Fuzzy Eyes

Question
Thank you Nichole,

  After I first noticed the molly's fuzzy eyes i put her right into a hospital tank...I did go to a pet store this morning and got some aquarium salt. Then after getting your response I did go out and get the Maracyn Plus. (I couldnt find the Bio-Spira, but am going out to look tomorrow) This morning the fish all still looked ok and the Molly was eating...this evening she was NOT eating and just sat still with her fins at her side...I thought the worse but it was not true....I added the salt and the meds (I actually added the salt to ALL of my tanks (oh and the one with the prob was a 10gal.))....after a little while she started to move about and was swimming around! This made me feel SOOO good:) she is still not eating the main flakes of food but is going after the teeny tiny little parts that come off of it.

  Also, after checking my other fish again, I noticed that my dannie had a slight amount of fuzz hanging off his chin and i moved him into the hospital tank too....was this a good move...Do you think this fungal will effect all the fish in that tank?

  I just checked levels of the prob tank and the hospital tank...prob tank temp 75ish(nitrate- 0, nitrite- .5, hardness - 25, Alkinity- 40 and ph 7.2 range) little high

 Hospital tank Temp78-80 (nitrate- 0, nitraite- 0, hardness- 25, Alkinity- 40 and PH 7.8 range)  is this ph highness due to the meds?
 Ammonia levels are all safe:)

  Thank you for the help......I will let you know in a couple of days how things r going...and hopefully i can get that Bio-Spira..

Thank you,
Moriah

Answer
Hi again, Moriah! How good to hear from you.

You are a success story in the making. With your good care, I do believe all your fish will pull through. The point that I might not have made clear in my previous correspondence, is that we sometimes help rather than hurt in our attempts to clear up cloudy water. Water changes and cleanings often times only prolong the wait, during periods of cycling.

BioSpira can be tough to find! If you do buy it online from www.drsfostersmith.com, the cost is increased by the shipping fees, I do believe they have to ship next day or second day since it's a refrigerated product. I do believe you would be able to speed up the cycling in your 10 gallon by "seeding" bacteria from one of your other tanks, if you have a tank that is not experiencing any fungal infestations at the moment. Here's an excerpt from an article at aquahobby.com. It might give you some ideas...

"If you have at least one other established tank in your house, it would be helpful for the cycling process to take some gravel from the established tank, put it in a sock or a segment of pantyhose, knot it, and then put it in the bottom of your new tank to help seed it with 'good' bacteria. Also, adding some clean water from your established tank to the new tank will aid in the cycling process. Still another helpful trick is to hook up the new tank's filter to an established tank and run it for about a week before installing it on its final tank. Or, you can simply place the new tank's filter media in your old tank for about a week, then put it in the proper filter before you begin the cycling process."

As to whether this disease is contagious, if you are describing Columnaris, then I am sorry to say that it is a contagious disease. Here is an article from our parent site, about.com, about how to diagnose and treat it:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/columnaris.htm

http://www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/columnaris.php
(This one has pictures, which may help you diagnose.)

The pH spike is a little complicated to address. I don't mean to worry you, but your hardness and alkalinity levels are alarmingly low! Alkalinity helps to "buffer" your pH so that you don't experience sudden dangerous swings. The relationship between pH and alkalinity is a little difficult to understand, especially since online articles use all sorts of different measuring units. A book from the library might be more helpful. Look for 639.34 as the call number.

Start off by adding 1/2 teaspoon per gallon to your new water when you do water changes. Even adding one full teaspoon to your tank directly would not hurt. If it were me, I would test the water right out of your tap and see if you get similar results. Sorry to seemingly add another worry to your already full plate...! However, an unstable pH poses some harm to your fish, and unfortunately fixing your pH is not as simple as adding a few drops of this or that pH up or down solution, even though such products do exist.

Next time you are at your local fish store, look for someone experienced and knowledgeable, and tell them your readings. They will likely be able to advise a buffering compound for you, if you are interested in a baking soda alternative.

Please do keep me posted on your progress! Thank you for your concern and dedication. I wish there were more hobbyists like you out there. I hope your fish continue to eat - I never give up on a fish that's still eating. Live long and prosper! You and your fishes both. Good luck.

Nicole