fungus on zipper

[TrpTwlght]

Hello,

Tonight I notices one of my zipper loaches has a gray growth on the side of his face, right under his eye. But not effecting his eye. Its clear and fuzzy with a hint of gray. Anyone know what this is? Or if it will pass to my other fish? Should I isolate him and treat him? And if so, what meds should I use?

I had a cory die a few weeks ago, I notices he had a swollen red eye and had lost wieght, so I put him out of his misery. Could this be the same thing?

See my signature for tank mates and size details. Temp is kept at 80 degrees and a five gallon water change is done one a week. The tank is well filtered as well.

Thanks!

 

[Lotus]

It sounds like a bacterial/fungal infection. I would isolate him and treat him with an antibacterial/antifungal med (there are lots available).

It doesn't sound like the same thing as your cory, but it could indicate stress/overcrowding/poor water quality in your tank. What do your nitrates measure before your water changes? I would say that a slighly larger change each week would be better, as you're only doing about a 12% change currently.

 

[TrpTwlght]

Would it be okay if I treated the whole tank? Cause I'm going to have trouble catching him, those zippers are fast. I hadn't realized how little of the water I was changing. I will up the amount.

 

[Lotus]

It might be OK if you treat the whole tank, but be careful about what the ingredients in your meds are. Stay away from anything with malachite green and methylene blue, as some fish are very sensitive to it.

 

[TrpTwlght]

I treated the whole tank, removing my live plants. I'm using Fungus Eliminator by jungle. I had to remove the carbon from my filters as well, does anyone have an idea as to when I can put the carbon back in? I have to wait four days before I do another dose of the meds if needed. Does that mean I should wait four days before I put the filter carbons back in?

 

[Seleya]

You cannot put the carbon back in until the tank is treated -- if it is still activated, the carbon will remove the meds. Follow the directions on the bottle and don't treat with anything else during this treatment.

What are the water parameters? Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates.

39 is an odd number, what are the dimensions of your tank?

 

[TrpTwlght]

I know the carbon can't be in the tank when its being treated. But I want to know how long that is. I only put the meds in once. Then repeat in four days if needed. The bottle doesn't say when to put the carbon back. Do I wait until the fungus is gone from my fish? Four days seems like a long time to go without a carbon filter. If that's how long I need to wait.