Question:
one of my guppies has white cottony stuff across its back. what should i do?
daisygurlie78
2007-09-06 11:42:53 UTC
i have a tank of guppies and platties. only one of my fish seems to be sick. i got that medicine from walmart and put it in the talk is there anything else i should do? is it contagous. should i seperate that one. how can i tell if the medicine worked?
Ten answers:
Venice Girl
2007-09-06 12:46:08 UTC
It is NOT ich! Why is ich always the only answer? And ich is not a fungus, it's a parasite. Fungus is fungus and fungus can be bacterial or viral, but more than usually it's bacterial. Oftentimes a secondary infection as a result of rough handling, injury from something in the tank or another fish or resulting infection from wounds caused by another disease usually caused by poor water conditions. It also could be columnaris, which is similar looking to fungus, but is slightly different in its symptoms and different in origin, but occurs as a secondary infection from the same reasons. Nonetheless, whether fungus or columnaris, it is treatable and do not give up on the idea of treating. It can take a very long time and you need to be diligent and patient. Maracyn-2 is a good treatment. You can get this at Petco or Petsmart. Basically, stay away from Walmart in any way that has to do with pets. Use according to directions and as long as it takes for every bit of the disease to go away. You will know that the medicine worked when, not only the fungus goes away, but the wounded skin and scales also look healed and replaced. If only one fish displays symptoms, it is a good idea if at all possible, to remove that fish to a hospital/quarantine tank so that the other fish don't get sick and also so they don't need to go through the rough treatment process. Also, filters remove medication, so you will need to remove your filtering media (not the whole filter, just the media) while medicating. Be advised that medications also kill the beneficial bacteria in the water, so you will need to do regular water testing to make sure the water doesn't become toxic and you will need to recycle your water after stopping the medication. Good luck!
anonymous
2007-09-06 12:50:34 UTC
Ok, anyone on here who says that's ich doesn't know what they're talking about. Don't listen to them.



Your fish has fungus. It is highly contagious. Take your fish out of the tank and quarantine him in a vase or goldfish bowl or anything, just get him out of there.



*Do a large water change - like 50%*



Get this stuff called Pimafix, follow the instructions and treat the sick fish in the vase and also treat the tank with the other fish.



Your sick fish probably won't survive at this point but you may be able to save the others before it's too late.
?
2007-09-06 11:48:59 UTC
I think you should defeatnately take it out .I had a betta like that once it was the other female that had attacked her and she had that cottony white stuff but she had died cause it got infected.
gilgamesh
2007-09-06 11:46:30 UTC
That's called 'Ick.' Was the medicine you got specifically for Ick? If so, just follow the directions and keep an eye on them to make sure it goes away. I would definitely separate that fish for a little while from the others because it is contagious (treat the new water). You can tell if it worked if the white goes away and the fish doesn't die.
anonymous
2007-09-06 12:12:40 UTC
it sounds like a bacteria called flexibactor columnaris -- its hard to treat and walmart doesnt sell medications for it. you need antibiotics from the fish store. i don't treat it anymore because where i live the bacteria are immune to antibiotics from overuse -- so its next to impossible to treat and gets very expensive. my advice would be change about 20% of the water every two or three days for a couple of weeks. it lives in the water and attaches to sick fish. usually a fishes slime coat keeps it away. the more often you change out the water the less likely it will like living in your aquarium.
Goddess
2007-09-06 11:48:29 UTC
Sounds like "ich" -- and I think it's contagious so you're other fish will probably show signs soon. I think the "ich" medicine is all you can do (but make sure it's specifically for ich). Once they start to clear up, it's best to change out a good portion of the water. I used to have to treat my betta often for ich. Not sure why he got it since he lived alone.



http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm
crypt
2007-09-06 11:50:27 UTC
your guppy has ICK which is a fungus, you could separate it from the others but this will probley weaken the fish even more, if you got the medicine that`s about all you can do is follow the instructions on the bottle. and it takes time for the medicine to work,
always thinking
2007-09-06 11:54:54 UTC
ITS NOT ICH..............ich looks like salt. anyway its fungus. you can go to the pet store and pick up so meds for this that will cover ich, fin/tail rot and fungus........not that big of a deal unless its all over the fish and the fish is floating upside down!!
wolf
2007-09-09 15:20:03 UTC
i found this article for you i hope it is helpful



The temperature for a goldfish should be kept around 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you have a tropical fish you should keep it around 78 to 80. If you have

both you should keep it around 75. If it is warmer then it raises there

metabolism and it allows there immune system to function better, and keeps

them from getting sick more often.

The water changes should be of about 10% and completed every week.

Evaporation does not count. First of all remove the water from the tank and

then replace it with fresh water that has no chlorine. If you are using public

water then it has chlorine in it, which you probably already knew. Use a

commercial dechlorinator to remove the chlorine. If you don't have time to do

a 10% change every week then just try 25% change every two to three weeks.

Always do some sort of change so the waste doesn't build up.

Every month you should change the filter pad, cartridge or the charcoal,

(depends on what kind of filter you have.)

You should feed your fish about two or three times a day. If you see any of

the food you put there then at the bottom of the tank your probably over

feeding them, which will lead to bacteria build up and it will get cloudy in

the fish tank. That will also probably make your fish get sick. Use catfish to

get rid of all that junk at the bottom.

The tank light should be left on no more then 10 hours in my opinion. You can

buy a timer at most hardware stores that turns off the light when it goes off.



If you leave it on it turns the water green. To fix this you should turn off

the light and make sure no light reaches the tank for about 2 weeks.

You will need to test the ph in your tank (which means the measure of

positive and negative ions in the water of you fish tank) to do this you must

go out and buy a ph testing kit and follow the instructions. You should try

the keep the ph at 7 at all times. Occasionally it will go up or down down 1

or 2 (6.9 or 7.1) do to biological processes that happens in your fish tank.

How to Cure a Sick Fish

First do a 20% water change, then take out the filter or cartridge or

charcoal pad and leave the filter running because the filter pad won't let the

medicine go through.. Turn the temperature for fresh water fish to 82%.

If you have goldfish make no change

For fresh water tanks add 1 tablespoon of water for every 5 gallons. Make sure

there are no plants because the salt will kill the plants, and make sure its

aquarium salt, kosher or non iodized. This will help kill the bacteria and

fungus. After all this add your chosen medication. Ask the clerk for what type

of medication you should use. You should look at the sick fish for a little

while and tell the clerk what is wrong with him. This will save you and the

clerk some time. Use the medication as directed. If you do not see results in

4 days (unless the medication bottle says it will take more then 4 days) go

back and get another kind. Ask the clerk for advice.

When the fish is well put the filter, cartridge or charcoal pad back in.

Why Fish are Good Pets

I think fish are pretty good pets. The reasons I think this

are because, it takes about 10 seconds to fed them, and i don't know of any

people that are allergic to fish.







How to get Rid of White Water in Your Fish Tank

There are many reasons for this to happen.



If the tank is less then a month old then just wait and it will go away.

If you over feed them this will happen. Just cut back on the food for a little

while and it should go away.

When you add ph adjusters and buffers or other chemicals this will happen.

Just wait and it will go away, or you can do a water change.

If you don't have enough filtration then this will happen. Example, if you

have 30 fish with a tiny filtration then don't be surprised about this. You

should get a bigger filter and a water change.

Too many fish is another reason. You should only have one inch of fish per

gallon (do not count the fins). For this you should do more water changes and

a bigger filtration system, and try getting rid of some of your fish.

Starting Cost

It would normally cost about 125$ to get started.

I would buy an aquarium that costs about 50$, but you can get them from 10$ to

250$ dollars depending on what size you want.

I would buy a ph testing kit and those would cost about 10$, but you can get

bigger ones that have about 6 different tests on them but those cost about

45$.

Then you will have to buy some gravel and some plants, even though you don't

need plants they make the tank look better. Gravel will cost about 5$ and

plants will cost about 2 to 3 dollars each.

Then you have to buy filters and those cost about 25$ and then you need filter

cartridges. After that you need power heads. Actually you don't need them but

they help. They cost about 15$.

Cost to Maintain a Fish

It costs about 10$ a month. You need to buy different filter cartridges,

you need a new one almost every month. They cost about 4$.

And you need food which cost about 5$.

Cost of a Fish

Fish can cost from 1$ to 500$ depending on if its saltwater, freshwater,

were it comes from. I just usually get 5$ - 10$ ones, and acassionaly a 15$

one. You can get them as low as 20 cents at some places.





i found this article for you i hope it is helpful



As a quick check, are you doing all these tests?

Ammonia?(the #1 fish killer)

Nitrates?(for salt-water)

PH?(it varies)



Are you:

Changing your water?

Cleaning your tank?



Do you have:

A WhisperTMfilter?

Filter cartridges?



A heater?

Clohr-OutTM?

BullzeyeTM?

Maracyn?TM

Maracide?TM

Maracyn-Two?TM

Ammo-Chips?TM

Ph-Up?TM

Ph-Down?TM

A Ph Test Kit?

A siphon?

A tube?

A hiding spot for your fish, such as a hollowed-out octopus

decoration? (not a GrottoTM because sick fish go in there and

you can't see them)

(Using exactly what I say gives best results [for me, at

least])



Here are the most common causes, cures, and how to prevent to

fish diseases.

Ick

Cause: Unknown, maybe because of spores in the air.

Cure: Maracide, but not always.

Effect: White spots on fins or body

How to prevent: Ich cannot live in hot water, usually over

80oF.



New Tank Syndrome

Cause: Ammonia in water with no bacteria to neutralize it.

Cure: Stress-zyme, but less feeding helps.

Effect: Fins "clamped" to body

How to prevent: Give 2 weeks- 1 month for tank to cycle

bacteria before filling with fish.



Ammonia Poisioning

Cause: Same as above

Cure: Ammo-Chips

Effect: Fins "clamped" to body

How to prevent: Some medicines, but keeping the foam cartrige

in the filter helps.



Dropsy

Cause: bacteria that can only survive in "cold" water (cold to

tropical fish).

Cure: Maracyn-Two

Effect: Swim bladder pain, making this disease easy to mistake

for swim bladder disease, and puffy, black fins.

How to prevent: Raise temperature above 80oF (but don't fry

your fish)



Fin & Tail Rot

Cause: infection in fin or tail

Cure: Maracyn

Effect: White areas around fin injury

How to prevent: Try to make a hiding place for your fish so no

other fish bite 'em, but not one that you can't see the inside

of, or if they get sick they will go inside where you can't

see what's wrong with them.



True Fungus

Cause: fungi in the water

Cure: Maracyn

Effect: A puffy white area on a fish's body.

How to prevent: Try to keep your filter going night and day

(literally) so no fungus can get in.



Septicemia

RARER THAN USUAL

Cause: ??

Cure: Maracyn

Effect: Bulging veins

How to prevent: ??



Popeye (no, not the sailor man)

RARER THAN USUAL

Cause: Eye infection

Cure: Maracyn, Maracyn-Two

Effect: Puffy, cloudy eyes

How to prevent: Try to keep your tank clean, and make hiding

places for fish with large eyes. Also, buy plants to cusion

fast-moving fish so they don't crash their eyes into the sides

of the tank.



Gill Disease (not Gil Hodges)

RARER THAN USUAL

Cause: Gill infection

Cure: Maracyn, Maracyn-Two

Effect: Puffy gills, lack of activity and gasping (with gills)



How to prevent: Keep sharp objects out of the tank and make a

hiding place for fish with large gills.
Ashlee_bay_bay49
2007-09-06 11:46:13 UTC
take it to the vet


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...