FUNGUS = Spots that start out small and grow rapidly. They are usually white or light gray in color. They look like patches of mold that you get on vegetables if they are left in the refrigerator too long or fur on the fish. They are raised, not flat like Ick is. If the fish turn you can actually see it sticking out from the body.

FIN AND TAIL ROT = Usually the first thing you notice is that the tail starts getting ragged looking. Sort of like a plate that has a chip or 2 out of it or it looks like some one has taken a few bites out of it. As time goes on more and more of the tail and fins will rot off. Usually there will be the starts of Fungus on the torn ends. Again, as time goes on this will increase as well.

There is some new strain of Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot out there that seems to be almost impossible to get rid of. It is resistant to many of the standard treatments. So if you don't notice that the Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot starting to decrease in 5 days, let me know and I will tell you about an alternative treatment.

The first medication I suggest is CopperSafe by Mardel Laboratories. If you use nothing else use CopperSafe. It is a very good all around treatment and can be kept in there for a month. I like it a lot and have had good success with it. CopperSafe treats for the following diseases: Ick, Flukes, Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan Diseases and other freshwater parasites. In addition to treating these diseases it also aids in stimulating the appetite in sick fish.

I strongly recommend that you use CopperSafe for the full 30 days. Many times when a fish is sick it will pick up a parasite because of his weakened condition. Parasites are ALWAYS present in your tank. I have heard that some fish hobbyist keep CopperSafe in their tank all the time as a preventative measure. I would not recommend doing this however. The parasites will build up a resistance to CopperSafe and it will not be effective against them in the future.

The second medication I recommend is Maroxy also by Mardel. I had a Lace Catfish that got a Fungus and Fin and Tail Rot and lost all of her skin and fins and tails. I treated with all the medications that I have mentioned above and below and she survived and is now 3 times the size she was.

Whenever I treat for any disease I ALWAYS treat with an antibiotic. I use either or both Maracyn and Maracyn 2. Though the names may make you think that these are the same medications they are really quite different. One treats gram POSITIVE bacteria and the other treats gram NEGATIVE bacteria. As in humans fish can get either type of bacterial infection.

I ALWAYS use all of these products for at least 7 days even if the appear to be cured. This is very important! I relate this to our own medications that the doctor gives us. A doctor rarely gives you medicine for less than 7 days and most often 10 days. It takes that long to get every last little bit of the bacteria that lingers on. I also used to be on a farm and raised many different kinds of animals. The same held true there. Always give a medication for a minimum of 7 days and I recommend 10 days. By giving a medicine for less you can end up having a bacteria that becomes resistant to the drug you are using and it will no longer work for you. If you are still experiencing deaths, continue on for a full 14 days.

I keep salt in all my tanks at all times. Ick does not like salt. Thus the salt works as an excellent preventative. I don't buy salt at the pet store because it is way too expensive. I buy regular table salt at the grocery store. Make sure you use only NON-IODIZED or PLAIN salt. The iodine will kill the fish. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. The salt also aids in the repair of damaged fins, etc. It is a really good thing to use. Your fish do not have to be salt water fish to use this. Regular tropical fish are just fine with it. It does not hurt them at all.

When you add salt the first time to your aquarium you use 1 Tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. When you do a water change or perform a tank cleaning then you need to add enough salt to bring the concentration back up to full strength. In other words, if you take out 10 gallons of water then you add 2 Tablespoons of salt; if you take out 20 gallons of water then you add 4 Tablespoons of salt; and so on. Don't worry about getting too much salt because it won't hurt a thing.

A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT ADDING SALT TO YOUR TANK

DO NOT dump the salt right into your tank if you have fish in it. We did something that almost killed our Tire Tread Eel, Mic. Mic tends to burrow under the gravel and since he's a brownish color he is very hard to see. We did a water change in our 50 gallon tank and I was adding the chemicals and the salt to it while my fiancee was filling it with water. I started dumping the salt in and never noticed that Mic was right under the gravel where I was dumping the salt until it was too late. All the salt landed right on top of him. He was getting burnt. He went into convulsions and curled all up. I thought I killed him. We directed the water right on top of him and after a bit he started moving around and swimming erratically. That was about a year ago and he is back to normal now. So it is very IMPORTANT the you either dissolve the salt in water before you pour it in or wait until the tank is full before you add it and make sure no fish are in the vicinity.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You can use ALL Mardel products along with the others with no ill effects. They were designed to be used together. They also do NOT destroy your natural biological filter.

I will mention this however, your water will turn cloudy and change color. The medications tend to change the color of the water as well as make bubbles on the top, depending on how much agitation you have in your water. Once you are done treating and clean it out, it will go away. You will probably still have a wee bit of discoloration until you change the water the next 2 times or so, then it should get back to clear.

Remove the charcoal filters from your tank or the charcoal will remove the medication. When your treatment is done remove as much water as you safely can and put your charcoal filters back in to remove the last remnants of the medicine.