help! mouth rot!

[water12]

Hi everyone, I noticed that at least 3 of my 8 bloodfin tetras are succumbing to mouth rot and I've never had to treat this before. I purchased 3 bloodfins 2 weeks ago and was not able to quarantine them to so looked them over and took the risk of adding them to my established tank. One of them is looking pretty severe and I was wanting to know if it is contagious and how I treat it. The params of my tank are:
7.6 ph
0 amm
0 nitrites
20 nitrates

Please help asap, I know have access to my quarantine tank if I should move them there immediately. Thanks in advance!!

 

[BettaGal]

Can you post a picture of them? It might be something I tried to help someone with back a while ago and we couldn't get it in time. Do they look like kinda whitish lesions? Personally, I would go with if I don't know, QT them. That's just me, but I prefer to play safe most of the time.

 

[water12]

I can't get pics right now, basically the worst one is almost completely missing the top of it mouth almost to its eyes and the other two look like they are in the beginning stages of it. All 3 have a cottony looking substance around their mouths. The worst of the 2 were hanging out at the top of my community tank so that's what caught my eye. I have them quarantined right now, just got done acclimating them. The other 3 bloodfins and the rest of my stock look perfectly fine after a close inspection. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow as soon as I can

 

[BettaGal]

That description sounds like what that person dealt with, which we later found out was Columnaris. I think the person that identified it called it cotton mouth, but maybe something similar. A picture would make it positive or prove me crazy. For Columnaris you need Gram-negative antibiotics ASAP. It's nasty stuff.

 

[water12]

Alright thank you so much, I will post a pic in the morning. Can this affect my other fish they were with before I caught them? Non are showing signs, I just don't want to lose my entire stock. Currently the unaffected fish are:
3 bloodfin
10 neons
2 Bolivian rams
3 albino Cory
3 panda Cory
2 platy
1 baby Angel fish

All in my 37 gallon

 

[BettaGal]

It's very contagious. Like VERY contagious.

 

[jlk]

I agree on columnaris and its very contagious. Heres more info on it:

Columnaris (Flexibacteria) in Aquarium Fish; Fungus, Saprolegnia; Treatment, Prevention

 

[water12]

Here's the best pic I could get



You can kinda see the fuzzyness around the mouth. I'm going to get some meds after I'm done with classes for the day. Would you all recomend primafix?
Thanks for the article it es very helpful should I go ahead and treat the community tank even though no one is showing symptoms yet just as a precaution?

 

[jlk]

Pimafix wont do much of anything- you need actual meds. You should also reduce temp to low 70's and increase the salinity if everyone is tolerant of salt. Treating the tank will be a must.

 

[water12]

Pimafix wont do much of anything- you need actual meds. You should also reduce temp to low 70's and increase the salinity if everyone is tolerant of salt. Treating the tank will be a must.

Alright what meds would you recommend then?

 

[jlk]

From a chain store (petsmart), you can try Maracyn2 but kanamycin would be a better choice in general. Some lfs (not chain) sell Seachems 'kanaplex'. You can order kanamycin online but it may take a few days to get it.

 

[water12]

From a chain store (petsmart), you can try Maracyn2 but kanamycin would be a better choice in general. Some lfs (not chain) sell Seachems 'kanaplex'. You can order kanamycin online but it may take a few days to get it.

Alright thanks I'll see if I can find any of those at my lfs

 

[water12]

Alright I picked up some mardel maracyn plus. Hopefully it'll work

 

[water12]

Quick question, should I do my weekly water change during treatment or wait until treatment is up?

 

[jlk]

It depends on your parameters. Test them and see how things look. If they are marginal, you can get away with a dose of Prime. If wc is necessary, do a big one then redose. If they are ok, just continue with the meds as suggested by directions.

 

[water12]

Alright they are normal so I'll just keep going with meds. Wanted to check and make sure since I don't want to mess up the treatment.
Also, I noticed the one of my original bloodfins is missing part of his mouth. He is not demonstrating any signs of mouth rot, no fuzziness and no longer lethargic and hiding like when everyone started coming down with mouth rot, as long as it heals and he can eat do you think he'll be alright in the long run?

 

[jlk]

Yes, as long as the infection is stopped, he should be fine as long as he can still eat. The area will likely not grow back though if the tissue/cartilage has been badly damaged.

 

[water12]

Alright, thank you so much for the replies

 

[water12]

Alright just an update yesterday I lost a platy and Cory. I didn't see any evidence of mouth rot on them. The platy I'm willing to chalk up to coincidence due to the fact that I treated it a month ago for wasting disease, she was super skinny so I was just hoping for the best. The cory, though, I have no idea why it died

 

[water12]

Another update, I lost another bloodfin today, I'll include a pic of the result of the mouth rot. Now I'm down to 2 that appear healthy and 2 in quarantine, 1 of which began showing symptoms today.
I have completed the 5 days of treatment and did a pwc tonight. Questions for you all is: due to pulling out the bloodfin today showing symptoms, should I do another round of treatment in the community to make sure its taken care of in there?