Treating Columnaris - Paging CoralBandit and others!

[PassengerTN]

My African cichlid tank seems to have come down with some crud! I initially lost several 1.25" fry, and blamed it on aggression from a 5-6" fish in the tank. As the clock kept ticking I continued to lose fish and I realized it was not aggression causing deaths.

The day I realized something was actually wrong, I tested the water and it showed 60-80ppm nitrates :O I done a major water change and treated the tank with jungle labs parasite clear (praziquantel and metro) afterwards.

The next day I done another 50% wc, followed by adding quite a bit of salt, around 6.5oz. This was when I started to believe my tank had been hit by columnaris. I read several sources saying columnare cannot live in high salt solutions.

The following day was another wc, close to 75% to remove majority of the salt, and another 50% change yesterday as well.

I have lost nearly half my stock, including my favorite two fish.

Today was the first "good" day the tank has had in almost a week. I have had no deaths today. I managed to find Hikari BiFuran Plus, and Seachem Kanaplex locally today and got both


Jesse

 

[PassengerTN]

Phone error. Post continued.

I picked up the furan/kana today. The bifuran plus is the same as furan 2 just without the methyl blue. I'm planning to treat the tank with both meds. Here is where I need advice.

Should I treat with both meds at the same time? Should I treat at full dosage?


Jesse

 

[coralbandit]

I would use both at full strength together.
If you are nervous or feel fish may be weakened then start day 1 with 1/2 dose going right to full on day two if no issues present.
Sounds like you have done the right thing so far if it is columnaris.

 

[PassengerTN]

Thanks bandit. There is only one (noticeably) weak fish in the tank. I figured it would have passed 2-3 days ago when I added all the salt but it's still hanging in there, and eats surprisingly!

I will do a wc before adding the meds. I'm planning to treat the entire DT. After adding the meds, how long should I wait to redose? Should I do a wc between them?


Jesse

 

[coralbandit]

Follow the meds directions and watch fish for any signs they may show.
The water change is up to you if you have enough meds to dose for volume removed.
Remember to keep temp in middle 70's and not elevated.
Fish Columnaris | Fungus & Saprolegnia | Treatment & Prevention
Great link here.
You are on step 4 of treatment now.
The link also mentions MB and PP as treatment in bath form.
I like the PP but it is less common now then long ago.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/potassium-permanganate-338314.html

 

[PassengerTN]

I considered the PP route until I seen how cheap I could get the meds for. I managed to get both the Hikari BiFuran plus, and Seachem Kanaplex for $7.44. Should have been around $25 but I had some store credit I forgot about. I think the PP was around $35 for a 5lb jug. Instructions for the PP made me feel like I needed a PhD in chemistry to use it effectively/safely haha.

Jesse

 

[Matt68005]

Best way to get those antibiotics are right in the food if they are still eating.

 

[PassengerTN]

I treated per the instructions. One dose of each left. Haven't had any more losses since July 22 (6 days). Lost my personal favorites (Ngara white tail acei) but managed to save my wife's favorite which is a sigh of relief. Its like her third child or something lol

Jesse

 

[coralbandit]

Glad to hear things are looking better.
If you want PP I have some and could send a pre weighed amount.
I lost a few fish the last few months in my DT so just treated with PP the other night and all went well(knock on wood).

 

[PassengerTN]

Do you clear up with h2o2 afterwards?

Jesse

 

[coralbandit]

Do you clear up with h2o2 afterwards?

Jesse

I have before ,but this time I just installed dose of pp in evening when lights were going out and upon return from work(next evening) the tank was very clear .
I was a little surprised since I have wood in tank I would have thought there would be a little yellow remaining that I would remove withH2O2,but it was not needed.

 

[Matt68005]

Do you clear up with h2o2 afterwards?

Jesse

H2o2 can kill a fish. Better safe than sorry IMO, clean water bud. PWCs all the time.
If your using PP or MB or Furan-2 (any kind of fungicide) theres no need to use the perxoide.
Tho if your fish are big, you could just hand take one out and pour it on his cadual or affected body area.

 

[PassengerTN]

H2o2 can kill a fish. Better safe than sorry IMO, clean water bud. PWCs all the time.
If your using PP or MB or Furan-2 (any kind of fungicide) theres no need to use the perxoide.
Tho if your fish are big, you could just hand take one out and pour it on his cadual or affected body area.

Was referring to how most people use h2o2 to clear up after PP treatment. No intentions of using it myself. I've been using Hikari BiFuran Plus and Seachem Kanaplex combined with daily water changes per instructions. My tank has roughly 2/3" thick glass with a blue tint due to thickness, so using the bifuran makes my water appear bright yellow/green. I've referred to it as 65 gallons of Mountain Dew (thx Caleb) around the house lately haha. It doesn't bother me though, 2-3 big WC after treatment is done will clear it.

Jesse