My fish are struggling, please assist me.

[JaydenBay]

I'm really hoping someone can help me out here. I've had friends tell me they think my fish has Ich, but I'm not convinced.

"Big Blue" got this bump on his mouth a while back when he was in my big tank. I moved him to a 10-gallon tank about 6 weeks ago and he was doing alright. But then about 10 days ago, I noticed the bump was getting bigger. I went to the pet store with a picture and some water, and they told me to use Maracyn-Oxy.

I started using it, and "Big Blue" stopped eating after a few days. He'd just sit at the bottom of the tank and every now and then, he'd look like he was having some kind of fit.

Last Thursday, I tested the water and the nitrates were through the roof, so I did a 75% water change with treated tap water. Later that day, he started swimming again and even came up for food. But on Friday, he didn't eat, and over the weekend, he got all these white patches on his body.

[fluidic]

"ok, could be, I'm not sure, what I've seen of cotton mouth looks 'fluffier', could be a tumor, but it does look like it may be fungus"

[bassio]

Big Blue seems to be dealing with multiple issues. That mouth growth could be a tumor, or possibly some sort of abscess. The white patches on his body, though, are a different story - they look like a fungus, but I'm also seeing these tiny white spots that resemble ich. I'm not convinced it's just one thing.

You've already taken a step in the right direction with that large water change, but I'd recommend making 50% water changes a regular thing, like every week. That'll keep your water quality in check.

As for treating Big Blue, I'd personally try raising the tank temperature gradually and using a salt treatment. Just make sure your tank is well-oxygenated. The salt might help with the ich and possibly even alleviate some of his other symptoms.

[JaydenBay]

I've got the tank at 82 degrees right now, is that warm enough or should I bump it up a bit more?

Also, I'm wondering if I should keep using the Maracyn-Oxy, it's supposed to treat bacterial, fungal, and viral infections, so maybe it's still worth a shot?

One more thing, for a 10 Gallon tank, how much salt would you recommend adding? I want to get it just right.

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

[bassio]

If you've already started treatment, I'd stick with it and see it through - don't mix and match, it's just asking for trouble. 82 degrees is pretty warm, I wouldn't raise it any higher if I were you.

[fluidic]

Big Blue seems to be dealing with multiple issues. That mouth growth could be a tumor, or possibly some sort of abscess. The white patches on his body, though, are a different story - they look like a fungus, but I'm also seeing these tiny white spots that resemble ich. I'm not convinced it's just one thing.

You've already taken a step in the right direction with that large water change, but I'd recommend making 50% water changes a regular thing, like every week. That'll keep your water quality in check.

As for treating Big Blue, I'd personally try raising the tank temperature gradually and using a salt treatment. Just make sure your tank is well-oxygenated. The salt might help with the ich and possibly even alleviate some of his other symptoms.

I agree, seems like a tumor or something.

[slyzen]

I'm thinking that fluffy growth might be columnaris, it's a common issue in fish and it can look like a bunch of cotton or fluff, but I'm no expert, just a thought.