Please help identify the illness

Discussion in 'General Fish Discussions' started by Ivan Myburgh, Jan 21, 2022.

  1. Ivan Myburgh

    Ivan Myburgh

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    Good morning everyone.

    Please help me to diagnose what my fish is currently going through.
    Molly started with white cotton like mold on eye. Ive been treating the entire tank with Qrify general purpose remedy against fungal, parasitic and bacterial diseases. Day 5 of treatment and this morning she is worse. Bad thing is my male swordtail are now also infected.

    Please help me to diagnose what this is and how to get rid of it.

    All tank readings are within spec. I did however run a 5 day bacteria cycle with Stability. It seems like the problem started during this period.

    Thanks in advance.

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  3. Abrar.

    Abrar. Abrar

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    Hi Ivan , Have you tested your water and are you able to share pic of your water parameters ? (ammonia , nitrite and nitrates)
     
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  4. OP
    Ivan Myburgh

    Ivan Myburgh

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    Good morning Abrar.

    I don't have pictures with me right now but, the ammonia levels are almost always non present, Nitrite also. I did have problems with Nitrates exceeding 25ppm and therefore started to add life plants. I don't have a ph test strip, should I get one?

    Can the perimeters cause these white spots.

    Thanks for the reply Abrar.
     
  5. Shabir

    Shabir

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    To me it looks like they both have different issues, Molly from your description sounds like a fungus and that sword looks to have ich. I would turn up the temperature to the maximum your fish can manage and treat with seachem paraguard. Just make sure you oxygenate the water as warmer temperatures mean less oxygen
     
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  6. OP
    Ivan Myburgh

    Ivan Myburgh

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    Good morning Shabir.

    Thank you so much for this information. Both these fish were bought from a aqarium shop, when I went back for advise after the outbreak the clerk told me its caused by the sudden heat rise we are currently experiencing. Which I find highly unbelievable.

    Anyways, I am not planning to add fish again before buying a extra tank for the purpose of quarantine.

    Do I need to wait before treating the fish with Seachem paraguard? Or do I empty the tank and go ahead straight away?

    Again thank you so much for the advice.
     
  7. A new day

    A new day Moderator

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    I would also suggest Seachem Paraguard - you HAVE to do the full 14 days so take this into consideration ito bottle size.

    I know with ich a temperature raise helps speed up the ich lifecycle and ends it sooner, but as far as I understand you don’t have to raise temperatures when using Paraguard and in fact I haven’t. Something to keep in mind with livebearers - they don’t do well at higher temperatures.
    What is your tank temperature at btw? Yes pH also.

    Keep on top of your water changes during the treatment period. Anything to reduce stressors will help them heal faster
     
  8. OP
    Ivan Myburgh

    Ivan Myburgh

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    Hi a new day.

    The tank runs at a constant 25 degrees Celsius, ive added a aqarium heater for a much larger tank as it allows for better control. Both the heater and thermometer (furthest point from heater) reads 25 degrees Celsius.

    Thank you so much for all the advice.
    I need as much information as possible as I am fairly new at this.
     
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  9. A new day

    A new day Moderator

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    Pleasure and good luck. Keep us posted.

    I see you’re in Gordon’s bay which is close to Cape Town so something to keep in mind with our water here: our water is extremely soft and I’m not sure if yours is too. We need to keep an eye on our pH because the softness (very low KH and GH) means that our pH is prone to dropping over time (about 2 weeks). E.g my water comes out of the tap at pH 7 but can freefall to about 4,5 over two weeks. Livebearers like mollies, guppies, swords tend to prefer neutral to harder water than ours. I buffer my water by adding a bit of crushed coral in the filter. A few fragments of shell eg mussel shells in the substrate would work too. PH strips used for swimming pools work and are cheaper than aquarium strips.

    25C is ok but you could even do 23C. Just checking that those other fish are neon tetras and not cardinals? Neons would actually prefer 23C while cardinals would prefer 25 or even higher. What other fish do you have in there?
     
  10. OP
    Ivan Myburgh

    Ivan Myburgh

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    Thanks man. I really do appreciate all of the assistance.
    Its just the Mollies, sword tails and neon tetras. Very little number of fish for the tank. Could the low PH cause stress of which resulted in
    the outbreaks? Ill adjust the heater slowly down to 23 over the weekend while medicating.
     
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  11. A new day

    A new day Moderator

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    Definitely major stress factor.
    Pleasure :)
     
  12. A new day

    A new day Moderator

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    PS your idea of a quarantine tank is such a good one. Man did I need to learn that lesson the hard way. Had a major breakout (of various things) in the jungle tank in the early days. I lost so many fish, it cost a lot of money and was very stressful. I nearly quit the hobby.

    Hang in there :thumbup:
     
  13. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    I have found that environmental stress often leads to disease - poor water quality, incorrect stocking & tankmates etc
     
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