Could this be fungal?

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Otaku1811

AC Members
Dec 1, 2006
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Real Name
Emily Cammisa
**mispelled title- FUNGAL lol Guh...

Hi all,

I am back again and my 20 year old pleco just developed a pale fin tip and the silver dollar with the lumpy skin and pale patches still has not improved, he still scratches himself on the rocks and on the pleco (which may explain how the pleco got it too?). Those of you who kept up with my previous thread a few months ago know I had ran a full course of Maracyn 1 and 2 and have been doing weekly water changes and tank upkeep thereafter, not letting the nitrates go over 20ppm. My 10 year old pleco and two of my blackskirted tetras didn't make it, but the rest of the fish (4 silver dollars, 20 year old pleco, two black skirted tetras and two kissing gouramies) survived the tank plague. However, the silver dollar's condition never cleared up despite all I have done and now the pleco is at the very beginning stages of something nefarious.

So I am starting to think that maybe what was going on was a combination of fungal and bacterial, but I never treated the tank for fungus outright. Do you guys think this should be my next course of action? I'm going to get a hospital tank today for the pleco and silver dollar since last time it was a total disaster with the medications uncycling my main tank, having the fish gasping and nitrite spikes, and constant water changes every 6 hours having to replace 55 gallons. I definitely do not want to go through that again.

My main concern is I treat these two fish properly so they can beat whatever ails them. They both have good appetites, plenty of energy and are otherwise healthy, but I know if I can't nip the true problem in the bud they will eventually succumb. I love these fish like someone would love their dog or cat, so if anyone at all can tell me if this might be fungal and give me tips on how to treat it, please reply ASAP!

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SubRosa

AC Members
Jul 3, 2009
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Scratching is normally a symptom of a parasite infestation. My rule of thumb is that if a fish is scratching constantly and no parasites are visible, treat for skin flukes which are too small to see. If you have access to a microscope you can scrape a bit of the fish's slime onto a slide and have a look. The treatment for flukes, praziquantel, is very benign unless you're a platyhelmith like a fluke or tapeworm, so it makes sense to just treat if there's any question.
 

Otaku1811

AC Members
Dec 1, 2006
65
0
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37
NY
Real Name
Emily Cammisa
Hi all, it definitely was not parasites. I decided to go ahead and treat the affected fish in a hospital tank with API Fugus Cure. The pleco's fins went back to normal pretty quickly. Now, two weeks after the treatment along with 20% water changes every two days and a little melafix, the lumpy silver dollar has gone back to being almost totally smooth! His slime coat is also normal now. I guess fungus was the main culprit all along. I am relieved I was finally able to treat him since he's had that skin condition for nearly a year and I could never figure out what it was. The rest of the fish are still doing fine, I keep the nitrates at 20ppm and keep up on top of tank maintenance. I won't let them get sick again. I will put the pleco and silver dollar back in their 55 gallon tank next week with a clean bill of fishy health :)
 
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