Slimy White Stuff On Tails?

[danifacetastic]

A few weeks ago overnight my one crowntail got this slimy white stuff on his tail that looked like rotten food or something. (I have a ten gallon divided in 3). A few days later where the goop was (again overnight) had been like cut off . Then randomly last night my other crowntail got the same thing and again looks like it's been cut off. I plan on upping the water changes to two 50% a week instead of one. But does anyone know what this goop might be?

[Brian10962001]

What do you mean by cut off? It's most likely them shedding their slime coat. Keep an eye on it though, do you mean it's growing then dropping off, or the portions of the tail look cut off? Are they both acting healthy?

[danifacetastic]

It looks like it's cut off and the slime looks like it's developing over night. I'll go in one night and it won't be there and the next day it'll be there. But I've had these fish over a year and never seen this happen. Otherwise the fish are acting perfectly normal.

[Brian10962001]

If the fish are losing pieces of their tails you need to start with some aquarium salt asap and do daily water changes.

[Myates]

Is it milky substance, or cottony substance? If it's milky, then they are creating excess slime coating to ward off something in the tank they don't like.. if it's fuzzy white cottony then it's fungus.. but normally fungus spreads, not disappear..

If it's just slimey goo that disappears then all you need to really do is a few water changes.. I would do a 50% water change every other day for the next week- so about 3 - 4 total 50% water changes. That will help clear out whatever it is in the tank that your fish are having bad reactions to. Are you siphoning it out regularly? Is the tank planted with live plants?

If the white stuff is fluffy like cotton and you can see "hairs" then it's fungus and you would need to do medication- QTing them all..
Normally you will also see them lethargic, not eating, clamped fins, pale colors.
Lower temperature below 76* F and treat with AQ. Salt at 1 tsp/gal. Increase water changes to 100% daily. Replace accurate amount of salt following water changes. Never continue salt treatments for more than 10 days. If Conservative treatment is ineffective after 10 days or you see the fungus spread rapidly during the course of conservative treatment, move to medication. Add “Fungus Eliminator” by Jungle, API Erythromycin, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR Mardel’s Maracyn II. Change water every day and add a new dose of the same medication. Continue until all fungus has disappeared.

Just make sure it's fungus before you put them through that.. is there a way to get a picture of it?

If it's the fungal fin rot, the AQ salt and fungus meds will work for it as well.

[danifacetastic]

It doesn't sound like fungus at all and there's no way to get pics because it's gone now. It looks like it just disapeered off one fish and the other one is the one where the fins are a little bit shorter. It's milky looking though. So just more water changes?

[Myates]

Milky substance is slime coating.. yep, just do some water changes and it should clear up. Something in their water is most likely causing it.. they tend to create extra slime coating when they are warding off a bacteria infection or toxin.

I said every other day, but go ahead and do daily 50% water changes for the next 3-5 days and if it continues, or after the water changes it happens again, let us know.. we could then do the salt treatment if it continues, but rather see if just clean, fresh water works for now.