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Thread: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

  1. #1
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    Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

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    Hi Bros,

    I have a 2 feet planted tank containing cardinal tertras, rummy nose, ottos, sae and guppies. However, it seems that my guppies are always down with cotton fungus and it seems to be spreading slowly among themselves. Water parameters are good, 0 Ammo, 0 No2 and around 25 No3, temp around 29 deg.

    Initially I tried to separate the sick guppy to another tank and do salt bath... it does not seems to work and the guppy will still RIP... For later infected guppies, i use the Ocean Free Yellow lotion instead. Again, the guppies will still die after a couple of days... Now i read that Primafix or/and Melafix are good for treating the fungus.

    I have a couple of questions and appreciate the experienced bros to help me as much as possible.

    1) Are Primafix good for cotton fungus ?

    2) Any other method you used to treat your infected fish ?

    3) Why the fungus is spreading ? is it because i stressed the healthy guppies in the tank while trying to catch the sick one out ? it is a planted tank and thus difficult to catch.

    4) Any idea why only guppies are infected ? The rest of my fishes are all healthy and well. not a single one is down.

    5) Any other advice you think can help me ?

    My guppy population is now down 50% and a few are infected again.. I do not want to catch them out without knowing what is the best action to take. These are the normal $1 type guppies.

    Many thanks in advance.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    normally methylene blue will do the trick if is not serious, due to your planted tank, you need to isolate the sick fish.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    thanks bro for the reply. It seems that once i isolate the sick fish, they die faster. I guess probably due to added stress of being alone in the new environment. By the way, where can I get methylene blue ? I googled to research and it seems that this medication will kill aquatic plants..

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    methylene blue is the blue medicine, it's very cheap - costing $1. Just look at the directions on the medicine bottle. From my experience, there is no need to get those expensive ones.

    One issue with m. blue is that it stains. If you have zeolite chips in yr aquarium, remove them first - I forgot to do that & the chips turned blue.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Quote Originally Posted by good boy View Post
    thanks bro for the reply. It seems that once i isolate the sick fish, they die faster. I guess probably due to added stress of being alone in the new environment. By the way, where can I get methylene blue ? I googled to research and it seems that this medication will kill aquatic plants..
    For planted tank, normally must isolate the fish to a hospital tank, not advice to medicate your "plants".
    Fish will feel more stress, especially guppies as drastic change of water parameter.
    Since is $1 guppies, try to get from another source.

    CHeers..

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    One thing people tend to forget is that guppies are more suited for an alkaline tank. In a typical planted tank they are subjected to acidic conditions which may affect them adversely sometimes. As for the fungus, it usually is a sign of an underlying issue with your fish, in particular a type if bacterial attack. In such situations you must use both antifungal and anti-bacterial medications to have an
    effect.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    My guppies also highly easy to get fungus. I using melafix but not always useful. The mel blue surely kills. Most or all my sick fish will die. Salt bath also die. Sometimes just forget it.
    Now my medicine cost so much more than the fishes. I have over 10 bottles of medi to safe a 0.80 fish.
    I also used aqua medi series in blue bottle. So far with melafix give best results.also ID sick fish ASAP to minimize spread.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Bieffe,
    i agree. i have already stop putting medication and let nature take its course. Just to share my experience on this episode. Lao Jiaos feel free to comment if I did anything wrong or can do certain things better.
    As I am into planted tank with other fishes such as rummy nose, cardinals, cory, otts, it is very difficult to catch the infected guppy out unlike a bare tank. There are a lot of hiding places which the net cannot reach. So i think i have unknowingly stressed or injured other healthy guppies when catching the sick one out, resulting in more casulties later on. Furthermore, all the sick guppies die within a day or two while in hospital tank with medication. Due to stress ? different water chemistry due to medication ? i do not know. If i leave the sick guppy alone in the main tank, it will still die, but may take a week or so.
    So what i did was to leave all the sick guppies die naturally in the main tank and take them out one by one, leaving the heathly ones alone and unstressed. Now out of the ten guppies i bought initially, i am left with only 2 healthy surviving guppies. I feel that if i try to catch the sick one out, i might be left with 0 at the end of the day.
    An interesting observation is the all the while, the rest of the fishes in the same tank are happy and healthy. It seems that guppies are much less hardy nowadays.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Yes nowadays guppies are super weak. I ever bought 20 b4 and by then 3rd day left 10 or less and that's with the whole tank of guppies only. Try use food to lure them to surface and nab it. But sick fish usually don't eat. I also had experience of fish not eating more and more skinny then die.
    All this I feel is the quality from the shop. Really some shops are so much worst than others.
    I even tried keeping guppies I got from a LFS in a separate tank using their water, at the end also die. Is not our method is the fish. Try other fishes they don't have so much problems like guppies.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Quote Originally Posted by stormhawk View Post
    One thing people tend to forget is that guppies are more suited for an alkaline tank. In a typical planted tank they are subjected to acidic conditions which may affect them adversely sometimes. As for the fungus, it usually is a sign of an underlying issue with your fish, in particular a type if bacterial attack. In such situations you must use both antifungal and anti-bacterial medications to have an
    effect.
    Stormhawk has already pointed out one of the possible causes. I think this point is rather likely as well considering the kinds of fish it is being commed with are mostly Amazonian fish that do well in acidic waters. Guppies do better in pH 7 to 7.5. Subjecting the guppy to an acidic environment, you cannot expect them to live a happy life. Guppies are a lot hardier than most other fish I know!

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Setup: ADA Cube Garden 45-P, Starlitz Clear 45, Eheim Aquacompact 40
    Layout/Hardscape: ADA Amazonia Powder Soil, Borneowild Rutsuuddo Wood (SS Root Type)
    Fauna: Apisto Trifasciata, Sundadanio Axelrodi (Blue), Yamato Shrimp

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Thanks Vannel, i appreciate it.

    I read Stormhawk's comment and is taking action on it. My PH is currently around 6.5. I am researching on the PH zones on all the fishes currently in my tank (I know, should have done this earlier but its a newbie mistake :P ). Also read in another forum that baking soda can increase PH without much adverse effect. So doing some more researching before slowly changing the chemistry in the water during WC, so that all can live happily, healthly and have a long life in my tank... . in the meantime, will not be adding more quppies into the tank.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    They can handle pH around 6.5 if there is some source of salt in the water. You don't have to add this though. I have a few pieces of minerocks meant for shrimps but for some reason my guppies are thriving. Those fancy types with larger tails tend to fall ill easily as compared to short tail ones aka wild-types. Sometimes, it's just the stock you choose. Healthy guppies should be swimming all over the tank looking for food. They should not have visible injuries etc. A single scale out can lead to bacterial infection and thus fungal attack.

    As I'm typing this, I spotted a fry in the tank too. They live alongside Corydoras, a small group of Black Phantom Tetras, a group of Red Lizard plecos and 2 Peckoltias. Almost forgot the last female Ram and Oryzias woworae in the tank. So far all is well. The last time I measured the pH, it was close to 6.2. So I guess the Minerocks are leeching crucial elements for the guppies to thrive in.

    I noticed that the majority of guppies sold at some LFS, either have gill flukes/bacterial infections/signs of fungal attack and of course not forgetting, white spot aka ich. Last time I purchased guppies was from C328 and I only took those that were in their individual bags. Those in the small tanks or kept with other fish, should be watched closely before purchasing. If in doubt, next time just quarantine them beforehand.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    OK this is what I just did. After adding melafix for 2days nothing has impoved. Then tried added al cheapo $1 general green medi. Also no use. After reading i whiped out my melthy Blue.
    Not to mention I had taken 1 long tail in a separate tank for 2days. He seems to be getting worst. So now I place all in a hospital tank of about 3L. Total sick fish about 10.
    I took that few that has visible mould on body by using a net and drip directly. The moulds were stained blue. After replacing the fishes i added more blue to the tank. For 3L i added about 2ml. the bottle says 5ml/100L.
    Water now all BLUE. Wonder they will live?

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Do not overdose with methylene blue, if that is what you are using. During medication, increased aeration is highly crucial for their survival. Methylene blue reacts with oxygen in the water and will slowly deplete it, so if you don't increase aeration, the fishes will literally die of lack of oxygen in the water.

    As with most medications, there will be a slight tint to the water. If you put in too much methylene blue, you must do a water change to dilute the medication. All you need is a slight blue tint.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Quote Originally Posted by stormhawk View Post
    Do not overdose with methylene blue, if that is what you are using. During medication, increased aeration is highly crucial for their survival. Methylene blue reacts with oxygen in the water and will slowly deplete it, so if you don't increase aeration, the fishes will literally die of lack of oxygen in the water.

    As with most medications, there will be a slight tint to the water. If you put in too much methylene blue, you must do a water change to dilute the medication. All you need is a slight blue tint.
    thanks for the heads up. I have since done a water change. But still leaving the air out.

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Tetras could be nibbling on the guppies' tails causing fungus
    Sharing is Caring

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    Re: Pls help. what are the possible ways to treat cotton fungus in guppies

    Losted a Guppy and a platy.

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