help treating mouth fungus

[pammmy]

HI there, need help to treat my plec.
I have a 10inch common plec, hes about 8 years old in a heated tank on his own.
I feed him wafers mostly, occasionally some flake fishfood.
I do about 75-50% water change every week or 2.

Hes had a small bit of mouth fungus for about 1 year. I have tried dosing pimafix a few times over the year as per instructions but it doesnt seem to be getting rid of it. I have finrot and fungus treatment but not sure whether this will help for plecs. Also have meth blue. I have had this in the tank with him before when i had goldfish and he was alright.

Any ideas the best treatment? I dont know whether to dose the meth blue as ive read that plecs/bottom feeders dont take to it well and i certainly dont want to kill him off. The only oetshop i have near is pets at home, which is pretty basic.
Ive added pics to show the fungus, its around his nostrils, mouth and there is some in his mouth. thankfully its not got too large that he cant eat, the inside of his mouth is not too bad.
Anyway any help appreciated.

 

[Lornek8]

Your plec is a Gibby & its not mouth fungus.
Its lymphocysitis (sp?) and for some reason quite common in Gibbys. It doesn't respond well to most treatments but it also doesn't seem to cause much harm. It tends to be self-limiting & disappears after a while. You can try to maintain a cleaner tank & see if it helps.

 

[pammmy]

After looking at many pics on the net i assumed it was mouth fungus or columnaris plus i read it can spread closing up their throat so they cant eat anymore. Also thought it may be contagious as id like maybe 2 fish in the tank with him.
Thanks for your reply it has put my mind at ease somewhat. What would you reccommend for good tank cleanliness? I dont wanna get rid of all the good bacteria but i dont want him living in mess. Obviously as hes quite big there is a bit of a mess.

 

[Lornek8]

It hasn't shown to be contagious and as stated typically doesn't cause too much problems unless it is in the mouth area & closes up the mouth as you've read.

There isn't much bacteria outside of the filters. All hard surfaces to some extent have some bacteria on it but the bulk would be in the filters. The biggest thing I can see is the large rocks on the bottom of the tank. They tend to allow a lot of stuff to collect in and around them that can be difficult to clean out. Once in there the gunk is pretty much inaccessible to the filters & can be tought to simply suck out. A lot of keepers use bare-bottom tanks to allow for easier cleaning but that look isn't for everyone. A thin layer of fine sand will give some bottom cover but also allow for easier cleaning. Finally frequent water changes will help keep the water clean.

 

[pammmy]

i got rid of the small stone coverage when i had goldfish in it as one of them kept getting stones stuck in its mouth. I do use a hose to clean the tank out and get between the stones but i might go back to the small ones.

 

[Jimmy]

Removing those large stones and good water conditions should see an improvement.