The appearance of white slimy or cotton wool spots on Goldfish often signals super-infection and sometimes triple infection. The three usual suspects, Columaris, Costia, and Chilodonella often work in concert. Columnaris is the best known, often referred to as "fungus." it is actually Flexibacterium columnare, a very contagious bacteria which can infect an entire tank in 2 hours, and may spread to plants rocks and decorations. It often affects fish that have Costia or Chilodonella parasitism, and they can be hard to tell apart. Columnaris is fairly easy to cure with Furan-2 or Kanamycin if caught early.
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