Treating Saprolegnia Fungus???

[TetraFreak]

one of my wife's Pictus Cats picked up saprolegnia fungus.

I have it in hospital tank now and have Pimafix ordered and will pick up today after work..

The fungus is a woolly cotton looking growth and only the one cat is showing it.

Should I treat her 55 gal with the Pimafix as well as the hospital tank to make sure the big tank is good and safe or could that cause issues with other things in the tank?

Thanks in advance!

-TF

 

[FJB]

If indeed it is a fungal infection on the cat (most likely on a pre-existing injury), then there is no real need to treat the main tank. In place of that, a couple of largish (more than usual) water changes will suffice in reducing bacterial/fungal load in the main tank.
For the cat in a hospital tank, Pimafix should work, together with excellent water quality (not otherwise), including attention to oxygenation (Pimafix tends to affect that). The assumption is that you can provide a cycled hospital tank via seeded media or very frequent water changes.
If it were myself, I would combine with salt treatment for the affected cat, even though some people advise no-salt with cats. In my experience, no problem with salt, and it does do wonders against fungal infections (both as preventative on injured fish, and as treatment on secondarily affected injuries).
Good luck!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If using a med , my choice has always been MarOxy which is now called Maracyn Oxy. It is also good for keeping fungus off of fish eggs especially if one doesn't want to use Methylene blue.
https://fritzaquatics.com/products/mardel-maracyn-oxy

 

[TetraFreak]

Thanks for all the info folks.

Update on the cat...
Got Pimafix in the QT and the fuzzy stuff off the cat. Cat is now showing signs of improvement as it's not swimming upside down and actually has some energy now. Just a waiting game with continued treatment.

 

[TetraFreak]

Update:
Cat is back in the proper aquarium and out of QT and swimming happily with the tank mates.

The PimaFix and wife pulling the cottony growth off the cat did the trick on the fungus. The cat's skin is almost completely back to normal now and it's nice to have the QT tank empty. Now I just need to sterilize it and re-fill/cycle it again for next needed use as I have some wild caught coming in and need it for isolation before the wild's join my 55 gal.

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts with this issue.

-TF