Fish help please!     10/4/17
Hi! I'm coming to you for advice...
<Sure thing!>
I'm fairly new to fishkeeping... I have a 20 gallon tank that I set up in June, and it's been cycled since early July. It was stocked with 3 platys, 2 guppies, 5 Glo Danios, and one honey Gourami. (Stocked in that order. The honey Gourami was in the tank for a month.) Three days ago, the honey Gourami suddenly got big, clear bulges on both sides-- mostly abdomen, but two other little bulges on its side, too. She mostly flopped on her side on the bottom of the tank for a day, though she came up looking for food when I fed the fish. The following day the bulges were worse. I moved her to a fry tank to try feeding her a pea, but she could no longer eat, and died that night. I looked for signs of dropsy (pine-coning) and to be honest, I didn't see it, but I took a bunch of photos and someone else told me that she looked pine-coned. Maybe just slightly? Not like pictures I've seen online. After she died the bulges disappeared.
<Does sound like a systemic bacterial infection. Could be caused by environmental stress of some sort. Honey Gouramis are somewhat delicate fish. I'd not recommend them for beginners, or for use in tanks less than 6
months old.>
The following day-- yesterday-- I found one of my smaller Danios on its side on the bottom of the tank gasping. It moved around a few times, but it was clear it was dying, so I took it out and euthanized it. It body looked normal except for a blood spot on its lower abdomen. Definitely no pineconing, bent spine, etc. And none of the fish have ever had white or stringy poop.
<To make a general point here, because the symptoms are rather generic:
when different fish die in a relatively new tank, then environmental conditions and/or maintenance are likely to blame. While you could be unlucky and have bought sickly fish or introduced something with a particularly bad pathogen, these are less likely explanations.>
First I'll tell you the water conditions, then my current problem:
Very consistently good water conditions before and after the fish deaths. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10-20 nitrates, ph is somewhere between 7.2 and 7.8 (hard to tell exact color), temperature 78. I have a bunch of moss balls in
the tank, along with some silk and hiding rocks. The only recent change is that I added 1/3 bag of PhosGuard to the filter because I've been dealing with diatoms for about 6 weeks. I do a 20% water change every week (25%
after the Gourami died).
<All sounds fine.>
A couple of the Danios have always looked skinny to me (the one that died was one of them), but no signs of problems before this in any of the fish.
<The fact that some Danios are skinny suggests they might be suffering malnutrition, poor genes, or possibly Mycobacteriosis right from the get-go, in which case nothing you can do will likely improve things.
Mycobacterial infections aren't catchy as such, so while serious, and basically untreatable, if you humanely destroy infected fish quickly, there's no reason to assume the others will have caught the disease. On the other hand, Mycobacteriosis is symptomatic of environmental stress, so you certainly can deal with multiple fish that are infected with the Mycobacteria pathogen, one after the other. Genetics plays a role here -- GloFish are very inbred, and that does make them more likely to suffer from health issues.>
Now the other problem: losing one Danio has seemed to completely screw up the tank behaviors. The other four are now acting aggressive to each other and every other fish in the tank, and even the platys are turning on each
other. It was a completely peaceful tank before.
<This is not unusual. Danios males can be, and often are, aggressive in very small groups. Certainly keep no fewer than six.>
So I'm very torn about what to do: since I don't know what just killed two of my fish, I planned to wait several weeks to get any new fish-- BUT now I'm worried that if I don't add another Danio, they're just going to stress
everyone out until they die anyway!
<Understood. It's a toughie, and your predicament is one that can cause real problems. If this was me, I'd wait a day or two and see if things settle. Longer term, I'd add some more Danios. But I'd also keep an open mind on the environment. Could copper be an issue? Do you use dechlorinator appropriate to your situation? For example, getting a brand that neutralises copper, Chloramine and ammonia alongside chlorine is a very good idea.>
Would appreciate any advice. I can send photos, but wanted to check first before sending attachments.
<By all means, but please keep attachments reasonably small, less than 500 kB for example.>
Thank you,
Jenna
<Welcome. Neale.>

Columnaris Denisonii Barb/Redwag Platy        9/30/16 Hi, <Orlando> I noticed one of my denisonii barbs, and Redwag Platy had lesions, which I assumed was columnaris. <Mmm; maybe.... what re cause here? Such infections don't occur w/o environmental prompting> I did a lot of research and the common theme, I found, in treatment for columnaris was reducing temperature, salt, KanaPlex, MetroPlex, and furan2. I moved the barb and platy from my 75g to my 10g hospital tank, and began medicating the water with furan2, salt, and feeding KanaPlex/MetroPlex. The platys dent/lesion has lost the white line in the dent, and seems to be doing fine. My barb, on the other hand, developed even more lesions, but is very active and eating well. For the second round of medications, I medicated the water with furan2, salt, KanaPlex/MetroPlex (I did not dose food). I repeated the first round of medication, making it 3 total rounds of medication. My barb has not developed any new lesions for about 5 days, and my platy looks normal. My question is when do I know my barb and platy are healthy enough to go back into my main tank? <I'd wait a good few weeks beyond when these "lesions" are gone> I've had them in my hospital tank for 3 weeks, and I feel the barb (4.5inches) is getting a bit stressed in the 10gal, and without his school. Thank you! <Keep changing some (a few gallons) of water daily... From their main/display system. Bob Fenner>

Columnaris Denisonii Barb/Redwag Platy     /Neale       10/1/16 Hi, I noticed one of my denisonii barbs, and Redwag Platy had lesions, which I assumed was columnaris. I did a lot of research and the common theme, I found, in treatment for columnaris was reducing temperature, salt, KanaPlex, MetroPlex, and furan2. I moved the barb and platy from my 75g to my 10g hospital tank, and began medicating the water with furan2, salt, and feeding KanaPlex/MetroPlex. The platys dent/lesion has lost the white line in the dent, and seems to be doing fine. My barb, on the other hand, developed even more lesions, but is very active and eating well. For the second round of medications, I medicated the water with furan2, salt, KanaPlex/MetroPlex (I did not dose food). I repeated the first round of medication, making it 3 total rounds of medication. My barb has not developed any new lesions for about 5 days, and my platy looks normal. My question is when do I know my barb and platy are healthy enough to go back into my main tank? I've had them in my hospital tank for 3 weeks, and I feel the barb (4.5inches) is getting a bit stressed in the 10gal, and without his school. Thank you! <Bob Fenner has covered the essentials here. But a couple extra comments if I may... For a start, do understand this species subtropical. At tropical temperatures it isn't entirely happy, and in particular low oxygen levels and high nitrate levels will stress them. If the tankmates are Platies, which are perfectly happy in cooler conditions, I'd be keeping this/these species around 22-24C/72-75F rather than anything warmer. Optimal conditions for Denison Barbs is likely a few degrees cooler than this. Let me have you read the Fishbase page on this species, here... http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Puntius-denisonii.html Certainly optimise water circulation and oxygenation, though I will state that Platies are still-water fish, and will not thrive in the brisk currents Denison Barbs need (though Swordtails, being stream-dwellers, would actually be pretty decent companions). Secondly, I'm not sure adding salt is terribly helpful. Barbs vary in their tolerance for salt, some actually inhabiting low-end brackish habitats, but these barbs are definitely inland fish, and I can't see any advantage to even trace additions to salt unless you're dealing with something specific where salt is the cure (like Whitespot). Instead, I'd be coupling a general purpose antibiotic alongside an aggressive approach to optimising water conditions. Denison Barbs have, overall, a poor to middling track record in captivity; relatively few reach their proper size and live anything close to a full lifespan. Read, review, and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale.> re: Columnaris Denisonii Barb/Redwag Platy      10/1/16 Thank you for the quick answers! <Welcome.> I am going to remove the platys (3) and move them to my 20g long because there is substantial water movement with an AquaClear 110, 520gph canister filter, and an 325gph hydroponic air pump. <Sounds wise.> The issue might have been temperature (I do two 50% water changes a week on the 75g), as summer just ended here and my tank has been at a constant 80F for 3 months. Should I look into re-homing the barbs if I cannot consistently maintain a lower temperature throughout the entire year? <Nope. Summertime highs are fine. The issue is year-round high temperatures. Basically, the ideal approach would be to allow the tank to warm up in summer, but during the winter make sure it cools down a bit, so there's some seasonality. This will be much closer to "the wild" and ensure your Denison Barbs stay healthy. Lows of 15 C/59 F are probably not necessary, but something like 20-22 C/68-72 F would be beneficial, and still allow a wide variety of tankmates. Many barbs, danios and minnows, many loaches, numerous Loricariids, most Corydoras, and a few cichlids (like Acaras) and livebearers (such as Swordtails and virtually all Goodeids) prefer precisely these conditions. Bronze Corydoras and Bristlenose Plecs are two examples of widely sold and inexpensive fish that would thrive in a riverine tank adapted to Denison Barbs.> Thanks again! <Cheers, Neale.>

Deadly Diseases: Lymphocystis, Glugea, and Henneguya. 02/09/09 Hello All! Just writing this bc I had an important question and maybe something you don't deal with often ... Before I start I have a 60 Gallon FW tank that has been running for about a year. My ammonia/nitrites are always 0 and my nitrates always 40ppm or less ... Anyways, about 1 month ago or so (maybe a little longer) I noticed one of my blue rams which I've had almost a year had white pimple looking bumps on the top of his head ... After researching I came to the conclusion that he had Lymphocystis so I left him in the tank. It would spread around his face, reappearing on a different spot on his head as another healed but never got any worse than when I first noticed it (he is still alive btw). Now, my question is this ... What is the chance that this isn't Lymphocystis and is Glugea or Henneguya? (I never took him out of the tank bc everything I've read said these diseases are even more rare than Lympho.) The reason why I ask is bc over the past 3 - 4 days I have lost 4 or 5 fish for unknown reasons ... And they all exhibit the same signs: Loss of color. They were all eating and active except for the color and it got to the point where I could look in the tank in the morning and know which fish were going to be dead by the time I got home from work based on the color. Glugea and Henneguya is the only reason I could think of bc I have not done anything different to my tank in a long time and I religiously keep my tank clean and maintained. So what is your opinion bc I truly believe that my whole tank will be dead in a month or less at this rate. (Which means I convert my tank into a dart frog tank and forget fish forever lol). Thanks for the insight. -Nick- <Nick, I think these are unrelated issues. Lympho is by far the most common viral disease among cichlids; or at least, the most common one aquarists can recognise. It isn't fatal, and as you've noticed, it comes and goes. It's a nuisance, but doesn't seem to harm the fish any, and eventually goes away. If you're losing a bunch of fish -- of different types -- in a short span of time, it's most probable there's an issue with water quality or chemistry. Also consider reviewing diet, temperature, and even the age of the fish. So: What are the fish? What is the water chemistry? Cheers, Neale.>

FW... disease, learning   2/15/08 Hi Guys. <John> In the last two days, 4 of my 13 fish have started flashing. <Mmm... have you "done" something recently to the tank? Added any new fish, live plants or foods?> Sterba's Cory Albino Cory Juvenile Black Molly <Mmm... a brackish water animal...> Juvenile Red Wag I've looked hard but at this point I do not know whether it is velvet or ich. <Or...?> I want to protect the other fish but I can't take the flashing fish out of my 30G as my 10G quarantine tank is being used right now. The only meds I know that treat both velvet and ich is CopperSafe but half my fish are Corys and I had a bad experience with CopperSafe before. <I would not use copper...> I feel like I should be doing something now but am I supposed to wait until I see obvious signs of what it is before I use any meds? The flashing is pretty regular so I know something is wrong but at what point would one normally use meds? <On more assurity of their need, usefulness> I'm still pretty new to this so please forgive my ignorance. I did try to find an answer to this by hitting a lot of the forums and Google searching but I couldn't find anything that was specific enough hence my bothering you guys. Thanks. John Murphy. <Raising temperature may be enough here to effect some relief... Read on WWM (again) re Ich... and re the Molly: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm  and http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm  and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Gravel washers, dis. transmission  -- 4/10/07 Greetings, I recently purchased a gravel washer and believe it's the best thing since sliced bread for water changes!  I do water changes and gravel washing at least every two weeks. <Wow, you're a better person than I... water changes weekly, gravel cleaning once or twice a year!> I am wondering though, should the gravel washer be soaked in any kind of disinfectant between washes? <If you have more than one aquarium, it is a good idea to clean things between moving them from one tank to another. You'll see retailers nowadays often keep their nets in jugs of disinfectant so that any diseases in one tank can't hitchhike to another. But realistically, cleaning the gravel washer every two weeks is probably overkill. If you want, sit it in a bucket of strong (at least 70 grammes/litre) salt solution. That'll kill most bacteria and parasites, while at the same time not being toxic to the aquarium fish if any gets left behind on the device.> I realize that the water is chlorinated going through the tubing back into the tank but trapped water does lay in the tubing between washes. <Store things dry. Most bacteria and aquatic parasites cannot tolerate exposure to air or sunshine (UV light) for very long.> Could that be a potential source of any kind of disease for the fish? <Potentially, yes, but the risk is trivially small compared with live foods (esp. Tubifex) and new aquarium fish.> Just wondering what you might recommend.  Thanks in advance! <Cheers, Neale> Linda Ritchie
Gravel washers & Value of "Quarantine", aka Isolating new livestock... FW here  -- 4/10/07 Morning Neale, Thanks for the quick response. <No problem.> I'm slowly getting it through my head that the best way to protect your existing healthy fish is to use an iso tank for the newbies. <Yes it is. Also, when breeding fish, nothing beats having another tank to cosset pregnant females or rear the babies.> I've taken many fine suggestions from your crew and website.  Most of our LFS in this area are large chain stores that don't do much to isolate or even recognize a problem with their stock so it's vital that I take every precaution to prevent infestation in my tanks.  It's very relaxing to me to watch my livebearers go about their daily chores happy and healthy and to watch the fry grow into adults.  I've been keeping fish off and on for almost 30 years and much has changed in husbandry techniques since I started.   <Cool. One thing I forgot to mention in your original question -- is chlorinated water going into the tank when the fish are there? It shouldn't be. The chlorine is quite nasty as far as the fish are concerned. So always use a dechlorinator on any water that is in the tank when the fish are there.> Linda <Cheers, Neale>
Re: Gravel washers & Value of "Quarantine", aka Isolating new livestock... FW here  -- 4/10/07 Yes, the water is chlorinated but I add the dechlorinator in conjunction with the water.  I put some water in a pitcher and add the dechlorinator to prime the filters.  So far this has worked great. I wash the filters and filter packs with the water that comes out of the aquarium into the sink during the water change.   <Cool.> I don't try and adjust the pH to much for the livebearer tank. <Always wise. Easiest to get fish that like your water, rather than try to fiddle the water to suit your fish.> I just added some crushed coral to work on the KH, it's a little low at 4. <Agreed, and the solution sounds good. Be sure and deep clean the coral sand though: once covered in bacteria and algae (i.e., after a few weeks) it is isolated from the water, and doesn't do any buffering.> GH is right about 7-8 which should be okay.  Ph is very stable at about 7.4. <Both fine for Platies.> Found out the hard way that the pH neutralizer does a number on the live plants! <Odd. Some plants like acid water, some alkaline, so that may be the thing. Many of the hardier plants, such as Vallis, like hard, alkaline water. If you soften the water too much, they get unhappy very quickly. Done this myself and watch hundreds of Vallis die overnight! Not pretty. Again, best to choose plants for your local water. There are lots of species that love hard, alkaline water: Vallis, Egeria, some Amazon swords (e.g. E. bleheri), some Crypts (e.g. C. wendtii and C. ciliata), Java fern, Java moss, etc.> I bring down the pH to around 7.2 for in the tetra tank.  As long as it remains stable the fish are okay. <Most tetras shouldn't mind even pH 7.4, so I'd not bother with the pH adjustment. The difference between 7.2 and 7.4 is not that important. Fish don't really "feel" pH anyway; they feel the total dissolved solids, which the acidifying agent isn't doing anything about. I personally wouldn't bother with the pH adjuster -- I'd sooner do more water changes to keep the quality high. Cheers, Neale>

Re: Bacterial sickness? 11/2/05 My question that was no answered was, can something be living in the live rock that is killing the fish... <Not likely... something is toxic though...> I thought that if you removed the fish that the disease would be removed also...is this incorrect???? <Yes, depending on the type... please... keep reading... perhaps a good "all in one" marine aquarium reference book... the situation you describe has many, MANY loose possibilities in terms of causes of trouble... By the time we "go back and forth" trying to address these, you will be burned out and broke... Imagine a person trying to "do their taxes" in this sort of mode... Bob Fenner> 
Re:... Not bacterial infection, poor examples... 11/2/05 Bob, Trust me I have done taxes this way, you have to keep your clients happy correct??? <Clients?... We have none> I think ill remove the live rock and start over. Thank you for your help <... keep reading... BobF> 

White Stringy Feces, disease? Hi, My aquarium is a very unhappy place right now, and I need some advice. I started up a 25 gal. tank in December with 3 platies and 6 cardinal tetras (& a lot of plants and some driftwood).  During the cycling process, one of the platies had 5 fry, but died a week or so later. I assumed she died from the stress of the new tank and giving birth, but now realize I was wrong. After the cycling was complete, and all the other fish seemed healthy, I added 2 Otos to combat a really pronounced algae problem. Two weeks later, one OTO died. I'd noticed no signs of illness -- just found him at the bottom one afternoon. Then the platies started acting sick with the same symptoms that affected the first poor platy, listlessness, and white stringy feces. They spend their time either resting on the bottom in a covered area or floating at the surface. They eat only a miniscule amount. There are no other visible signs of illness (i.e. no spots or red streaks, fins & eyes look fine). I started a course of Maracyn 2. I'm on day four, but it doesn't seem to be helping. In the past 4 days, I've lost the other OTO and 3 fry, and the remaining platies seem quite ill. (Fortunately, the cardinals seem perfectly happy). Is there a different medication I should try? Should I do another round of Maracyn 2? Did I medicate too late? Is it likely the cardinals will eventually be affected too? Also, due to the loss of the Otos, the algae is out of control. I'm afraid I'll lose all the plants too (its not quite as heartbreaking, but it is expensive!). Once I either a) get everyone healthy again or b) lose the rest of the platies, what should I do to make it a safe environment for a new algae eater? Is a big water change enough, or do I have to do some sterilizing? How long must I wait before adding a new critter? In case its relevant, my water quality has always been pretty good.  Currently, pH=6.8, ammonia=0, nitrites=0, and nitrates <10. Even during cycling, the ammonia & nitrites never got much above 0.5. Thanks in advance for your help! Amanda <The white stringy feces points towards an internal infection. It could be bacterial or a protozoa. Best treated with medicated flake food. Since the Maracyn 2 did not help it is most likely a protozoa. Treat with Metronidazole. You can get the medicated food here http://flguppiesplus.safeshopper.com/26/cat26.htm?122. You will only need a small package. Do not add any more fish until your current charges stay healthy without medicine for a month. I would stop the Meds after completing the first round and start doing several large water changes until you get the Metronidazole. Continue to test and watch for spikes. The Maracyn can kill your bio filter. I would not worry too much about the algae right now. You can wipe off the glass and such for now. Otos are great for algae control, but very hard to introduce into a new set up. And very sensitive to meds. His dying may be unrelated to the platy problem. Look for a Bristlenose Pleco. They only get about 4 inches and are much easier to keep. Stay away from the Common Pleco, gets too large at 12+ inches. One last thing. Unless you were doing daily water changes during the cycling period you should have had higher spikes than .5. You may want to take a sample to your LFS and have them confirm your readings. Don>

Effects of surviving Fish TB Hi there, A few months ago my husband fed our fish some goldfish, against my advice based on what I've heard about goldfish having a lot of diseases. Anyways, our Frontosa, Bay Snook, and clown knives ate them and were fine, but our 12 inch Gar got really sick. He got a filmy coat to him and his eyes popped out. He swelled up really bad and just sat at the bottom of the tank. Then his spine got really crooked. We medicated the tank with anti-fungal and bacterial meds and also Melafix. He was sick for about a month but now he seems to be OK, he eats and swims around fine, except he is still crooked and his back end seems almost like it's paralyzed and just drags behind. Is he still sick or can there be lasting effects from fish illnesses? We were told he had Fish TB but I thought it was always fatal. My husband gets very upset when his fish die! He was depressed for a week when his water cow jumped out the day after we bought it.  Any help is appreciated! <Could be internal parasites from the gold fish have affected the gar. I would try to separate the gar and treat him with Metronidazole as per the directions on the package. It may help but at this point it is just a guess. The Metronidazole is effective against anaerobic bacteria.-Chuck.>

Dead clown loach - 'skinny disease', or worms? me again.... <Sabrina, here> answers to your questions....I do a 20%-30% water change once a month...ph 6.6, no ammonia, no nitrites, <Excellent.> I feed them a variety of things...zooplankton, Tubifex worms, <Tubifex - live, frozen, or freeze-dried?  Live Tubifex are pretty well known for their tendency to transmit disease; probably not the best option....> shrimp pellets, tropical flake food, Gammarus...frozen shrimp....a good mix of things I thought. <Yes.> Like I said in my previous email...everyone seems to think it was skinny disease....a parasite that they say can be in the loach already and 6 months to a year or more kill them.... <I've found some conflicting information on this - some sources say 'skinny disease' is a bacteria, as Jason said previously, and some say it's a Microsporidean - a protozoan parasite - and is difficult to treat.  However....  As I read this, I'm rather certain that, whichever way it is, you're not looking at this 'skinny disease', but at an internal large-type parasite (rather than a protozoa or a bacteria), like nematodes.  This is common in wild fish.> because they come from the wild....I had read that you can treat  prophylactically with Levamisole hydrochloride to keep this from happening...but did not find out where to get it or how much..... is this true? <I would agree with this advice - Levamisole or Piperazine are the route to take for internal wormies.  Look into "Discomed" or, if you can find it, "Dewormer", both by Aquatronics.  The former is administered via food, and contains Levamisole.  The former is already *in* food, and contains Piperazine.  Either route should do the trick.> You had mentioned medicated pellets with erythromycin....I have medicated pellets but it is tetracycline...for bacteria...would that be sufficient if this happens again?     <I'm rather convinced that you're dealing with a parasite, not a bacteria.  I'd suggest, if you're considering getting in more wild-caught fish, first and foremost set up a quarantine tank so you can nail illnesses before they get into the main system.  Secondly, keep good antibacterial meds on hand, as well as anthelminthic (worm killin') meds on hand.  Medicated food is probably the best route.> In regards to that, I read that loaches with skinny disease do not always eat and by feeding with the pellets it might do more harm than good by damaging bacteria in filter and gravel... throwing ammonia and nitrites up therefore hurting other fish........ <Unlikely.  If the loaches don't eat the food, the other fish will, most likely.  I don't see much likelihood at all of causing harm to the tank going this route.> Sorry so many questions... <Don't apologies - it's totally understandable.> I always find conflicting info on the net....& never know what to believe.... <Conflicting info - yes, indeed.  And there are many ways to skin a cat - and everyone you talk to will give you a different way.  -Sabrina> any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance,  Monica     

FW Fish Disease Dear WWM Crew: Thanks to all for your invaluable help and support up to this point.   >>We do what we can, though my efforts are new. Here's the deal: >I've got a 44 gal. freshwater tank that housed the following fish: 2 Boesemanni rainbows 3 male threadfin rainbows 5 balloon-bellied mollies 3 green Cory cats.   >The tank's parameters are all normal, no nitrites, ammonia, pH = 7.5; I haven't tested for nitrates yet, but will do tonight. Unfortunately, through an error of mine, there was introduced to my tank something horrible and insidious last week.  I did not fully understand the benefits of QTing *all* new tank members, but believe you me, it's a mistake I'll not make again.  Anyway, I introduced four dwarf neon rainbowfish w/out QTing, and within forty-eight hours, two had died and the other two looked *horrible*.  Symptoms included lethargic behavior, not eating, grayish/whitish patches with some red underneath, and fin/tail rot.  I immediately pulled the two remaining dwarf Neons and put them in a hospital tank, and based on the symptoms I saw at the time (and with much help from the chat forum!), began treating these guys w/ Maracyn-Two.  Well, within another 24-48 hours, they had also died.  Again, through my posting on the chat forum, I discovered that very possible I had stumbled across "rainbowfish disease", or fish tuberculosis.  So, I began researching that, and everything I've seen thus far leads me to believe that this disease is virtually impossible to treat. Yesterday, I noticed one of the Boesemann's not looking very good, so he was put into a hospital immediately.  His outward symptoms did not look like what had affected the dwarf Neons - the Boesemanni appeared to have "true fungus".  As such, I chose to treat his hospital tank w/ Maracyn-Two and MarOxy.  Well, this morning I woke up and he was gone too.   >>Oh dear, my heart is breaking for you! In doing even more research today, I've decided that if another rainbow exhibits disease symptoms, I'm going to treat him in a hospital tank w/ erythromycin...I believe that sometimes that works against fish TB...please confirm if that's the case. >>IIRC, it is, however, you would do well to have several medications on hand, I would add Melafix and Spectrogram to the list of meds you already have on hand. >I'm *very* concerned about my remaining fish, and so far, here's what actions I've taken and/or plan to take: increase water changes from 10-15% to 20% weekly, I've ordered a UV sterilizer (scheduled to arrive next week...hopefully soon!) to kill any free-floating bacteria in the water, and, in general, will try to keep the stress level (for both the fishes sake and mine) at a minimum.  Is there anything else I can/should do?   >>Truthfully, you're doing everything I would do, the only advice I can add is to use salt (ratio of 1tsp./gal) while medicating and q/t'ing.  You cannot use this in the display with the plants. >If we are truly dealing with rainbowfish disease (fish TB) - can it be contracted by the mollies and/or Corys? >>It may, but I must apologize for not having better answers at this time.  I do not think fish TB is specific to any genus or species, treat everyone the same right now. >At what point do I need to completely break down the tank?  In the event I do need to break down the tank, do I need to toss the plants (Aponogetons and Anubias)?   >>I don't think that you need to break the tank down, though putting everyone in q/t for a minimum of one month and letting the tank lie fallow may be helpful.  Remember not to use the salt with the plants.  I don't know that plants can act as carriers for disease, Google has provided me with nothing helpful. >Please help- I do realize that I made a mistake by not using proper fish-introduction techniques (i.e., quarantining), but what can I do from here? Thanking you in advance, Jorie >>You are doing everything you can at this point, with the exception of the salt.  I cannot say, "You should do this, that, or the other thing", because you're doing what I would.  My suggestion is to stay the course right now, and we'll keep our fingers crossed that you lick this!  Best of luck, Jolie!  Marina>

Unknown Disease Killing Fish I have been stumped by this unknown disease that is killing some of my aquarium fish. The first fish to come down with symptoms was my Siamese fighting fish. The fish's abdomen became enlarged as if it had eaten too much and stayed that way. Then a tumor or blister popped up on one side of its head under the eye but went away after a few days. A few days after that the fish died. All during this time which took, from the beginnings of the symptoms to its demise, about two weeks the fish displayed no unusual behavior. The beta continued to behave normally until its sudden death. About a week or so after my beta died my Danios, both zebra and leopard long-fined, began to waste away. They would lose weight rapidly, refuse to eat and then die one at a time. Now I am down to one Danio, a once hearty female. She has started to lose weight and sometimes has an irregular bump on the underside of her belly. The Danio still exhibits normal behavior but is losing condition. All my other fish are fine; I have four neon tetras, a Siamese algae eater and a sucking loach. <Sounds as if this may be Flukes. Information and recommended treatments are at http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfshparasites.htm and related FAQ's> I have a ten gallon tank with a few live plants in it. I keep it fairly bright for the plants but there is cover for the fish. <This is fine although it sounds like there may have been a lot of fish in this small system.> My tank PH is 6.5, ammonia levels are usually about a .5 or less, nitrite 0, carbonate hardness 53.7 and general hardness 6. I keep the temperature a steady 74 degrees and feed the fish small amounts of different types of dry food twice a day. <Ammonia should *always* be at 0ppm. Anything above this is harmful to your fish. Make sure you aren't overfeeding. Also, for these fish, a bit warmer temperature is recommended. Try getting it up to around 78.> I hope you can help me out with this; it's driving me nuts trying to figure out what to do! Thank you for your time, Joyce <See the above article and FAQ's and also check out all of the FW articles and FAQ's at www.wetwebmedia.com Ronni>

Lymphocystis on Angelfish and Other Questions Hello--we inherited a 55-gal aquarium with a house we bought, and we're just learning about fish-keeping for the first time ever.  Just before we moved in, the owner noticed a pink growth just above the angelfish's mouth.  It's gotten bigger, but the angelfish is still eating--swimming at a slight list, but still eating, and it's been about 3 weeks.  It looks like the growth has spread to the lower 'lip' as well. A local fish store owner said (without being able to look at it) <The rest of this was cut off but I'm guessing he said it sounded like Lymphocystis due to your subject line. But I really don't think this is Lymphocystis. The characteristics of that are grey or white growths, often with a cauliflower appearance. I'm guessing instead that this is an external bacterial infection. I'd recommend isolating it and treating with a medication designed for bacterial problems. One of the Maracyns would be my first choice, read the box to determine which one.> Today we noticed it bleeding around the edge for a bit, then the blood calming down.  Is it possible it was bitten?  We have (and we've learned that these fish should not be mixed, but we inherited it so here we are) a black moor, a platy, a few tetras, a Plecostomus, a gourami, a Hatchetfish, an eel we never see, a ghost knife we never see, <Get a piece of clear plastic pipe of some sort and put it in your tank for him to hide in. He'll feel secure and you'll still be able to see him.> some little African frogs, and a snail.  (We plan to get some more Hatchetfish and a couple of female platys when we figure out what's up with this aquarium) The black moor has been aggressing on the angelfish a bit but had apparently calmed down; the angel fish had always been able to escape. <Before you add any more fish of any kind I would recommend getting a good book and researching compatibility. I would also like to suggest that you trade in the ones you currently have that aren't compatible with the ones you'd like to keep. (I'm sure you know which ones but I'm going to list it anyway since some of our future readers may find the info helpful) The Gourami, the Eel, the Ghost Knife, and the frogs can all be at least moderately aggressive and shouldn't be kept with your others that are non-aggressive. And the Black Moor is a goldfish so it needs cooler water temps that the others can't handle as well.> A pregnant platy and a tetra have died in the past week--another fish store person thinks because of the drastic temperature change from when the owner turned the heat down after she left to when we came in and turned the heat back up.  (in the house, not the aquarium)  There was a BIG change.   <This is possible, especially with the Tetra.> And for some unknown reason, the pH changed too, from around 6.8 when we watched the owner change the water and clean the tank, to around 7.0-7.1 when I took it a few days ago. <Ph does generally rise a bit once you've added the water to the tank. My Ph from my tap is 7.6 and within a day or so of being put in a tank, the Ph will be up around 7.8-8.0.> No discernible ammonia. <Good> We don't have a quarantine aquarium in which to put the angelfish--what can we do?  Is it possible that the growth was bitten by another fish?  If another fish eats it (ICH) will it get the virus too? <I'd highly recommend getting a QT tank. Even a 5 or 10 gallon would work and it doesn't have to be fancy. It may be very possible for your other fish to get this. It's unlikely that someone bit it but not entirely impossible, especially with the mix of fish you have in there.> Thanks--we're new and hate to see this kind of stuff happening--we've just been doing what the owner had been doing and our 5-y.o. daughter has suffered enough heartache.  The loss of the pregnant platy just devastated her.  We were very excited to watch the birth and such. <Just remember, what works for one person doesn't always work for another, even with the same fish and the slightest change can throw the whole thing out of whack. I once kept a tank very similar to yours and didn't have any problems for 3 years. Then I moved tank to the other side of the room and everything went haywire. The setup and fish were exactly the same but the temperaments changed completely. In a matter of weeks I went from the one tank to several because I had to separate all of the fish.> Please advise! Thanks, Carolyn  <Hope this info helps! Ronni>