Dawn T Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Received a fish shipment yesterday. Part of that shipment included some Gambusia mosquito fish that will go into my existing 29g community in our bedroom. I stuck them into quarantine immediately to monitor for AT LEAST 2 weeks, since I know mosquito fish tend to be raised in far less than ideal conditions. Really glad I did. I checked them this morning after the lights came on. They've settled in enough that they had come out of hiding. 3 of the 12 are showing signs of fungal infection. Ack! 2 of those 3 are in good shape and look healthy otherwise, with only one tufted spot each on fins. The third isn't as robust in appearance and has more. Here's the best shot I've gotten of that one so far. It's impossible to make out of in the photo, but the pectoral fin on that side has 3 or 4 tufts it. You can see the shape of them in the photo, but the fish is too active for me to capture that without movement. The one of top of her head looks like a roughed up scale in the photo but when you look more closely at the actual fish, it's actually a cottony cluster. This particular fish also has a thinner profile than the rest - that sunken in belly. None of the others - either males or females - have that going on. Not sure if this girl will make it, but I'm hoping she'll turn around. I've got the AC Med Trio on the way (meant to have it in hand already but forgot to order it in time). Which med(s) should I use when they arrive? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 BTW, my QT is also a plant nursery, so salt is out. I don't want to kill the plants for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBOzzie59 Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Since the fish sounds pretty stressed and it does not look like ich is present I'd skip the Ich-X (for now). Possibly has worms so I'd treat for that with the ParaCleanse, and for the other use the Maracyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 If you are POSITIVE it is fungal fin rot than I would use ich-x in combination with a sulfa drug. If it is actually a bacterial infection these drugs will not work and erythromycin would be my go to. If you switch drugs mid treatment, you will have to do regular water changes for 2-3 days without dosing to allow your bacteria colonies to come back. Malachite green (Ich-x) and Maracyn (erythromycin) are hard on your nitrifying bacteria. Albeit ich-x is slightly more hospitable. Another thing to note. Make sure your water is close to neutral preferably on the basic side otherwise these drugs will be less effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 pH is 7.4 in that tank. Our tap water stays right around 7.6, so water changes won't bring it up much during treatment. Should I use some distilled to bring it closer to neutral when I treat or is that close enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 2 minutes ago, Dawn T said: pH is 7.4 in that tank. Our tap water stays right around 7.6, so water changes won't bring it up much during treatment. Should I use some distilled to bring it closer to neutral when I treat or is that close enough? Nope that is perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Great. Thanks! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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