fungus in community tank

[mish]

Help! Just found fungus on the tail of one of my platy's. Was not there this morning (its now 7pm). I have moved my BGK across to a new tank which i have been preparing for her, and dosed the platys with Aquadene Fungus stuff.

1. As Velvet (my BGK) was going mad in the plastic bag i was trying to float her in to get her used to the new tanks water, i released her into the tank after only a mnute or so, was scared she would grow too stressed or injur herself. Is there anything i should do to mitigate damage from been moved from tank to tank too quickly?

2. What are the chances that she will also develop a fungal infection, carried across from the old tank?

3. I had planned to introduce her and another much smaller BGK into the new tank together in two weeks time. Should i try and get the new BGK tomorrow and add it before she becomes too territorial? Or rather wait until the full extent of fungal 'damage' on the community can be assessed?

4. Other than closely monitoring ammonia and nitrite levels, is there anything else i can do to try and prevent spikes in the new tank? I had wanted to stock it slowly (have been, with 2 or 3 fish a week, but moved 2 catfish today and now Velvet as well... and if i should add another BGK tomorrow will dramatically increase the bioload - other than those tank has 2 small pleco's and 3 guppies, plus 16 plants).

I am so scared of loosing Velvet - any advise or even just hand holding would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[DebbieK]

Hi Mish,

I don't have much experience with this sort of thing, but recently I noticed some fungus on my rainbows. I don't have the luxury of creating a quarantine tank at the moment so have had to treat the whole tank. I used Pimafix for a week and then started to use a combination of Pimafix and Melafix (by Aquarium pharmacuticles). This has all but cleared up the fungus on the rainbows (I still need to treat another 4 days to complete the 7 day treatment cycle.) My BGK has suffered no ill effects from the treatment. N.B. One thing I did notice when I put the Melafix in is that after a while the fish started coming to the top and were breathing rapidly. I boosted the air to my bubble wall and this stopped that activity.


With regards to adding another BGK to your tank I wouldn't rush things. Wait till you're ready, but then rearrange the tank so they both have to find their own territory. I've heard this helps put things on an even grounding for all.

As I mentioned, my experience is limited as I've only had my BGK for about 3 weeks, but I have read quite a bit about them.

Hope this helps and Good Luck with it all.
DebbieK.

[mish]

Thanks DebbieK
Still no change in the fungus on the platy, but will wait another couple of days before panicking - she seems healthy otherwise, and is eating heartily.
Reckon you are right - i will wait with the 2nd BGK until this crisis is over (and i have a spare tank should i need to seperate the two in an emergency). Will then try shuffle some of the furniture.
Thanks for the help!
And may you have a long and happy relationship with you BGK!