I just acquired a new fish and it was sick. Symptoms? Mouth stuck open, light fin rot, stringy white poo
The diagnosis? a form of Columnaris
I thought I would document the process I am doing for any one else in the future who has this issue.
From my reading Ive got this info; the disease is bacterial, and usually fatal
I think the fatality issue is related to the fact the fish in most cases can not eat and medicines in the water do not end up in the fish where they are needed. So my approach deals with both the external and internal treatment.
External:
Good clean water
Lower water temps to below 82 deg.
Add salt at 1 Tablespoon to 5 gallons water
Treat with Tetra Parasite Guard that contains metro which is effective on this (Others have used a metro and Furan combo)
Internal:
Get a food/medicine mix into fish
Meds include SeaChem Kanaplex and Seachem Focus
Also bit of Epsom salt / vitamins / garlic for an immune boost
So I have the externals in action. With the Tetra Parasite Guard it allows up to three treatments total with 48 hours in between each. 1 fizzy tab is used for each ten gallons of water. I have done the first treatment and will go through all three for sure.
Salt has been added at the correct ratio and temp has been lowered.
Here is where my treatment differs from most getting meds inside the fish. How is that accomplished? A baby medicine syringe a small amount of silicone air tubing.
I mix a medicated food mix which consists of frozen fish foods like Hikari krill (more ground consistency not whole), brine shrimp, mysis shrimp. Then I add regular fish foods that have been finely ground (or small fry food or flake), and the meds which in this case is Kanaplex and Focus, Boyd's vitamin, Seachem Garlic Guard and a touch of Epsom salt.
The trick lies in getting the right dose. You kind of have to guess at it a bit when reading the instructions because it is supposed to be a Tablespoon or so of product made up. I think my first treatment was a little light on meds but the one I do next will have a little bit more. With the Kanaplex it needs to be done every two days.
Then the fun comes, you have to catch the fish and pump this mess down its throat. Not too hard since the fish is in a 40B. I wear latex gloves and use a wet towel to hold the fish in place, otherwise the sharp fins can get you good. I find it best to put tank water in a bucket and work out of it. When putting the tube down the fish be gentle and you can kind of get a feel for where to stop. Pump the mix in slow and the fish will naturally gulp it down and swallow some of the mix. Put the fish back into the bucket for a little bit. It is normal to see a bit of regurgitation but the majority of your mix is in the fish. Return fish to the tank. You might again see a small amount of regurgitation but still ok.
I had an issue with my Pearsei years ago where she stopped eating and I was sure I was going to lose her. I had just dealt with a horrible loss of fish because of adding wild caught fish to an established tank without first quarantining. So I was a bit numb and doing a hard core force feed was not that hard, I figured once they stop eating its already dead. This treatment worked great and I have a big healthy Pearsei today, that some of you know as my Porkchop. So this method, while extreme seems to work. I think it would work great with internal parasite and use some prazi or Epsom salt.
Just to show you why I feel the treatment is worth doing... Here is my newly acquired fish, a Paraneetroplus regani (formerly Vieja regani)
Here is a pic of the mouth where it is starting to get the 'stuck open' part of the disease.
I will try and document this process and answer any questions. Hopefully it can help others. If anyone else has had to deal with Columnaris and has failed or succeed please add to this topic.
The diagnosis? a form of Columnaris
I thought I would document the process I am doing for any one else in the future who has this issue.
From my reading Ive got this info; the disease is bacterial, and usually fatal
I think the fatality issue is related to the fact the fish in most cases can not eat and medicines in the water do not end up in the fish where they are needed. So my approach deals with both the external and internal treatment.
External:
Good clean water
Lower water temps to below 82 deg.
Add salt at 1 Tablespoon to 5 gallons water
Treat with Tetra Parasite Guard that contains metro which is effective on this (Others have used a metro and Furan combo)
Internal:
Get a food/medicine mix into fish
Meds include SeaChem Kanaplex and Seachem Focus
Also bit of Epsom salt / vitamins / garlic for an immune boost
So I have the externals in action. With the Tetra Parasite Guard it allows up to three treatments total with 48 hours in between each. 1 fizzy tab is used for each ten gallons of water. I have done the first treatment and will go through all three for sure.
Salt has been added at the correct ratio and temp has been lowered.
Here is where my treatment differs from most getting meds inside the fish. How is that accomplished? A baby medicine syringe a small amount of silicone air tubing.
I mix a medicated food mix which consists of frozen fish foods like Hikari krill (more ground consistency not whole), brine shrimp, mysis shrimp. Then I add regular fish foods that have been finely ground (or small fry food or flake), and the meds which in this case is Kanaplex and Focus, Boyd's vitamin, Seachem Garlic Guard and a touch of Epsom salt.
The trick lies in getting the right dose. You kind of have to guess at it a bit when reading the instructions because it is supposed to be a Tablespoon or so of product made up. I think my first treatment was a little light on meds but the one I do next will have a little bit more. With the Kanaplex it needs to be done every two days.
Then the fun comes, you have to catch the fish and pump this mess down its throat. Not too hard since the fish is in a 40B. I wear latex gloves and use a wet towel to hold the fish in place, otherwise the sharp fins can get you good. I find it best to put tank water in a bucket and work out of it. When putting the tube down the fish be gentle and you can kind of get a feel for where to stop. Pump the mix in slow and the fish will naturally gulp it down and swallow some of the mix. Put the fish back into the bucket for a little bit. It is normal to see a bit of regurgitation but the majority of your mix is in the fish. Return fish to the tank. You might again see a small amount of regurgitation but still ok.
I had an issue with my Pearsei years ago where she stopped eating and I was sure I was going to lose her. I had just dealt with a horrible loss of fish because of adding wild caught fish to an established tank without first quarantining. So I was a bit numb and doing a hard core force feed was not that hard, I figured once they stop eating its already dead. This treatment worked great and I have a big healthy Pearsei today, that some of you know as my Porkchop. So this method, while extreme seems to work. I think it would work great with internal parasite and use some prazi or Epsom salt.
Just to show you why I feel the treatment is worth doing... Here is my newly acquired fish, a Paraneetroplus regani (formerly Vieja regani)
Here is a pic of the mouth where it is starting to get the 'stuck open' part of the disease.
I will try and document this process and answer any questions. Hopefully it can help others. If anyone else has had to deal with Columnaris and has failed or succeed please add to this topic.
