Illness on my Firemouth

Question
QUESTION: We have a large older firemouth. He has been switch select healthy until lately. He started hanging around the bottom of the tank and lost some of his color. Then we noticed a white cotton like growth on the pectoral fin near the root and another at the base of his dorsal fin. At first we thought he had been in a fight but then decided that it was fungal. We treated him with two rounds of antifungal meds and also changed the filter and charcoal (which we do on a regular basis anyway). The growth is still there, although he is obviously feeling better and his color has returned. Recently a friend said he had a "bloom horn" but we can't find any information on this. What is it and should we treat a third time for the fungus. Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Mark:  I have never heard of a Bloom horn... Did you remove the carbon filter when you medicated??? cause it will absorb most of the medication... If not I would remove and re-medicate.  What kind of med did you use?  dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes, we removed the carbon filter while medicating.  The growths appear to be getting slightly larger but they have smoothed out and don't look fuzzy like they did.  He's still behaving well and his color looks good.  We used Maracyn by Mardel 1st and then PimaFix by API for the second treatment.  Maybe it's not fungal?  We tried to take some pictures tonight but it's very difficult to get them clear enough, you can see where the white spots are but really can't see much about them.  You have any other ideas what to try?  Thanks

Answer
Hi Mark:  I would give him either tetracycline or triple sulfate. It sounds like a fungal issue to me but may be parasitical in nature.  The triple sulfate will help if its fungal or parasites as will the tetracycline... I would try the triple sulfate first though.  If you can I would also beef up his diet... he may be able to fight this off on his own.  My firemouth loves brine shrimp.  dave