tank currently not in use. Perhaps I could set that up for future fish? Would I be able to just keep it running without any inhabitants until then? I would hate to accidentally kill a new fish because the quarantine tank had problems.
As for the deflated eye, will it get better? And what can I do with the fantail? I picked that one from the store because it looked unhappy. I'd hate to send it back now that it's settled in. Of course, I don't want to risk more injury to my moor.

[OrionGirl]

The Who, What, When, Where, and How of Quarantine - AquariumBoard Forums

[Sylvia]

Thank you for the article.
So how did my fantail deflate my moor's eye in the first place?

[Roan]

Originally Posted by neptune

Thank you for the article.
So how did my fantail deflate my moor's eye in the first place?

Biting, from what I've seen. That is, of course, if he actually did it. Can't really say for sure since we can't see the fish or the behavior between the two of them.

That's a great article on QT tanks, btw.

As for the fantail: they shouldn't be housed with each other. Fantails don't mix with telescopes or other "type 3" Fancy goldfish. Use the 5g to separate them and wait and see if your black moor recovers okay. If he does, tank the fantail back and get another type 3 goldie.

Roan

[Sylvia]

The trouble is, I would have to medicate two tanks, since both fish are infected. If I can find a divider, would that work? Although the filter would be on one side. Which is the better option?
Thanks again for all your help. Sorry for the trouble.