# I think my fish has a fungus



## maxkelly1987 (Jan 15, 2008)

I've never had one of my fish get sick before, but this looks like some kind of fungus growing just under or out of his gill. I just noticed it today. It's in a 30 gallon tank with just this dwarf coral angel, a clown, some hermits and snails, and a brittle star. Is it a fungus? Would some pimafix help? The only camera I have is my phone so these are the best pictures I could get; I tried to make them as clear as I could with my computer, but it didn't help much.


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## maxkelly1987 (Jan 15, 2008)

forgot the pictures...


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Those pictures are pretty hard to determine anything from... is it fuzzy? Does it look like cottage cheese? Doe it appear to be coming from a hole bored into the fish? Is it raised or flush with the body? You'll have to be our eyes here, and we'll help as best as we can.
Can you please post water params for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and calcium? If it turns out to need medication, which is likely, do you have a quarantine tank set up? If not, I would suggest doing so. Any medication is going to be toxic to the inverts.


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## maxkelly1987 (Jan 15, 2008)

It's got 2 little puffs, not really fuzzy that I can tell. And yes, they kind of do look like 2 little things of cottage cheese. They seem to be coming out from under his gills, so I don't really see a hole. Definitely raised. Nitrate - between 10 and 20, Nitrite - 0, pH - 8.2, calcium - 390. I do have another 2 1/2 gallon tank that's not being used. I can siphon some of my water from this tank into it or just mix some new water so it would be nitrate free. It has an air stone, but no filter, so I would have to watch the levels in it and change the water a lot, but would that dilute the medicine too quickly? Or would no filter make the medicine too strong? Would it help if I put a piece of LR from my big tank in there to add some bacteria to take care of some of the waste? If not I can go ahead and order that 12 gallon tank I plan on using for the nanoreef and just use it when it gets here, of course that would be a few days from now... I think that answers all your questions. If you have any more let me know, and I'll try to find someone with a real camera today so I can get some better pictures.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Better pictures are going to be needed here because this is really soundling like lymphocystis. I can diagnose this if I have some good pictures, and then I can suggest a course of treatment. IF this turns out to be lympho, that's viral and there is no medication to treat it. The only thing I know of is the sting of a condylactus anemone, and even then it's not always a for sure. That's not a fish that would spend time rubbing up against one, so that isn't a solution I usually suggest.
The other possibility is either fungal or bacterial, or both together. Quite often problems that appear fungal are actually bacterial based. The fungus feeds on the bacteria, and to cure the fish both must be dealt with. 
A clear picture or 2 should help show me what we're dealing with for sure, the more pictures you can supply the more accurate my diagnosis will be. 
I'll do all I can to help, but please don't start a treatment other than isolation until we know what we're dealing with. Giving the wrong medication could be the difference between life and death.


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## maxkelly1987 (Jan 15, 2008)

I woke up this morning and the white spot was gone, so I guess he just got better. I will leave him in quarantine for a couple more days to make sure he doesn't get my other fish sick, but I guess he won't need any medicine now. Thanks for your help.


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