Fungus Treatment Recommendations?

[Aegeon]

I have two Ocellaris Clownfish that are showing signs of a fungal infection; small white cottony/fuzzy patches on their bodies. I'm currently setting up a hospital tank to transfer the clowns to for treatment, but I have a few questions:

1. I read an article stating that you can catch the fish and wipe off the fungus with a wet paper towel, then cover the area with tincture of iodine to help prevent further infection. Has anyone tried this or can anyone recommend/not recommend this?

2. I'm looking for fungicide recommendations. So far, I've found Maracyn (info here) and PimaFix/MelaFix (info here). Can anyone recommend either of these products as a fungicide? Any other medications that you think would work?

Thanks!

 

[b0bab0ey]

Fungal infections are quite rare in s/w fish. What you are describing could be Lymphocystis (a virus) or even a bacterial infection of some sort. Lymphocystis usually goes away on it's own, but if it's on the body that's a bit more serious because it's usually just found on the fins and/or tail. If you rule out Lympho after doing a little more research, and still think it's fungus or something bacterial, I would use Maracyn 1 & 2 as that combination covers Fungus, and both gram negative & gram positive bacterial infections. Good luck!

 

[MarinaP]

Fungal infections are quite rare in s/w fish.

+1.

Post a pic, if you can.

 

[Aegeon]

I'll try to get a few pictures tonight. I'm fairly certain its not lympho, which is supposed to appear as firm nodules looking something like cauliflower. These patches seem "cottony" or wispy, almost like you can see them moving or flowing as the fish swims.

It may be a bacterial infection of some sort, though I'm still leaning toward fungus. Initially, it appeared only in one spot on of the the clowns, and remained that way for several weeks. In just the last day or two, it appeared in a second spot on the original fish, and a new spot has appeared on the second clown.

The clowns were purchased together from the same LFS, so I'm not sure if both clowns were infected when I bought them, or if the first fish infected the second. I think (hope) they're pairing up, as they're always near each other and tend to rub against each other quite a bit. They are the only fish in the tank, so nothing else has been affected.

Apart from the white fuzzy patches, they seem unaffected. No problems swimming, healthy appetites. No flashing or rubbing against tank, sand or rock, no labored breathing, etc.

The patch on the second clown is just behind a gill, though, so I don't want to wait much longer to start a treatment in case it begins to affect his breathing or causes other internal problems.

Thanks for the replies!