Aquarium Fungus?

Question

What is the best treatment for fungus? I have a problem with that cotton looking fungus. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Before a treatment can be given here, it would be more helpful to diagnose the problem.

Is the "fungus" on the fish or not? If it's not, keep reading here - if it is on the fish, skip this section and go to the next paragraph. Is what you have on plants or wood in your tank? (see photos for examples: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/brush-algae-small.jpg , http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=313 - this can appear white, gray, or green) This is a brush algae, and here's info for eliminating this: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/algae/tonealg.shtml If it only appears as small "balls in the gravel, it's most likely Saprolegnia or Achlya growing on excess food (see photo of the same ting growing on a dead insect - the photo shows about 18-24 hrs of growth, so you may have more or less depending on how long what it's growing on has been in the tank: http://www.visualsunlimited.com/images/watermarked/227/227311.jpg ) Although these were once classified as fungus, they are now considered a type of algae. You'll never rid your tank of this, but it won't be something that harms your fish either. But having it is an indication that you're overfeeding, if there's uneaten food on the bottom. Only give your fish what they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day and remove any uneaten food (use a net or siphon) after the three minutes are up.

If this is something actually on the fish, it may be the Saprolegnia or Achlya mentioned above, or a bacterial condition called Columnaris. You can tell these apart easily enough by the appearance of the individual filaments and shape of the infection. Saprolegnia and Achlya have longer filaments and you can make them out individually if you look closely - they may or may nit have a thickened appearance at the ends of each strand. The edge of the infection will be more irregular in shape. This isn't something that typically attacks healthy fish, so check your fish for open wounds (from fighting, or from bumping something in the tank). There may also be a problem with temperature or water quality that's weakened your fish's immune system. Here's a photo: http://www.fishjunkies.com/images/fungus-pic2.jpg and more on fish "fungus" treatment: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/fungin.shtml If the filaments are more of a tangled mat, and have a circular border, this is more likely to be Columnaris: http://www.fishjunkies.com/images/Columnaris2.jpg There's some info on treatment for this in the previous link, as well as this one: http://www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

Hope this clears up all the different information you're getting. I can't say what you've been told is wrong, but the previous answers address so many different conditions, no one has told you how to tell which you're dealing with to pick the correct treatment.

Answer 2

Fish Fungus

Answer 3

I will assume this fungus is on your fish and not just growing in the tank. If it's growing in the tank, then it's growing on excess food and other decaying material and the tank should be cleaned to remove that debris.

There are several potential causes for fungus like infections on fish. Some are actually fungi, others are bacterial in nature. While I rarely recommend any other products by Jungle, I would recommend their Fungus Eliminator for an undiagnosed fungus problem. It contains ingredients that should clear the problem no matter what the root cause.

MM

Answer 4

Fungus is very easy to treat if you do it quickly. Simply get some non-iodized (plain or Kosher) salt. First, do a partial (twenty to thirty percent) water change, and then add one tablespoon of salt for every five gallons of water. Be careful not to pour any directly onto your fish. Let the salt sit at full strength for at least twenty-four hours before doing another partial water change. Salt is a great treatment because it kills diseases without harming your fish. Salt causes fish to slough off some of their slime coating, and in the process, they slough off the fungus. Salt also helps fish heal more quickly and improves gill function.

Answer 5

my fish got fungus to!!! i teat them with Jungle Fungus Clear Tank Buddies it work very good!u should try it thats probably the best!hope this helps you can buy it at petco or probably any pet store

Answer 6

your fungus is a bacteria that comes form amonia in the tank this meand you do not have a filter powerful enough to clean the talk man men can be so dumb the same thing happend to oscar(my albino oscar) and hank (my shovel nosed cat fish) if you dont fix the problem your fish will get ick witch is a white bubble that pops up al over their scales

Answer 7

If the cotton fungus is on your gravel or plants, it is because you are overfeeding and need to siphon it up regularly. If it is on your fish, then there are fungal medications that you can buy at the pet store.