Sick fish, need help.?

Question

I dont want to write too much, but please read or at least skim through, i really need help and i just don't know what else that i can do.

Heres my problem, last week i noticed that one of my fish had Ick, Body and Fin fungus, and Tail Rot. The fish was a mess (female platy). A couple days earlier my male platy died.

I had a problem with high pH and obviously, bad water (i received some bad information about water/filter changes from a pet store i went to, arg!)

I used Mardel Maracyn Concentrate, Mardel Maracide Concentrate, and a 7.0 pH medicine, i forget the exact name of it. I followed the instructions exactly, for 5 days.

Today was the 6th day, 1 day after the 5 day treatment period. And now my 2 Iridescent Sharks are very sick.

Symptoms are: Some white stuff on the body of the fish, looks furry, like fungus. But the REALLY bad parts are the fins.. The fins look awful. They look like they are rotting away, like mold is covering the tips of them.

I just treated my tank for this, how did my 2 fish, neither who showed any symptoms when i started the treatment when my platy looked sick, suddenly become sick?

I haven't done a water change since treating the water, the package didn't say anything about that. I did a water change/gravel clean just before adding medicine on the 3rd day of treatment.

My pH is 7.2, my ammonia is at 0ppm. My other fish look fine. I havent been over feeding.

one of my sharks started showing symptoms yesterday, day 5. But i couldn't tell if he was sick or not. Now he REALLY looks bad, both of them.

Please forward me any help, sources, etc.

Thanks a LOT for reading/skimming. I appreciate it a lot.

Answer 1

Do either of the medications you used contain an antibiotic?  Most of the time when we see a whitish film we think fungus, but in many cases bacteria can look the same.  If your fish had a bad case of ich to start off with, other infections can take hold easier (bacterial and fungal).  If you haven't used an antibiotic, I'd recommend getting one and performing a partial water change.  Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm sorry to say it after you treated the tanks but it looks like ICK and Fin-rot I use the same stuff you do "mardel" I wish I could recommend medicine for you. You could call the vet and ask for treatment ideas...

OH AND DEFINITELY set up a quarantine tank put the infested fish in it and treat that tank alone.

Answer 3

wow sorry about the big problem. increase the temperature 3 to5 degrees and buy ick clear tank buddies by jungle it stops it from being contagious and will heal the fish u also want to buy broadspectrum antibiotics and change the filters again and do a 10% water change using a gravel vac

Answer 4

Wow, sorry about your fish! It sounds like your doing the right thing. As far as the other fish getting it, it may be that they became infected before you treated the water and they are just now showing symptoms of it. I've only ever had 2 small problems with fungus. So about the fin rot, I don't know. I'm sorry.

EDIT: After reading through your post again, I would advise changing the water and treating all over again.

Answer 5

Okay Mate. You need help. Luckily, I have 16 years of fish raising experience!

First, if possible, quarantine the sick fish. From what you tell me, the fish that are really bad, are indeed, really, really, bad. If you have other fish in the tank, it's better to put those fish down (kill them), than let them infect other fish.

Second, make sure you have a good carbon filter going, and change 30% of the water daily for a week. When adding medication, turn off the pump. Turn it back on after an hour.

Finally, if you are properly following the guidelines for the medication, continue to apply them. If you choose to quarantine/kill the sick/infected/weak fish, then DO NOT APPLY MEDICINE. Instead, get some solutions which reduce fish stress and solutions which neutralize living bacterias in the water. I use Tetra Easy Balance, with NitraBan, and Jungle Clear Water; any other products along those lines will work fine. Make sure they reduce Nitrate Levels (Very Important), remove odors and cloudiness, reduce/dissolve small floating biological things, and reduce fish stress. DO NOT USE THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Wait an hour before applying each. Remember to turn off your pump while they are in. If done well, and with proper (maybe lighter) feeding, the fish should become better within 2-3 weeks.