# Red Wagtail Platy with white mold?



## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Hi Guys, i have two Red Wagtail platys (two of 6) which appear to have a spots of white mold on their sides, it wasn't there when we bought them, we have had them for a month, with the tank running for a month before we put any fish in it, and am not sure if it was there before we added the ancistrus and the elephant snails.
When i noticed the first one a couple of days ago I asked the shop I got them from, and they said it was likely to be too much attention from one of the males, but i am not so sure now that i have seen another. 

For Reference:
My tank is 60L

2. Water parameters
a. Ammonia is about 3mg/l (i know this is very high, and i have increased the frequency of water changes and added some live plants to count it)
b. Nitrite 0
c. Nitrate 0
d. pH 7.4, KH 100 and GH is between 250 and 500
e. Test kit: i have been using King British 6 in 1 water test strips

3. Temperature 25.5C, though it has been up to 28 recently because if the hot weather.

4. Its a fresh water tank 

5. We have had the aquarium for 2 months, it was second hand, but it had been dry for several months before we got it, i had it running for a month before we got any fish.

6. the tank currently contains:
2 Male Red Wagtail Platys
4 Female Red Wagtail Platys
1 Ancistrus
2 orange Elephant snails

We got all the platys together, then three weeks later we got the ancistrus and the two elephant snails. All 9 have been in the tank for a week now.

7. We didn't quarantine the ancistrus and the snails before we put them in the main tank 

8. a. Any live plants? There are two live plants which i introduced today.
b. decorative gravel substrate
c. two hollow resin rock effect features, the platys don't go in them much, the ancistrus spends about half her time on one of them

9. a. Filtration: Jewel Bioflow super
b. Heater: yes, as part of the filter system

10. a. A strip light is built into the top of the tank, i started by turning if on when i left for work at 7am, and turning it off again at 7pm, but this combined with the very hot weather resulted in the temperature climbing in the tank, so now i have been only turning the lights on when i am sitting near the tank.
b. The tank is at the opposite end of the room to the external window, which usually has closed curtains, so sunlight exposure is a bare minimum.

11. a. Water change schedule: i was doing a 10% change every week, in light of the increased amonia level i have upped this to a 16% change every day (the max i can do with available resources)
b. Volume of water changed: was 6 liters at a time, now 10 liters
c. I am using tap water treated with Tetra Aquasafe
d. Water conditioner used: Tetra Aquasafe
e. Frequency of gravel/sand vacuumed: I haven;t been vacuuming the gravel until now, but i have now acquired a gravel pump.

12. Foods: i have been feeding the platys TetraMin, and putting in an "Aquarian Algae Wafer" for the snails and the ancistrus, though the platys seem to engjoy that as well
I have been feeding them once a day, in the morning.

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms: I haven't noticed anything abnormal apart from the white patches.
b. Appearance of poop: remains the same as when i got the platys, is either white/grey or pinkish depending on if they eat moreTetraMin or Algae wafer
c. Appearance of gills: I am too new at this, but the gills appear no different than when we got them, and none of the fish appear to be having trouble breathing.

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis: nope, not yet.

15. I have tried to get a shot of either fish, they are just too fast, but i have got a shot of the tank as a whole.


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Ok, so i have acquired some "Interpet Anti fungus & Finrot" treatment, can i use this in the main tank with the snails and the ancistrus?


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## TheGreatSlayer (Jun 30, 2018)

Huggysteve said:


> Ok, so i have acquired some "Interpet Anti fungus & Finrot" treatment, can i use this in the main tank with the snails and the ancistrus?


if at all possible i would rather you treat all the infected fish in a separate hospital tank. it looks as if your tank is not cycled, imo you should research the aquarium cycling process HEAVILY before you continue to add fish to the tank. if you have a tank that has already been set up for awhile or you know someone who does you should take some cycled filter media and add it to your tank so you can fix the ammonia problem.
Edit: you should add Many more decorations to the tank because it is almost completely bare in the pictures and lack of hiding spaces must be stressing the fish, that mixed with the ammonia building up are weakening the fish's immune system allowing bacteria and other opportunistic parasites naturally found in air/water to take hold of the fish.


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

ok. fair enough. I don't own a hospital tank at the moment. But i can get one soon enough.
I had though i was waiting long enough before adding fish. All the aquarium shops in my area said wait 1 to 2 weeks before adding fish, and then i waited a month for various reasons other than the advice given. 
What i didn't do is add small amounts of fish food every couple of days to get the nitrate/nitrite/ammonia cycle going.

Both the large ornaments in the tank are hollow with plenty of space for the platys to hide in if they want, but the don't normally seem interested in hiding.
I have go up this morning for find the two affected platys are swimming around just fine, though one has a single white spot on its side now which looks very much like ICH.
A third platy is hiding in one of the ornaments and i cannot see her condition, though she is definitely alive.

I don't know anyone else who keeps fish, so other than keep doing large water changes, what can i do to get the ammonia levels down?
Also, what about lighting? should i be leaving it on dring the day while treating my fish? or leaving it off?


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Update, the platy that was hiding is actually one of the males, and has popped out for food, and has no visible signs of disease on him.


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## TheGreatSlayer (Jun 30, 2018)

If the spots have disappeared then it is probably ich. if it is ich treat for it in the actual tank with the lights off so you dont stress the fish. most fish stores besides some locally owned or fish specialty stores hardly ever give correct information, cycling is the most IMPORTANT thing in any fish tank as it creates a safe environment for the fish. A couple caves hardly count as significant hiding spots, i meant large plants fake or real that are in a clump together so the fish can swim in and out similar to their natural habitat. i believe there are products on the market that can detoxify ammonia but im not sure, the only way i can think of is massive water changes often and adding large groups of plants.


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Ok, i can and will treat the whole tank for ICH, but doesn't most ICH treatments contain copper sulphate, which i can't put in the with elephant snails?


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## TheGreatSlayer (Jun 30, 2018)

there has to be some ich med that doesn't contain copper, i use jungle ich cure which i believe doesn't contain copper.


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Ok, update, the sickest platy, the second one to be affected had started showing signs of clamping her fins, and not swimming quite upright. As well as that, a couple of the other fish had seemed to start bullying her.

I got a 12L tank with filter and heater today, and set it up, using the same water source as i have been using to change the main tank, so all the water parameters are the same apart from the ammonia, which is currently zero.

I know its too quick to do it really, but after getting that tank up to temperature, adding some stress Zyme, i transfered the two sick platys into the new tank. 
There was an immediate improvement in the worst fish, she is no longer clamping, and seems to be swimming better, definately more alert.
I have also started treatment for white spot/ICH in that tank.

I have also circuumed to temptation, and after 5 days of daily 16% water changes, and no improvement (also no apparent change) in ammonia levels, after i transferred the two sick ones out, i used some "Love Fish Ammonia Remover" on the main tank. Hopefully this will start alleviating the problem.


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

Update, so the two poorly fish that are in my hospital tank are looking much better, though one still has a vague white spot of mold on its side about 3mm across, but it is not completely white anymore and you can see her scales through it now, the second one(the one that was clamping when i transferred them) appears to have no sings or symptoms now at all.
Neither fish has had any white spot while in the tank, but i have added the second treatment anyway, because you should always finish a course of medication.

The main tanks Ammonia levels are down some, somewhere between 0 and 1mg/L at the moment, and all the fish are looking happier, and none have had any signs of white spot for about 4 days.

As its now been more than seven days since i treated them for the white mold, should i treat for white spot as well, despite not having seen any in the tank for 4 days?


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## TheGreatSlayer (Jun 30, 2018)

Huggysteve said:


> Update, so the two poorly fish that are in my hospital tank are looking much better, though one still has a vague white spot of mold on its side about 3mm across, but it is not completely white anymore and you can see her scales through it now, the second one(the one that was clamping when i transferred them) appears to have no sings or symptoms now at all.
> Neither fish has had any white spot while in the tank, but i have added the second treatment anyway, because you should always finish a course of medication.
> 
> The main tanks Ammonia levels are down some, somewhere between 0 and 1mg/L at the moment, and all the fish are looking happier, and none have had any signs of white spot for about 4 days.
> ...


if they aren't showing showing signs of ich then you can wait until they show again so you are sure they are not gonna be stressed with unneeded treatment. good luck with your fish keeping:grin2:


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## Huggysteve (Jul 28, 2018)

How long should i wait?
Also, how long should i wait (not i have given the second dose of treatment to the two sick fish) before transferring them back to the main tank?


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