Please help! :( MY fish have some sort of fungal disease.

[SaltwaterAdict]

A few of my fish have what appears to be a fungal infection, it looks like small little cotton balls. I was reading up n it indicates this could be caused by poor water quality, not sure. What procedure should I take n has anyone experienced this on their fish n cured it? Info says it's fairly easy to treat, but I'm second guessing that. Please, help me out! :worried: I need ur guys help. Thanks in advanced, Tim

[hoffy02]

I would take the affected fish out and put them in QT ASAP! beyond that, someone will be along shortly for treatment suggestions.. Heads up, they will want pics for a diagnosis.. good luck..

[The Reef Expert]

Pics?

[IslandCrow]

As stated, you'll want to get them into quarantine, and probably start a treatment with something like Maracyn. Someone please confirm or deny this, as it's slipping my mind, but I believe you're going to want a gram negative antibiotic. Another treatment I've read is a topical application of iodine or betadine. I've done it once before, and it's not too bad (except I mis-diagnosed Brooklynella as a fungal infection, so it didn't help in my case). You'll want to remove the fish from the tank and place it on a cloth or paper towels wet with tank water. Place a wet paper towel or light cloth over the fish's eyes to keep it calm. You'll find that after the initial struggle, the fish should actually lie very still. Just be very gentle with it. Then, I used a Q-tip dipped in an iodine solution and dabbed it gently on the affected areas. But once again, if this is not actually a fungal infection, that won't help. Either way, I'd follow up with a broad spectrum antibiotic.

[cloak]

It could be lymphocystis. If so, just maintain good water quality and it should go away on it's own.

[maddog2002]

+1. Keep good water quality.

[SaltwaterAdict]

It appear to be a fungal infection of some sort. I currently have a few fish in QT n dosing them up with hydroplex by Ruby Reef. I'm going to dip them a total of 2-3 dips every other day for a week. I'm hoping this stuff work, I talked to my lfs guy who has been in the hobby for 15yrs n has a lot of experience. This is what he does so I think it's going to work, fingers crossed, we can only hope for the best! :spin3: I also, carried out a 35-40% WC to help counter this n catchup on keeping pristine water.