[JEden8]

So I had purchased a full grown boesemani rainbow from my LFS a couple of weeks ago. The fish looked fine in the store but when I got him home his scales looked as if they were pealing a little bit. Unfortunately I do not have the space to setup a quarantine tank so I put him in my 90 gallon. Anytime I introduce new fish I always turn on my UV Sterilizer and run it 24/7 for at least 1 week. If everyone looks healthy i then turn it off. Well the boesemani died 3 days later and when I scooped him out of the water he had this white cloud around him. A couple of the fish had been picking at him by the time I got home from work. I noticed the next day that one of my SAE's and one of my female boesemani's had this same white look around their mouths that the boesemani that died had on his scales. It has now been a little over a week and the flaky skin seems to be spreading more around their mouths. I also noticed that a couple of my neons and red tetras all of a sudden had ice. I've turned the heat up to 85 degrees and still have the UV running 24 hours per day. Any ideas what's going on and what to do to cure them? (not the ick, I can handle that one)

 

[ADJAquariums]

Pictures?

 

[JEden8]

Sorry I was working on them. Here's what I can get so far:

I've noticed two more of my boesemani's have this now. It's like the skin on the mouth is peeling apart. This one is the worst one so far. My SAE looks much better.

EDIT: Here's a couple more:

 

[ADJAquariums]

Hmm, Have you tested your water recently? My suggestion is do a big water change and see. It looks like it may acyually be mouth rot (Is similar to fin rot if not the same, google gives mixed answers lol), a treatable disease often caused by a problem with water quality or some sort of mouth fungus (High probability of this being the case if the water quality is good), you might want to look into treatments for it, i cant help you there, i hope your fish gets better

 

[JEden8]

Water quality is good based off of the API tests. PH 6.8, Ammonia: 0, Nitrates: 5-10, Nitrites: 0. I'm still trying to find a TDS meter locally but haven't had any luck. I am planning on doing a water change this weekend just due to the whole ick issue going on anyways. Thanks for the reply! I'll look into it and see what I can find.

 

[JEden8]

Just did some searching around for what you were talking about and found this:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?199785-Fungas-or-Bacteria!-HELP!

Could this be columnaris?

 

[Kitsune_Gem]

Just did some searching around for what you were talking about and found this:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?199785-Fungas-or-Bacteria!-HELP!

Could this be columnaris?

It could be. Id say either mouth rot, or columnaris.

 

[JEden8]

Well I woke up this morning and she was on the bottom of the tank. Now it has me pretty concerned about the rest of them that are showing signs of this

 

[Diana]

Though it is called 'Mouth Fungus', I would treat this as a bacterial disease and use an antibiotic that is specific for Gram negative bacteria. Many fish diseases are this sort.
You will have to turn off the UV, though. It can break down most fish medications.

Columnaris: can indeed cause symptoms like this.
Best: Reduce temperature. It grows faster if the temp is over 76*F.
Lowest possible nitrates.
Lowest possible level of organic matter in the water. Thorough vacuuming of the tank and really get into all the corners, under rocks and so on.

You can add salt to help fish that are under stress. As little as 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons is helpful without being too much for plants, or salt-sensitive fish. (I am not sure about electric fish, though. If you have Knives, or relatives probably better to skip the salt).

 

[JEden8]

Thanks Diana!

I was looking around in the tank and found a couple of weird things. I remember seeing the other night from one of my female boesemani's a large piece of excrement that was hanging from her. It wasn't the normal round shape but looked more like a small seed inside of it. I thought it was weird but everything else seemed fine. Well I found a few moldy looking pieces at the bottom of my tank. Here's a pic of each that I found:

Any ideas on this? Part of the same issue? I am going to try and get a water change done today but no later than tomorrow. 50% water change?

 

[Diana]

I am not sure what the stuff is in the most recent pictures. Fungi will grow on just about everything that was once alive.

After you complete the antibiotic treatment you might want to think about a medication for internal parasites, just in case that is what the fish are passing. Usually 'worms' will not kill the fish anywhere near as fast as a bacterial problem, so treat the mouth fungus first.

 

[JEden8]

So I did a 50% water change. I have turned unplugged the heaters to help cool the tank down. My normal tank temp is 78-80 degrees. I put water in around 75 degrees to help lower the tank temp a little faster. However, the tank temp is still on the rise as my lighting is heating up the water. Any ideas on how to lower the temp below 75 degrees so it doesn't benefit the fungus? I have 2 fish still with some ick but I figured with the lower temp it will slow it down a bit so the fungus can be treated.