Black Ghost Knife, mottled or fungus or ???

[Jim]

My BGK has always been shy & little seen for the two years I've had
him, hanging out mostly in driftwood.

He was out today, which was unusual. Also he has developed a whitish
mottling on his body.

I have has some small growths of white fuzzy fungus around the top of
my tank lid (above the water line) for a couple months. Also, a dead
guppy last week seemed to develop a white fuzzy fungus very rapidly.

I can't see the fuzzy effect on the BGK, only what appears to be a
color change in the mottled area.

Do BGK's develop a mottled pattern as they mature? Is it possible he
has fungun on his body? If so, recommended treatment, and hospital
tank or treat whole tank? (120 gal w/ a wide variety of fish &
plants).

Thanks in advance for any advice. -- Jim

[Derek W. Benson]

On 24 Jul 2005 11:19:34 -0700, "Jim" > wrote:

>My BGK has always been shy & little seen for the two years I've had
>him, hanging out mostly in driftwood.
>
>He was out today, which was unusual. Also he has developed a whitish
>mottling on his body.
>
>I have has some small growths of white fuzzy fungus around the top of
>my tank lid (above the water line) for a couple months. Also, a dead
>guppy last week seemed to develop a white fuzzy fungus very rapidly.
>
>I can't see the fuzzy effect on the BGK, only what appears to be a
>color change in the mottled area.
>
>Do BGK's develop a mottled pattern as they mature? Is it possible he
>has fungun on his body? If so, recommended treatment, and hospital
>tank or treat whole tank? (120 gal w/ a wide variety of fish &
>plants).
>
>Thanks in advance for any advice. -- Jim

A Black Ghost should not develop a mottled pattern, so something isn't
as it should be IMO. I think your tank needs to be cleaned well, when
you mention fungus everywhere. This white stuff growing above the
water line shouldn't be there and dead fish will not necessarily
fungus either. Do you vacuum the gravel and do partial water changes
on a regular basis? I would at least do a thorough gravel vacuum right
now on this tank, thinking that I would dilute out the numbers of the
bacteria that cause fungus infections. If you want to medicate the
tank use an antibacterial or a fungus med. Some websites claim that
meds should be used at half-dosage with Black Ghosts, so it would
probably be a good idea for this fish if you medicate it.

-Derek