disease outbreak!

[sraiss8210]

Hello everyone,
I'm hoping someone might be able to help me diagnose a disease thats been spreading in my 29g tank. I first noticed what looked like a pale white patch at the base of one of my tetra's tails. Over the course of a few weeks other parts of his body became pale too and he eventually died. But now it appears that this disease is spreading to my other fish too! One of my zebra danios had small white, slightly fuzzy patches on him which I assumed was fungus. The danio now has reddish sores all over his body, and my platy has developed this same pale spot on the bottom of his body. I thought perhaps it was fungus and have been treating the tank with pimafix, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good. Also, the patches are only slightly fuzzy, not really looking like pictures I've seen of fungus. It looks like it could be columnaris, but the disease seems to progress very slowly and there aren't any reddish spots on my fish except for the danio that has the open sores. Ammonia and nitrites are 0, nitrates are around 20, and temp is about 79 degrees. Any advice or suggestions as to what this disease might be would be much appreciated!

 

[Lotus]

I'd treat with Maracyn One and Two. It normally knocks out most bacterial infections, which yours sounds like.

 

[sphed]

You can also try Furan-2. I would do a water change a throw a little salt in to. Pimafix doesnt work either, its snake oil

 

[sraiss8210]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely try a new medication and try adding some salt too. I've never tried adding salt to my aquarium, how much should I add? Would it be safe for all my fish? It's a 29g with 4 tetras (not sure what kind they are, they're clearish with red tails), 4 zebra danios, a swordtail, platy, and dwarf gourami. Should I mix the salt in a bucket of water first before adding it to my tank?

 

[GeraldTheMouse]

Go to your LFS, they should have some aquarium salt there, NOT marine salt. It should say how much to put in. Also try raising your temp a few degrees.

 

[sraiss8210]

Thanks for the advice. So I've just recently noticed that now my platy is producing long, white stringy feces which I understand is an indicator of an internal parasite? Eek, not another disease! What is the best way to treat this? I've also been reading up on maracyn 1 and 2...should I use both of them simultaneously to provide the best attack against the bacterial infection? Is it safe to use in the tank with all my other fish? Sorry for all the questions, I've never dealt with an outbreak in my tank before so I'm new to all of this and just want to give my fish the best possible chance to live!

 

[Lotus]

White stringy poop can be an indicator of a lot of things, not always internal parasites. Platies are less likely to have them, as they're farm bred. I would treat the bacterial infection first, and see if the fish improves. Is its stomach sunken in any way?

Yes, the Maracyns are safe to use together, and most fish tolerate antibiotics well. Maracyn Plus is another option, and possibly cheaper than treating with the One and Two.