Siamese Fighter with fluffy cotton wool like patches?

Question

I have a female Siamese Fighter who has a couple of white patches on her scales that are now looking 'fluffy'. I noticed this morning that my beautiful male has a small amount on one of his fins too although some of this has come off during the day. Looks white....and fluffy!! Sorry the description is bad but I am an amateur at this fish keeping malarky....although I do love them....awwww. Any advice please?

Answer 1

It sounds like a 'cotton wool' type fungus. You will need to get a fungus treatment from your local petshop to get rid of the disease as it will continue to spread throughout the tank.

Answer 2

Your fish have a disease called Ich, or white spot. Ich is a parasite that stands for Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis (White Spot) It  can be deadly, but curable.

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a ciliated protozoan which causes "Ich" or "white spot disease." This disease is a major problem to aquarists and commercial fish producers world wide. Ichthyophthirius is an important disease of tropical fish, goldfish, and food fish. The disease is highly contagious and spreads rapidly from one fish to another. It can be particularly severe when fish are crowded. While many protozoans reproduce by simple division, a single "Ich" organism can multiply into hundreds of new parasites. This organism is an obligate parasite which means that it cannot survive unless live fish are present. It is capable of causing massive mortality within a short time. An outbreak of "Ich" is an emergency situation which requires immediate treatment: if left untreated, this disease may result in 100% mortality.

The Parasite

"Ich" is the largest known parasitic protozoan found on fishes. Adult organisms are oval to round and measure 0.5 to 1.0 mm in size. The adult is uniformly ciliated and contains a horseshoe-shaped nucleus which can be seen in older individuals.

The breeding stage of the parasite encysts between the layers of the host skin. When mature, it leaves the fish and produces large numbers of free swimming young. These must find a host within 48 hours (at water temperatures of 75-79°F) or they will die.

Disease Signs

The classic sign of an "Ich" infection is the presence of small white spots on the skin or gills. These lesions look like small blisters on the skin or fins of the fish. Prior to the appearance of white spots, fish may show signs of irritation, flashing, weakness, loss of appetite, and decreased activity. If the parasite is only present on the gills, white spots will not be seen at all, but fish will die in large numbers. In these fish, gills will be pale and very swollen. White spots should not be used as the only means of diagnosis because other diseases may have a similar appearance. Gill and skin scrapings should be taken when the first signs of illness are observed. If the "Ich" organism is seen, fish should be medicated immediately because fish which are severely infected may not survive treatment.

If it looks like your fish has Ich (and it most certainly sounds like it based on your description) I suggest using the Aquarisol medication. How many gallons is your bowl/tank? For every gallon, put in one drop of Aquarisol. Also, purchase aquarium salt at the store, this will help cure the Ich put in 2 teaspoons of Aquarium salt crystals (make sure you buy the crystals made for freshwater fish.) Lastly, buy NovAqua from the store and put in 1/4 teaspoon. QUICKLY!!!! You have no time to waste!!! Start treating your fish NOW!!! The sooner the better!!! And stop scrubbing your tank. Instead, every day from now on, remove 70% of the water from your tank and replace with new water that has been dechlorinated and treated with the products I told you about. Good Luck!!!

For further questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail]

p.s. The reason your bettas got Ich was probably because they were stressed out. This may have been because they didn't have enough biological filtration in their water. (This is where you can put in StressZyme every week, maintaining the beneficial bacteria that will help prevent disease in your tank, and you only remove no more than 25% of the water, using a gravel vacuum, when you clean the tank. For more info on this, email me.)

p.p.s. Your fish may also have velvet, tail-rot, or some sort of fungus; the Aquarisol brand medication should cure this too, if not, the Ich is more important to get rid of.

p.p.p.s. Continue using NovAqua, plus half the dosage (only 1/2 teaspoon per gallon) of Aquarium Salt I told you each time you make a water change. Put it in the new water. It will help the fish, make them more comfortable, and prevent disease. Only continue the medicine about two days after the fish look healed.

p.p.p.p.s. QuIck Cure is a better medication, the only reason why I said to use Aquarisol is because I know it's safe for bettas. However, if someone who works at a local fish store or someone you trust tells you that QuIck Cure can be used for bettas, you can use that instead (1 drop per gallon.)

Answer 3

go to fish shop and get the interpet teatment for cotton wool or fungus. costs about 4.50,  follow the instructions and all will be ok. remember to aereate the tank well and remove any carbon.  good luck.

Answer 4

First things first - Don't Worry. This problem is easily solved. Betta fish are succeptible to this.

Firstly, do a good water change (a bit more than you normally do). Then, simply dose the entire tank with an ANTI FUNGAL. This will quickly get rid of those cotton type areas - they are fungi growths. Keep your fish well fed and cared for for the duration of their treatment.

They will easily recover in 3-4 days... GUARANTEED.

Tip: The TetraMedica range is GREAT at removing fungus. Ask your local pet store or aquatic centre for TetraMedica or another good anti fungal.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Try this link

It sounds like cotton wool disease which is a bacterial disease!

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/diseas...

Answer 6

this happened to my fish DO NOT CHANGE THE WATER it just builds up more algae and could kill them just get some anti algea solution from a pet shop and get a cotton wool bud and then catch the fish that  have got it and just put some of the solution on the cotton wool and dab it on the infected area of the fish DONT PUT IT NEAR EYES OR MOUTH OR THERE GILLS trust me