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Two days ago, I bought five longnosed cories (corydoras septentrionalis. This morning, on one of the cories, I noticed a somewhat fuzzy lump on the base of its tail. This lump is light brown in color. Also, the cory is somewhat lethargic (for a cory), and doesn't move as much as the others. I'm assuming that the fish was sick at the store, and just hadn't shown the symptoms yet.

I figured that the fish had fungus, so I went out and bought a treatment (the only one in the store). It is basically just a fizzing tablet, and I added three (as per instructions, and based on the capacity of my tank). They fizzed away immediately, but also turned my water green, which the box didn't say anything about!]:|

Anyways, judging from these (bad, because of the green water) pics, can anyone tell me if this fish really has fungus? I greatly appreciate it.





The lump is at the base of the caudal (tail) fin, on the top.[/font][/font][/font]

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

It's not uncommon for fish to end up with a bacterial infection that appears to be "fungus". People see fuzz and that's what they think. The coloring and texture suggest columnaris. Small, unseen scrapes due to netting, open the skin for infection and it will usually occur within a few days of transport. The stress allows it to really grip them. Keep in mind, many fish stores reuse the net again and again, as well as for removing diseased/dead fish. It goes from tank to tank, when it should be sterilized or store in a high salinity solution or net soak.

I would work first with two meds together: Pimafix and Melafix. Watch it daily to see whether it is fast or slow moving. I'm thinking that to catch it and isolate it may make it even harder for him, whereas treating with something like the Melafix/Pimafix combo could work as he settles in. These meds are meant to work together. Columnaris can move quickly so you need to check several times daily for changes.

The other good thing about starting with melafix/pimafix is that neither will hurt the bio-filter and they can be used at full strength. I have used both, together, in my aquarium with habrosus cories and otos after some fighting between my white clouds resulted in lost scales and subsequent fuzz. The fish were not adversely affected with full strength dosage.

Let us know if you see any changes.

Also, if it is columnaris, check your temp. If you are a tad over 77, lower it 1F daily until you get to 76F. The bacteria spreads more quickly at 77F.

If you have just one of these meds on hand, start with that. I like using PimaFix along with Melafix because Columnaris can be deadly. I like to be more sure. If you don't see a change, you will need to move to antibiotics like Maracyn.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Nov-2004 21:22

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Nov-2004 21:24