HELP!

[Jefft]

Recently I picked up a few fish from a fellow member. I also picked up 36 babies from Dave's Rare Fish. Now I have an issue. The fish in my front tank are very lack luster in the sheen of their bodies. They also developed some white spots that looked kinda like white mold. One had an eye covered in the stuff. I assumed ICH and went for melafix which has tea tree oil in it. I have been treating daily and changing water every other day. I increased temp in my tank to 82degrees in case it was ICH the gestation cycle would speed up and I would be able to get the nasty buggers out free swimming which is from what I understand the only time they can be killed by the melafix. Now the fish in that tank seem to be more energetic and they are eating. All white spotted fish were destroyed unfortunately. Now here is the thing I am noticing that same white stuff on my subst. and lava rocks as well as white coral. There is some good gree algae in the tank growing on the coral. But when I put water back in the tank and things get good and stirred up I am seeing these things that look I can only best describe as dandy-lion spores only without the stem. Is this ICH and what in the world should I do beyond every other day water changes and melafix?

 

[jonclark96]

I've never heard of ich growing on substrate. Sorry I can't help more on the diagnosis.

 

[chriscoli]

When I have seen things that looked like "dandylion spores" in my tank....it's because I fed the fish a food (usually something sinking and small and round, like NLS) that they dindn't like or couldn't eat. It will mold, and the mold makes it look all round and fluffy. Sometimes exactly like a danylion puff.

So, If you have sick fish, they may not be eating everything you give them. I'd hold off on the food for a bit.

 

[Tony]

When I have seen things that looked like "dandylion spores" in my tank....it's because I fed the fish a food (usually something sinking and small and round, like NLS) that they dindn't like or couldn't eat. It will mold, and the mold makes it look all round and fluffy. Sometimes exactly like a danylion puff.

+1

 

[verbal]

It also could have been mold or fungus on the sick fish.

 

[Hawkman2000]

I have had the white mold on the excess food before as well.

It sounds like ick to me. Had a bout of it recently. Slt, melafix, and heat didn't work. Tetra IckGuard cleared it up in under a week.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Melafix is generally used for bacterial infections; its a natural antibiotic. Pimafix is a good compliment you can use at the same time, it is an anti-fungal medicine. Ich is a parasite, so you would need something that treats parasitic infection, such as Quick Cure, or Cupramine.

 

[dogofwar]

Yes - Melafix won't properly treat ich... heat is the best approach.

I also suspect that the fluffy stuff is uneaten food. Don't feed them while you're treating them.

Good luck!

Matt

 

[ezrk]

I would also recommend against Pima/Melafix combined with heat. We definitely had oxygen problems when we tried that combo (tank was around 86F).

 

[countryboy]

Getting back to your post.....water changes yes but vacuum the substrate each time.

 

[Jefft]

Everything looks really good right now. I am at what, 4 days at this point still clear as a bell and holding so it was that sea sand for sure. Yeah countryboy I see the logic in that. The substrate stank like there was no tomorrow when I got in there shoveling it out.