# Ammonia burn or fungus?



## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Here's is a pic of my piraya that I had to quarantine because he is in really bad shape. I noticed two big patches of "white stuff" growing on one side of his body and it seems like part of his tail is coming off. I think it is fungus but am not sure. How should I treat this guy?


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

It looks like either a columnaris or a fungal infection. The end of the tail will fall off but should grow back if you keep the water clean. I hope it's in a quarantine tank. I would remove that plant and replace it with an anchored plastic plant to give it some cover. Then gently net the fish out and swab the wounds with betadine/iodine (be careful not to get any in the gills or eyes!) and return it to the water. Then I would treat the tank with either MelaFix (never used it, but heard good feedback regarding it helping infection), salt at 0.3% (1 tsp/gallon/day for 3 days), or if it seems serious enough (which it does to me), treat it with an antibiotic. Don't use all three treatments at the same time. Good luck.


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

I removed the plant and I added 2tsp of salt. On the third day I will change 25% of the water and add whatever salt was lost. Using the salt treatment, how long do you think it will take this guy to recover?


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

BTW, what do you think I should feed him right now? Or should I just wait until he recovers a little?


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Assuming that the infection doesn't spread, my guestimate would be about 3 weeks to fully recover. There might be a slight darker discoloration in the abdomen area.

Also, I just noticed a typo in my previous post... it should be 1 tsp/GALLON per day for 3 days instead of 1 tsp/DAY for 3 days. Sorry.


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

wow, sick looking fish. hope he makes it.

my advice, on top of all the water treatment. give him lots of spots to hide out. so stress is at a minimum. just load the tank with decor.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

EMJAY said:


> wow, sick looking fish. hope he makes it.
> 
> my advice, on top of all the water treatment. give him lots of spots to hide out. so stress is at a minimum. just load the tank with decor.


 Or cover it with a blanket or towel, while keeping the lights on as usual: on at daytime, off at night...


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## snoop1320 (Jul 15, 2003)

i had that problem....it killed all my fish but a pirya and a little caribe...I used this stuff call E.M. tablets...i think its for fungus...it worked for me took about two weeks thought...I hope yours come throught


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Right now it looks like this guy is getting worse. The two fungus infections look like to cotton balls, one directly on his gill. He is also developing a small patch on his other side. I have added a total of 3tsp of salt yesterday and today. DonH, you said to add 1tsp per gallon for three days right? So since I've done a total of 3tsp, should I add 3tsp tomorrow, 3 tsp the next day, and 1tsp, the day after? Or can add the whole thing all at once? It seems like so much salt would kill this guy, no?


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

when my reds got ick, i did exactly that, i put a lot of decorations in it, and i covered it with a towel, judazzz


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

How large is your tank? If you have a 10 gallon tank for example, you will need to add 10 tsp of salt today (not a heaping teaspoon... just a flat teaspoon), 10 tsp tomorrow, and 10 tsp the day after. That will be a total of 30 tsp. of salt in a 10 gallon tank. Salt concentration at 0.3%. It "seems" like a lot of salt, but remember, this is at treatment level and not the same level most people put in their tank all the time. At that dosage, it is safe for piranha and many other species (except catfish, tetras, and other salt-sensitive fish).

If the fungus is spreading fast, you NEED to treat the tank with meds. I would try to swab the wounds with betadine or iodine first to give temporary relief. It can be found in any pharmacy or grocery store in the first aid aisle. Then treat the tank. Good luck.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

EMJAY said:


> when my reds got ick, i did exactly that, i put a lot of decorations in it, and i covered it with a towel, judazzz


 On an unrelated note, ich can also be treated by keeping the tank in absolute darkness for a period of time. I forget the mechanism (I think it's something to do with altering the photoperiod that messes up their life cycle) on why this works and the period that the tank must remain in the dark, but it does work...


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Here is a pic of him now. He is getting worse so I think I will treat him with meds. I have a bottle of Liquid Fungus Cure, I also took a pic of it too. I wanted to make sure it is ok to use it. It states, "Each teaspoonful of Fungus Cure contains 22mg Neutroflavine and Povidone/Colloid mixture." Also, if I use this med, should I change 25% of the water to take out some salt or it would be ok to just start the med without changing any water?


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

I'm not familiar with the med nor the active ingredients in it. You never stated how large your tank was, but if you have only added 3 tsp of salt, it shouldn't be a problem. Although, it's always good practice to do a 25% water every time before you dose or re-administer meds...


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Sorry about that. He's in a 10g hospital tank for the time being. After he recovers, I will move him into my 100g.


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## Piran-huhs? (Jul 23, 2003)

hey teck and DonH .... this sorta looks like my Caribe did a while back. He has some fungus on his Gil Plate.

http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...showtopic=14720

I used Melafix and some Salt in a 10 gallon, bumped the temp up as well.

After about 6 days it was all good in my Hood!


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Thanks for the heads up piran-huhs. If this treatment of fungus doesnt go away after the recommended treatment, then I will use melafix. I compared your cariba gill plate to my piraya and it looks exactly the same.


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

I am half way through treatment with the fungus cure but noticed that it is getting worse.







I just bought some Melafix and want to treat this poor guy already. Right now, the 10g tank is still green from the med I put in (I took out the carbon as directed) and its been 48hours since. I want to treat him with the melafix. Should I add the carbon back to the filter and change 25-30% of the water first so it can dilute the fungus med and leave it over night and then start the melafix tomorrow?


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## Piran-huhs? (Jul 23, 2003)

Good luck Teck .... keep me posted ... I'm sure he'll he be fine :smile:


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

I started his melafix treatment today and wanted to snap some pictures of what he looks like the first day going into treatment. By looking at these pics, you can see how much worse he got when i tried using the fungus cure med. Also, the biggest patch of fungus looks like its falling off and you can see it in one of the pics. I hope he makes it!


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

:sad: good luck!


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Damn man, that looks pretty bad... :sad:

Good luck patching that poor thing up, Tecknik, and keep us updated!


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## Piran-huhs? (Jul 23, 2003)

wow ... good luck Teck ... me Piranha Prayers are with you ... keep us informed!!! Hope the Melafix will do the job.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Did you swab the wound with betadine or iodine? This would have prevented the fungus from spreading in its initial stages by disinfecting the wound. It looks like it's spreading very rapidly. Good luck.


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## tweaked (Aug 3, 2003)

Man ... that's the worst case of fungus I've ever seen on a live fish. If you haven't already done the swab as DonH mentioned, I'd highly recommend doing it ASAP. Some of the fingus can be removed in the process. Good luck...


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## JeFFLo (Aug 29, 2003)

that looks disgusting! hope your fish gets better.


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## Piran-huhs? (Jul 23, 2003)

how's it looking now teck??!?! better i hope?


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

yeah hows the fish doing that looks bad in those pics and such a good lucking piraya aswell.
hope you sort it
dixon


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

Teck 
How about an update on your babies...


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

I am sad to say that this guy passed away too







I think he couldnt take all the meds. If I could do it all over again, I wouldnt have bothered with the Fungus Cure I used on him, it only made him worse (you saw the pictures). I would have used Melfix right away. Before I treated him with Melafix, I put the carbon back into the filter and changed 30% of the water to help dilute the fungus med. I let it clear up overnight and the next day started the Melafix treatment. When I came home from work that day, he was upside down still breathing but very slow. He died an hour later.







Thanks for everyone who responded on this thread in helping me try to treat this guy. I've lost two 4" pirayas in the last week.


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

tecknik said:


> I've lost two 4" pirayas in the last week.


 Sorry bro.........


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## Piran-huhs? (Jul 23, 2003)

wow ... i'm truly sad!!! I reaaally am!


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## Hannibal (Dec 2, 2002)

tecknik said:


> Before I treated him with Melafix, I put the carbon back into the filter and changed 30% of the water to help dilute the fungus med.


 I was under the impression that while medicating a fish you dont want carbon in the filter. Carbon will filter the meds right out of the water and in turn its not helping the fish because its being taken out alwmost as fast as it is being put in.

Am I right about this DonH or do i have this wrong?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Hannibal said:


> tecknik said:
> 
> 
> > Before I treated him with Melafix, I put the carbon back into the filter and changed 30% of the water to help dilute the fungus med.
> ...


 I think he temporarily used the carbon the remove the Fungus Cure, and afterwards, when starting the Melafix treatment, removed it again...
At least, that's the impression I get from Teck's post.

I'm sorry about your loss(es), Teck :sad: 
At least you did your best to help that little fellow...


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Judazzz said:


> Hannibal said:
> 
> 
> > tecknik said:
> ...


 That is exactly what I did. Thanks for your concern Judazz.


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