FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Just bought 4 lemons yesterday, to go with the 3 I already had. I noticed that 2 or 3 of the new ones appear to have white lips. Not fuzzy, just white. On one fish, both lips are white, while on 2 others it seems just the upper lip is white. The ones I had before don't have this coloration, so it doesn't look normal.

Unsure if I am dealing with bacteria or fungus here, or just different coloration of fish (the 4 new ones are all larger than the 3 original.

I've done 2 doses of Melafix, one yesterday, one today. Should I be doing anything else?

Thanks in advance!

I don't think it is anything serious, I've seen this on my own lemon tetras. I assume that the white mouth is caused by either nipping at each other, or maybe a minor infection which is brought on by stress. In either case, Melafix or water changes seem to make the white color go away. I prefer the water changes because I'm not a fan of adding chemicals to my tank.

---

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

Thanks, yeah they've been under some stress lately. Just arrived at LFS on Saturday then I got them on Monday. They are kind of rough looking - as though their fins have been nipped at. I bought them anyway since their color was really good and they are pretty big.

It might not be nipping it might be finrot. Fin nipping often starts fungal infections off, causing mucus membranes to be breached and allowing the fungus to take hold. White lips are often a sign of fungal infection, so I would be ready with antifunguls just in case. If the fins are that raggy I might be tempted to treat them pre-emptively. Melafix might well knock symptoms on the head, but I might choose to have a more powerful medication in reserve. It could also be the beginning of columnaris, in which case white mouths and raggy fins are expected, and you might need to get hold of a potent antibacterial, possibly even antibiotics for a bad outbreak.

Ok, I don't know if this pic is helpful at all; it's the best I could get.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/moja1101/detail?.dir=/ec67&.dnm=ea67scd.jpg&.src=ph

I've been taking the wait-and-see approach, doing Melafix and did a water change. However, I thought one of the lemons looked a bit worse today so I called the LFS. He said he hasn't seen any problem with the remaining lemons he has. He agreed that maybe an antibiotic was the way to go.

As for their fins, yea they're raggedy - but they're clear. No white stuff that would indicate fungus.

Do you feed them crushed snails (or anything else sharp)? I find that when my fish ate too many of them, they would cut their lips on the shell fragments, and their lips would appear white.

It was not an infection though, and if I didn't feed them snails for a few days the lips would return to normal.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

No, they just get flakes and dried brine shrimp, the occasional frozen bloodworms. I've only had them for 4 days though, so no telling what they were doing before that.

It does look like a bit of abrasion and lip fungus. The fungus may be softening the lips and making abrasion more likely. Try a bit of melafix to start with and see if the fish picks up in a couple of weeks, failing that go with some more powerful antifungals.

Thanks guys! Will try that.

Update:
I've been doing melafix since I got the fish, and two definitely look like their upper lips are worn away. Now one has a (maybe 1 cm wide) white patch on his back.

I'm going to try to get to the store today for an antibiotic. The guy there suggested 3x sulfa - does that sound right? I am trying to figure out whether this is bacterial or fungal, but I'm a bit confused. Some people seem to refer to "mouth fungus" and columnaris interchangeably, and I see antifungal meds recommended for bacterial infections.???

Doesn't make sense to me...

It occurred to me, I also have some Kordon Rid Ich plus. It says, "for control of diseases caused by protozoan, dinoflagellate, and fungal infections". I wonder if that would work?

Finding out the difference between fungus and columnaris visually is always a problem, they look almost identical , except perhaps that columnaris tends to be more aggressive, but that depends on the immune system of the fish. I think the whole "mouth" thing in the description of ailments is a bit misleading, because frankly, columnaris and fungus can strike anywhere on the body, and may never even infect the mouth. Its not really a characteristic symptom.

Since its spreading , id go for both an antibacterial and an antifungal med, if you can find treatments from the same range of medications that are tested to be compatible , so much the better.Its probably better not to spend time worrying about the cause when widely available and compatible meds are in lfs's. Just treat for both, time is always a factor in these infections.

If kordon rid ich doesnt specifically mention columnaris bacteria in its remit, Id assume it may have no effect, so while it may be fine to use it for a possible fungal infection, id be looking for an antibacterial to treat the columnaris if indeed its possible that that might be the cause.

Thanks, LHG! Very helpful.

I got some Maracyn and I'm on day 4 of treating with that. I see no improvement so I guess I may have to try the antifungal. I was trying to avoid using the Kordon's b/c it stained the silicone in my other tank blue!