Fluffy fungus on Sterbai Cory?

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 15g

How long has the tank been running? 1 month

Does it have a filter? Yes

Does it have a heater? Yes

What is the water temperature? 78-80

What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)

2 honey gourami

6 celestial pearl danio

3 sterbai corydoras

2 mystery snails (1 died 5 days ago abruptly - perhaps from overmating - copper levels tested 0)

Maintenance

How often do you change the water? 7-14 days

How much of the water do you change? 25-30%

What do you use to treat your water? Fluval Aquaplus Water Conditioner + Fluval Cycle Biological Enhancer

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Turkey baster to remove excess waste, otherwise just water change



*Parameters - Very Important

Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? No, used Fluval cycle biological conditioner for a fish in cycle

What do you use to test the water? API master test kit

What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0.1ppm

Nitrate: <10ppm

pH: 7.2



Feeding

How often do you feed your fish? 2x daily

How much do you feed your fish? 1 pinch micro pellets, 3 sinking pellets, 6 crab pellets

What brand of food do you feed your fish? Hikari

Do you feed frozen? No

Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Yes - daphnia, bloodworms and shrimp rotating with pellets



Illness & Symptoms

How long have you had this fish? Almost 4 weeks

How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? This evening

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Grey/white cloudy fluffy spot on face

Have you started any treatment for the illness? No

Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Not eating, clouded vision, slow movement



Explain your emergency situation in detail.

Was hiding a bit more yesterday evening, but face was not altered.

Noticed tonight an obvious fluffy cloud attached to the face - obviously sickly, not eating, moving slowly, vision obscured. I removed the sickly Cory from the tank to isolate. Not sure if this might be columnaris or fungus? How should I treat? Ok to treat both at the same time to cover all bases? Product recommendations?

 

first of all, check if any of the other fish have this disease. I think salt baths would help, but I'm not 100% sure. I had something kinda like this happen to me once, and made a thread about it. I don't know if this is the same thing, but probably worth checking out Very Sick sterbai Corydoras | Corydoras Forum | 512256

 

No other fish seem to be affected. This Cory has also not been growing at the same rate as the other 2. Not sure it’s grown at all since purchase a month ago.
This illness seemed to progress quickly. Their entire body was covered in the cloudy stuff by morning and they did not survive the night. I ordered some seachem polyguard before going to bed. Is this a good medication to have on hand?

 

No other fish seem to be affected. This Cory has also not been growing at the same rate as the other 2. Not sure it’s grown at all since purchase a month ago.
This illness seemed to progress quickly. Their entire body was covered in the cloudy stuff by morning and they did not survive the night. I ordered some seachem polyguard before going to bed. Is this a good medication to have on hand?

so sorry to hear that . did you quarantine them before adding them to the tank? I honestly never heard of the medication. sorry

 

I did not since they were the first additions to the tank. Do you have any other recommendations for medications to have on hand?

 

I did not since they were the first additions to the tank. Do you have any other recommendations for medications to have on hand?

Melafix from API is for multiple illnesses. I usually have it on hand just in case

 

Quite honestly in the first picture, it almost looks like an infected injury. He also doesn’t appear to have any barbels? Do you have rough rocks or decor in the tank?

 

Quite honestly in the first picture, it almost looks like an infected injury. He also doesn’t appear to have any barbels? Do you have rough rocks or decor in the tank?

Yes, I see some red underneath the cloud. I did add a few pieces of petrified wood a couple weeks ago. I do have a rather large aggressive mystery snail, not sure if they bothered him though. Just hoping no others in the tank become infected. So far no signs. Performed a 33% water change this morning and vacuumed the substrate.

Yes, I see some red underneath the cloud. I did add a few pieces of petrified wood a couple weeks ago. I do have a rather large aggressive mystery snail, not sure if they bothered him though. Just hoping no others in the tank become infected. So far no signs. Performed a 33% water change this morning and vacuumed the substrate

Quite honestly in the first picture, it almost looks like an infected injury. He also doesn’t appear to have any barbels? Do you have rough rocks or decor in the tank?

Do you think the petrified wood should be removed? Otherwise it is a heavily planted tank.

 

On day 10 of QT using Seachem polyguard for the 3 remaining Corys. Doing 33-50% water changes daily. They were all dark, then got super light. 2 seem to be doing much better, while the 3rd is still dark and secluded. The other 2 seem fine and active now. 3rd seems to be getting a bit fuzzy over the past 24 hours and less active. The driftwood is also covered in the white fuzz (boiled sterilized and soaked for 5 days prior to adding to QT). Not sure if I’m treating with the right antibiotics. I’ve attached additional updated photos. Any help would be appreciated!

Can someone advise a good antibiotic for corydoras that will treat fungus?

 

pretty sure the stuff on the wood is normal. happens to all wood. I sadly don't know anything on how to treat it, but I think that salt baths would help, but I wouldn't do it unless a different fishlore member approves to salt baths. sorry

 

Antibiotics don't treat fungus.
The fungus on the wood is unrelated to the one in the fish.

 

Antibiotics don't treat fungus.
The fungus on the wood is unrelated to the one in the fish.

Ok, thank you for the clarification. I recently learned that my water conditioner contains aloe, so I am switching that today.

Any suggestions on how to treat the fungus on the cory? I believe it is Saprolegnia.

 

Ok, thank you for the clarification. I recently learned that my water conditioner contains aloe, so I am switching that today.

Any suggestions on how to treat the fungus on the cory? I believe it is Saprolegnia.

It looks like a fungus on a wound (and to be honest some bacteria show as a fungus as well)
Not too familiar with meds on that side of the pond but start with a serious antifungal med (not Melafix or something)

 

For any fungus related to injury, I personally use Methylene blue. This of course can be difficult, but it works. What I do is I net the fish and literally drip the MB onto the injury with gauze. The MB stains the damaged tissue and helps the fish heal. I usually do this daily until it heals completely. Plus, it is more gentle on the fish. Saved my loach when his barbels rotted off.

I think that the medication and the move to the QT are probably stressing all the fish out, which is why they seem to be changing colors. If I were you, I personally would stop with the medication you are currently using, boost up the ammount of water changes and try to keep stress levels at a minimum.

Edit: This was a delayed post, if it is Saprolegnia, then something stronger than Methlyne blue may be needed like DoubleDutch said.

 

For any fungus related to injury, I personally use Methylene blue. This of course can be difficult, but it works. What I do is I net the fish and literally drip the MB onto the injury with gauze. The MB stains the damaged tissue and helps the fish heal. I usually do this daily until it heals completely. Plus, it is more gentle on the fish. Saved my loach when his barbels rotted off.

I think that the medication and the move to the QT are probably stressing all the fish out, which is why they seem to be changing colors. If I were you, I personally would stop with the medication you are currently using, boost up the ammount of water changes and try to keep stress levels at a minimum.

Edit: This was a delayed post, if it is Saprolegnia, then something stronger than Methlyne blue may be needed like DoubleDutch said.

Thanks so much for your input! I’m thinking I should try something stronger as the polyguard is helping, but it’s not completely fixed the issue. Any suggestions on what would be stronger?