fuzzy ruby barbs

[FishBlock]

I got a shool of 8 black ruby barbs from Aquarium world the other day. I have them in my quarenteen tank and all were doing great for the first couple of days. I noticed last night I lost one of them, and this afternoon when I got home I have 2 males that lost there color, are not eating, and looks like something fuzy is on them( almost like loose flakes). I checked the water, no ammonia, ph high @ 8.0, nitrite 0.0, nitrate 5-10ppm.
I did 50% water change tonight.
Any clue on what I'm dealing with? or what I can treat with?

[imagirlgeek]

Can you post a photo? That helps A LOT when trying to diagnose.

Do you know what the pH was at the LFS? I thought that these fish prefer a lower pH...like < 7.0 ?

What color is the 'fuzz'?

By losing their color, do you mean completely, or just faded and dull?

You did good doing a water change. Keeping them in clean water is going to help them fight whatever it is they have.

[Complexity]

Fuzzy growths on a fish generally indicates a fungus. It might also be velvet. Run a google image search for both to see if you can find something that matches what you're seeing on your fish.

The water change is good, but if the fish have fungus or velvet, you're going to need to medicate them. I'm not very good with meds, but there are a number of meds on the market you can try. Melafix and Pimafix are usually gentle meds that you can use together to fight against a host of infections; however, many people have reported low success rates with them once a disease has taken hold (they seem to work better when the disease first starts). I've heard more comments of success using Maracyn and Maracyn II. Rid Ich + also treats fungal infections. I have not used it for that purpose, but I have used it for Ich, and I have had good success with it.

You're smart for using a Q/T for your new fish. This is exactly why it's important to use one. Not only are you limiting the disease to the Q/T which protects the fish in your main tank, but your sick fish are in a place that makes it easier to treat them.

Barbs can handle our higher pH water with no problem. Acclimation is the main key. I like to know what the pH is of the water in the LFS and how long the fish have been there. I shy away from anything that's just arrived to the store. One to two weeks at the LFS can usually acclimate them to our pH and weed out the weak and sick ones.

[FishBlock]

update- when I got home and checked on the barbs, I found 3 more pass away. Thats makes a total of 4, half of what I started with.
The remaining fish all look good, nice color, eating and swiming around out front. There are 3 other cheap tetra's in the tank and they dont seem to be affected.
At this point should I medicate the tank or let it be for the time beeing?