Columnaris in Boraras naevus?

[KatieJ]

I would have posted this in my build thread, but it's urgent and figured it'd get more attention here.

For those who haven't been following my build thread, here's the short version: 5g planted set up in late August; cycled. Livestock are ~20 RCS and 10 Boraras naevus ("strawberry" rasboras). I noticed that one of them had a teeeny tiny speck of white on the front of its lips, but figured it was a piece of food or something that'd gotten stuck. A day and a half later, it has now gotten much more noticeable, and other fish are starting to display it as well. The fish I initially noticed it on is hanging out at the bottom, in the back, generally isolating himself from the rest of the school.

After literally 2-3ish hours of taking pictures, these were the best ones I could get displaying the white spot. I've done a lot of research and it might be the early stages of columnaris. I don't have any quarantine tanks and have no room for one.

Parameters:
Ammo: 0
Trite: 0
Trate: ~5
pH: 8.2 (having risen from 7.4 over 5-6 days from changing diy CO2 but having a leak)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. D: I really love these guys and don't want to see them suffer.

 

[KatieJ]

It's getting worse. Anyone know what it is and how to treat it?

 

[jlk]

It looks like early stage columnaris. Columnaris is a bacterial infection usually brought on by stress/poor water quality. Although your water parameters for amm/nitrite/nitrate look good, the big jump in ph in a very short amount of time is the likely culprit. Fish really have a hard time tolerating a ph change greater than .2. I know nothing about co2 systems but you really need to address this or your going to have more sick fish. Unfortunately, to treat him you will really need a qt tank or you will risk killing off all your bb in your main tank. You can make a cheap qt tank with a large plastic bin (20gal sz), an airstone & cheap filter. You will need to do daily water changes & treat with aquarium salt & antibiotic (maracyn2). If you decide to treat your whole tank, you will need to monitor the water daily for the next few wks & do wcs as needed. Hope this helps!

 

[KatieJ]

Thanks. Thing is, several fish have it, so I think the whole tank is infected. I don't have any room (even on the floor) for a qt; my dorm room is pretty small...

I can't go to the local fish store to get the maracyn2 and salt until Thursday. I have bettafix on hand; would that substitute as okay until then? (I heard melaleuca can act as an antibiotic) I've got red cherry shrimp and plants, so I'm worried if they'll be affected too.

 

[jlk]

Plant wont be affected by the antibiotics but the shrimp will have to go somewhere else while the tank is being treated. If your whole tank is affected, you will have to treat the whole tank & it may through you back into a cycle (you will have to watch your water parameters for a few wks). Bettafix/melafix is not going to have any effect here because columnaris is a serious bacterial infection that is fatal if untreated. Melafix is mildly antiseptic & is not a true antibiotic & it may in fact make matters worse. If you have any more questions, please ask!

 

[KatieJ]

Uggh... it'll take forever to get every shrimp out. I've got a (unfiltered) 2.5 I could temporarily put them in, but then my betta would have to go somewhere, too... I have an old gallon cube in my closet somewhere I could dig out, but that'd be way to small. $&%* being broke and without a car!

 

[KatieJ]

WHOO! Managed to convince the maternal parental unit to gimme moneys. I'll just deal with the extra cost and order next-day shipping for the aquarium salt and maracyn 2.

 

[KatieJ]

So I got the maracyn-2. It says it's nontoxic to invertebrates, so I tentatively added about 3/4 of a packet after a pwc. CO2's stable again... we'll see how things settle out. How much salt should I add?

 

[jlk]

I would dose it similar to ich-i believe its a tbsp per 5 gal though i know some recommend as much as a tsp per gal but we are looking for some theraputic salt not ich treatment. Make sure you dissolve it in some tank water first & slowly add it a bit at time over a few hours. Sorry-but i forgot about your plants! Im not sure how well they will tolerate the salt! Im not a plant expert so im not sure how salt will affect them. Either ask in plant section about them before you add it or remove them to another container until your done treatment & then do few pwcs to reduce the salinity before adding them back in. Good luck!

 

[KatieJ]

*sigh* The first affected fish died.

 

[jlk]

Oh no!!! Im sorry Katie