There is a fungal infection called saprolegnia that appears as cottony tufts near the mouth or on the fins of the fish. Occasionally the growth around the mouth can get big enough to obstruct feeding and can cause starvation. Fungus infections can be very hard to cure with medication and care must be taken to keep it from spreading to the other fish in your tank. Fungal infections are transmitted by a fish actually eating the flesh of a dead or dying fish that is already infected. Be careful of what you are feeding. Raw fish flesh and some raw shellfish can be carriers of this disease. There is no good medication that will effectively treat a fungal infection. Given a good environment, very good water quality, and a good variety of high quality marine fish foods, a fish can usually lick a mild case of external fungus by himself. In really bad cases the fish may be treated by removing him from the water and swabbing the infected area with a cotton tipped swab soaked in an iodine medication, copper sulphate, or malachite green.
HTH
Blaine
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