The Dreaded Aurnati Fungus

[bottles]

bottles, Just tossing this 'shot in the dark' out: I killed & stopped fuzzy fungus patches which had begun spreading on the side of a carpintis/texas's body by netting & laying it flat out, and pressing hydrogen peroxide directly on the fuzz with Qtip swabs.

the fish's slime coat around there kind of sloughed off, but the tissue didn't seem harmed or raw.
as soon as that ended, tissue renewed to health fast. (before med pkg arrived)
I have no idea whether something like this is a good or bad idea for snakehead fungus, as that sounds bad.
hopefully Tom knows.

Good luck.

Thanks, Granny. If I notice it getting worse, I just might try that. Snakeheads are quite resilient, so if I can get rid of the fungus, I'm sure that they would heal up fine.

Temperature wise i did keep mine warmer during treatment, like any fish warmer temps helps with recovery but keeping in mind that they are not tropical so only go to the warmer end of the sub topical range.

I kept them around 74f until after treatment then once they were going strong i turned the heater down to 70, then removed it all together.

Thanks, DC. I'll add the heater now to 75F.

 

[Aquanero]

Treat with a combination of Malachite Green & Triple Sulfa. The dosage is critical use the Malachite Green at 1/4 the normal recomended dosage (Maracide is a good product) use the Triple Sulfa at 1/2 the recomended dosage. Do a 50% water change (wait 30 mins after adding declor before adding meds) add the 3x sulfa 1st then after about 15 mins add the MG. The normal treatment for scaless fish is higher than what I am suggesting here but starting low will see how well the fish tolerates this (it should be fine this is a mild dose even for this fish). If all looks good In 24 hours repete the same treatment.

 

[bottles]

I've done these sort's of Manual cleanings before on other species of fish, Snakeheads however do VERY poorly with handling/moving when sick, I find the best thing to do is not bother them at all, I no longer even separate them into QT tanks because any time I've handled a Channa when it's sick or injured it they seem to just shut down and die shortly after, while the ones left in tank and undisturbed always do much better.

it is odd because i've seen healthy channa squirm across the floor even bite at me out of water and be absolutly fine after put back into the tank , tough as nails when healthy but if ill stress seems to do them in quickly.

Yes, that will be a last resort move, but I'll try it if I see them getting worse. I'd rather give it a shot, then wonder if it would have worked after they're gone.

 

[-DC-]

Just remember to raise the temps slowly over a couple day's dont want to shock them with a 5 degree jump while they are in a weakened state

 

[bottles]

Treat with a combination of Malachite Green & Triple Sulfa. The dosage is critical use the Malachite Green at 1/4 the normal recomended dosage (Maracide is a good product) use the Triple Sulfa at 1/2 the recomended dosage. Do a 50% water change (wait 30 mins after adding declor before adding meds) add the 3x sulfa 1st then after about 15 mins add the MG. The normal treatment for scaless fish is higher than what I am suggesting here but starting low will see how well the fish tolerates this (it should be fine this is a mild dose even for this fish). If all looks good In 24 hours repete the same treatment.

After giving the pima/mela combo a 2 week shot already, I'm willing to try this.
Thanks.

Just remember to raise the temps slowly over a couple day's dont want to shock them with a 5 degree jump while they are in a weakened state

Will do.

Thanks everyone for all the advice and ideas. It's much appreciated.

 

[-DC-]

If it helps, a few years back when i got my first pair of auranti i know they were treated for the fungus with Malachite Green and Triple Sulfa. I did not treat them, they were treated by the store owner and i purchased them post treatment but it worked for him and did not harm the pair. I have no idea on the dosages I just visited every day while waiting on them to clear QT lol.

I agree with Aquanero one of the biggest problems with med's is that people dont consider the water parameters and species in involved before starting dosage. If those aspects are considered then it is much safer to use them.

I would also try it out at this point, like i mentioned I've had/heard of very few success cases once it starts to spread so it is probably worth it to try a more aggressive treatment especially where you've been using the pim/mel and it's not doing the trick.

Good luck with it!

 

[bottles]

Thanks, DC.

Treat with a combination of Malachite Green & Triple Sulfa. The dosage is critical use the Malachite Green at 1/4 the normal recomended dosage (Maracide is a good product) use the Triple Sulfa at 1/2 the recomended dosage. Do a 50% water change (wait 30 mins after adding declor before adding meds) add the 3x sulfa 1st then after about 15 mins add the MG. The normal treatment for scaless fish is higher than what I am suggesting here but starting low will see how well the fish tolerates this (it should be fine this is a mild dose even for this fish). If all looks good In 24 hours repete the same treatment.

When I repeat the treatment, should I also do a small WC? I'll continue the daily treatments using small doses, but how long should I continue after it looks cleared (provided it does work)?
Thanks

 

[Aquanero]

Yes, do another 50% water change before retreating. We will see how it's going after 24 hours and if no ill effects are shown repete at the same dosage. A Kh of 3 is very low so we have to move with caution as MG becomes more toxic at low Ph/hardness. The 3X sulfa will buffer the MG and make is safer to use also increase protection against secondary infection. If the fish shows any sign of distress during treatment do a 25% water change immediatly. While 3X sulfa is generally more effective at higher Ph levels it is a good complement to MG in this situation. Please post any changes in the condition.

 

[bottles]

Yes, do another 50% water change before retreating. We will see how it's going after 24 hours and if no ill effects are shown repete at the same dosage. A Kh of 3 is very low so we have to move with caution as MG becomes more toxic at low Ph/hardness. The 3X sulfa will buffer the MG and make is safer to use also increase protection against secondary infection. If the fish shows any sign of distress during treatment do a 25% water change immediatly. While 3X sulfa is generally more effective at higher Ph levels it is a good complement to MG in this situation. Please post any changes in the condition.

Thanks again.
I treated the tank last night around 7. Everyone seems fine so far. The fungus is no better, but no worse. I'll do the water change and treat again tonight.

 

[Aquanero]

So far so good. I'm on the fence about increasing the dosage of MG. Lets give it another 24 hours at the current dosage and see what happens with a 50% water change and a redosing the level will be increased a little any way.