My ryunkin (about 6" long from head to tail tip) has two or three cotton like growths on its tail. All the tests are normal range. The fish doesn't act sick. I have been treating it for almost a week with a product called Rid-Ich +, which was recommended by the pet store. It is a combination of Malachite Green and Formulin. I have been doing a 25%+ water change daily. I have removed the carbon filter. I see little or no improvement. The other goldfish in the tank is not showing any sign of getting the same thing. It is a 30 gallon hex tank and the only other inhabitant is a 5" algae eater. He occasionally chases the goldfish around, but I don't know if this is contributing to the problem. Please advise on this also. I previously had a severe nitrate problem so I removed the real plants and replaced them with silk and broke down the tank to remove all debris. I did this about 2-3 weeks before the fungus appeared. II suppliment their regular diet with algae tablets, orange slices and romaine lettuce. What can I do with this tank to get rid of the fungus? I do not have a hospital tank. Please help!!
Also, would you please tell me what the optimum temperature is for the tank?

Thank you for your help with this. I'm getting despirate!

Hi Lotus and

Did your fish have ich? (white spots everywhere)...

If you can, please post actual parameters - it helps to understand what's happening with your water.

Is there any way you can take a pic of the affected fins?

Just on the pleco - i can only give you advice from my own personal experience. If he's a common pleco he may cause your goldie some problems. If he's chasing him now, he may do more damage in the future and this could be the cause of the fungus. At times, they suck the slime coat off fish and if he's a bit aggressive towards your fish, this doesn't auger well for the future.

Maybe you can set up a plastic tub for your pleco for the moment? It may just be that your goldie needs a bit of salt in the water for cure but pleco's don't do well in salt.

Or, the white on his fins could be fungus due to the pleco getting to him or it could be columnaris, which is bacterial. Each have different treatments so a picture would help enormously.

Please post back soon

Thank you so much for your reply. The algae eater isn't a pleco, it's a Chinese algae eater, full size now. I'm not happy with the chasing. I'll have to totally dismantle the tank to get him out, but just might do it. The disease isn't ick. The only thing I'm seeing is a couple of cotton-like spots on the tail of one of the goldfish. They look like little cotton balls. As for the water, the PH is 7.3, Nitrates, 0; everything else is also at the lowest reading on the charts..except for a slightly elevated amonia level, just barely up from the lowest reading. The temp of the water is about 74 mid day. The fish are eating well and behaving normally. I added some salt to the water today and switched the meds to maroxy. Hopefully it will do some good. The broad spectrum meds did nothing but hold everything down to where it was rather than spreading. I appreciate your interest and help. I'll try to take some photos tomorrow. I'm hoping there won't be anything to photograph!
Linda

Me too

Keeping up the waterchanges will also help - especially if your tank is yet to cycle. I look forward to seeing some pics of the affected area if indeed it is still bad tomorrow but if not - then all the better

Please keep us posted...

Linda, how is your fish doing today?