help my fish has mouth fungus

[Tonya Johnson]

Can anyone please tell me what is wrong with my fish and how to treat it? I have attached a few photos. I really apriciate any help and insight.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

here is what I can answer about the pond and water. I bought the house with the pond and all the fish so I am not as knowledgable as I would like to be.

Ammonia Level (pond) - 0
* Nitrite Level (pond) - 0
* Ammonia Level (tap water) dont know
* Nitrite Level (tap water)dont know
* Ph Level, pond - between 5 and 6
* Ph Level, tap water dont know
* Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? drops

Other useful information:
* Water temperature? not sure, but temps in GA right now are 50-70 for high and 30-40s for lows
* Pond size and how long has it been running? 2500 gallons and about 8-10 years
* What is the name and size of the filter(s)? dont know
* How often do you change the water and how much? never have - but in the summer i add water weekly as it gets low every week or so, below the filter line.
* How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? NA
* How many fish in the pond and their type?14-15 and they are a varity, about 1-2 feet mostly.
* What kind of water additives or conditioners have you used? i added barley straw liqued recently
* What do you feed your fish and how often? nothing right now as it is winter
* Any new fish added to the pond recently? no
* Any medications added to the pond? no
* List entire medication/treatment history for fish and pond none that i know of
* Any unusual findings on the fish? yes, one has a weird fungus on mouth
* Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? no

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Re-test your pH!!
Mouth fungus (Saprolegnia) outbreaks normally occur in ponds with accumulated organic matter, in ponds with low pH, in ponds with poor water circulation, and usually only affect already damaged or weakened fish.
Treat the entire pond with Melafix (as per instructions).
Re-test and monitor pH. pH values below 6.0 will reduce growth in Koi, will affect their ability to uptake Oxygen and generally produce chronic stress in fish.
NOTE: Barley straw and extract can and will lower pH values.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

Thank you so much. I will try Melafix right away. Will this spread to the other fish or will Melafix stop that?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Melafix should correct the problem. However, you need to find the root cause of this infection.
How long have you had this pond? Does it need cleaning (accumulation of organic debris and muck on the bottom).
Normally I would recommend that no action be taking on the pH level as a stable pH is usually more important than the actual reading. In this case, a reading of 5 to 6 (again, this needs to be verified) is at the critical low level for fish survival. A gradual raising of the pH would be certainly beneficial. This is a simple matter and can be done safely, but let's get the fish's health cleared up first.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

I will check the PH again. The pond is crystal clear. Very little debris at all. We have had an unusual amount of rain recently here in GA, maybe that has caused the low PH? I honestly have had to do next to nothing to mantain the pond since we bought the house 2 years ago. We clean the filter weekly or 2x a week in the summer. Only every few weeks in the winter. It does get kind of murky in the summer when its hot and they are getting fed more, which is usually when I add the barley straw. My son pruned and cleaned the waterfall area about a month ago and at that time a lot of debris and muck got into the pond. We cleaned it all out with a net and added some liquid barley straw a few times after that. I am a complete novice as we inherited the pond and all the fish with the house, but up to now we have had great success. only lost one fish in over 2 years, and he was the smallest in the pond, half the size of the rest. I cant tell you how much I appriciate your feedback since we know so little about caring for a pond.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Why are you adding Barley extract so often? How much are you adding each time?
Doubtful that rain has caused your pH problem.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

I add it when the water looks less clear than usual, usually in the summer, but the last few times I was adding it because a lot of debris and muck got into the pond when my son pulled out all the over growth up in the waterfall area. In early summer I bought a few of those water Lilly pond plants from home depot and put them in the waterfall part of my pond. By end of summer they were taking over everything and I had to remove them. A lot of muck and mud flowed into the pond in thee process. We cleaned out everything we could with the net and used the barley straw extract to help with the rest. I attached a few pics, to show the pond condition. Is barley straw bad to use?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Barley straw and Barley extract are intended to be used to control certain species of algae. They are in no way a water clarifier. Overuse, depending on the amount applied, could conceivably affect pH, but I think that you have other factors in play here.
What is the source water for your pond? and what is it's pH?

Pretty pond, BTW.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

Hi, so either I really messed up the PH test somehow last time or it changed drasticly. I retested it and it is at about 8 I think but attached a pic because I am not sure if this is closer to the 8 or the 9. anyway, it is high. Should I lower it in conjunction with the metafix?

 

[Tonya Johnson]

Thanks for the compliment on the pond too! We love it, just wish I was not such a novice in knowing what i am doing with it, dont want to kill the poor fish!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Hi, so either I really messed up the PH test somehow last time or it changed drasticly. I retested it and it is at about 8 I think but attached a pic because I am not sure if this is closer to the 8 or the 9. anyway, it is high. Should I lower it in conjunction with the metafix?

Absolutely do not attempt to alter the pH. A reading of 8.0 - 8.5 is quite acceptable. If the pH had changed that much all of your fish would be floating belly-up. How old is this test kit?

 

[Tonya Johnson]

The people we bough the house from gave us the test kit so at least a few years. Do they go bad?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Test kit reagents do deteriorate over time. There should be an expiration date stamped somewhere. Shelf life is typically 3 to 5 years. You may need a new kit.

 

[Tonya Johnson]

Ok thanks. Melafix has gone in for 2 days, hoping it fixes the mouth thing. Should I go for 7 days with it? Is it normal for the pond to look like a bubble bath with Melafix? Should I scoop out the bubbles?