Question on body fungus treatment-What Meds?

This morning I noticed one of my ice blue zebras had a white cotton-like
stringy looking fuzz starting to form on him. At first I thought it was
ick, but, I did a little looking around and it appears it may be columnaris,
aka, body fungus. My pH is with in limits, water is plenty hard, temperature
is dead on, there are not too many fish in the tank....55 gallon tank, 2
zebras, 2 electric yellows, a small plecko, and 2 kenyis, all young with
plenty of rock cover. Ammonia is non-existent according to the tests I am
doing. Everything seems to be good with water quality. (I did a 10% change
yesterday as a matter of fact.)

What is the best course of action? I did add one dose of Maracyn today. I
am thinking aquarisol or copper safe, not sure which the better product is,
or even if it is necessary. HELP!!!

Also, I read the Maracyn does not require me to remove the charcoal if it is
over 5 days old. Mine is brand new, so, I just put empty bags in the
filter. Would Ammonia Chips be a bad thing to add to the filter?

What suggestions do you have?

Thanks in advance!!

On second thought, could it be Ick?

From the Aquarium Pharmaceutical page, diseases section:

"Ich parasites burrow just under the skin of fish, causing the
characteristic "white spot" or trophont stage. At maturity, the adult
parasite, called a tomont, detaches from the fish and swims freely for about
six hours. The trophozite eventually settles to the bottom of the aquarium."

My wife thought she saw these. Described it before I found it online.

I am treating with Maracyn, thinking it was columnaris. I am going to get
some Copper-safe as soon as the LFS opens. Is there a better product to use
in conjunction with the Maracyn that would contol Ick if that is what it
was?

The carbon has been removed from the filters. Would an ammochip product
work or be counterproductive?

Thanks,

Sean
"Sean" wrote in message
...
This morning I noticed one of my ice blue zebras had a white cotton-like
stringy looking fuzz starting to form on him. At first I thought it was
ick, but, I did a little looking around and it appears it may be
columnaris,
aka, body fungus. My pH is with in limits, water is plenty hard,
temperature
is dead on, there are not too many fish in the tank....55 gallon tank, 2
zebras, 2 electric yellows, a small plecko, and 2 kenyis, all young with
plenty of rock cover. Ammonia is non-existent according to the tests I am
doing. Everything seems to be good with water quality. (I did a 10%
change
yesterday as a matter of fact.)

What is the best course of action? I did add one dose of Maracyn today.
I
am thinking aquarisol or copper safe, not sure which the better product
is,
or even if it is necessary. HELP!!!

Also, I read the Maracyn does not require me to remove the charcoal if it
is
over 5 days old. Mine is brand new, so, I just put empty bags in the
filter. Would Ammonia Chips be a bad thing to add to the filter?

What suggestions do you have?

Thanks in advance!!

"Sean" wrote in message ...
This morning I noticed one of my ice blue zebras had a white cotton-like
stringy looking fuzz starting to form on him. At first I thought it was
ick, but, I did a little looking around and it appears it may be columnaris,
aka, body fungus. My pH is with in limits, water is plenty hard, temperature
is dead on, there are not too many fish in the tank....55 gallon tank, 2
zebras, 2 electric yellows, a small plecko, and 2 kenyis, all young with
plenty of rock cover. Ammonia is non-existent according to the tests I am
doing. Everything seems to be good with water quality. (I did a 10% change
yesterday as a matter of fact.)

What is the best course of action? I did add one dose of Maracyn today. I
am thinking aquarisol or copper safe, not sure which the better product is,
or even if it is necessary. HELP!!!

Also, I read the Maracyn does not require me to remove the charcoal if it is
over 5 days old. Mine is brand new, so, I just put empty bags in the
filter. Would Ammonia Chips be a bad thing to add to the filter?

What suggestions do you have?

Thanks in advance!!


Hi Sean --

Treatment may depend on the cause of the fungus. First, I think it's
definately not Ich -- Ich is spots, not "stringy" fungus.

If you have an aggressive aquarium, the fungus may be growing on an
injury. If so, the best thing is probably to just leave it and not
worry about it. If it's growing on the scales (not an injury) then a
general med like the Maracyn you've already added should do the trick.
Generally, fungus isn't a death sentence, only an annoyance. However,
if you begin to notice redness around the gills or disorientation, or
frayed fins, it becomes a different matter.

Removing the charcoal for a few days will not harm a cycled 55, so
don't worry about ammonia chips or anything like that. As a matter of
fact, many of us don't use carbon or charcoal at all. Not that it's
bad, but in a cycled aquarium, especially one that is 55 gallons (or
larger), it's just unnecessary.

GL!

--Mark


Mark Stone tractorlegs at msn dot com
OSCAR Lovers! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.

It is a fairly new tank. It is about 30 days old. I waited 10 days before
adding fish. (4 initially) After 5 more I added 6 more. I waited a couple
of days and added 3 more. I do have another aquarium that is due a change,
so, I can move it over to this tank. (If nothing else I can cut open the
cartridge and place it in a filter bag.)

I readdressed the symptoms, and I think it could have been ich. I am
treating for that as well as a precaution. Sick fishy seems to be
responding. He is eating and swimming around more then he had.

I also think I had to much water in the tank causing the glow to be less
then it should have been. I have that covered and I added a powerhead as
well. Still a lot to learn, but, I am getting there, and hopefully I can do
it with minimal loss.

Currently I don't have any media in the tank at all. I am treating with
Maracyn because I thought I had body fungus. I did do a 30% water change
today, and those levels were before the change and after the charcoal was
removed from the filter.
"Amateur" wrote in message
y.com...

"Sean" wrote in message
...
: OK, updated levels:
:
: Temperatu 78F
: pH: 8.0
: NO2 (Nitrite): 0
: NH3/NH+4 (Ammonia): 0.5-1.0
: KH: 14 dB
: GH: 11 dB
:

Your ammonia levels should be zero at all times. If this is a new tank,
consider getting some filter media from an old
tank to help seed it. Keep it wet and aerated until it gets into your
tank. The body fungus your fish caught was
probably caused by stress. At any given time there are parasites and
unpleasant things in the tank. When a fish gets
stressed, it becomes susceptible to these ailments. Is this a new tank?
Was it cycled prior to adding fish?
AC
www.amateurcichlids.com