Weird mystery disease...help ID and treat!

[Oohitsae]

So, a friend is having something wipe out her entire guppy tank. She's posted on multiple forums and hasn't found an answer, so I figured I'd post for her on here.

Heres the information:
symptoms within 24 hrs of death:
Clamped fins
Ragged fins
Loss of appetite
fuzzy spots on fins and occasionally on body
flesh becomes more opaque/white
swims "stiff"
Develops a green spot near pectoral fin
Seems to only affect the see through guppies

They die within 36 hours of becoming afflicted.

Water Parameters are: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, 0 gh, 300kh, 8.4 pH
(This is a well established and cycled tank)

It all started when she had one that had an abcess/cyst looking thing on it's peduncle. It burst and she ended up euthanizing it after because the hole started eating away its tail and it started to look like it had a saddleback infection. Originally she thought it was columnaris because of the saddleback, euthanized the affected fish and started treating with tetracycline. During treatment she still had deaths.

She stopped treating with the t. cycline because she heard that it was pretty much useless in a pH as high as hers and then started using nitrofurazone.
Nitrofurazone was one day, then 4 of t.cycline, then one of tea tree 1 drop/gal

She's down to 3 from the original set. They
survivors are currently QT'd in AQ salt with prazi-pro... so far, no issues.
She's bleaching the tank and boiling/tossing out all the decor since she doesn't know what else to do.

But, basically we'd like to know what this is, right now it looks like nobody is ill, but she'd also like to know what to treat with so that she doesn't lose anymore. That tank was full of her prized guppies.


Looks like the pictures are out of order, 1. dead, 2. healthy, 3. sick




edit::
only one of the survivors is from the guppies I got in. The other 2 are from the other tank, so our personal stock.

the cloudy flesh only shows on the see thrus, it took out both swallow tail medusas also, the male had no extrernal damage at all.

 

[Mebbid]

Sounds like an acute bacterial infection. Some of them can wipe an entire tank within a day. It's likely that the guppies that were infected were heavily inbred and had a weakened immune system as a result.

Aside from "bacterial" I don't think you will get any other answer as it certainly isn't either parasitic or fungal.

 

[jlk]

Sounds like an acute bacterial infection. Some of them can wipe an entire tank within a day. It's likely that the guppies that were infected were heavily inbred and had a weakened immune system as a result.

Aside from "bacterial" I don't think you will get any other answer as it certainly isn't either parasitic or fungal.

+1
I agree as well that its bacterial. The course of action in treatment was not effective and this is not surprising. Tetracycline is one of the most abused meds out there and the number of bacterial organisms that are now immune to its effects is overwhelming. Tea tree oil would have had no effect at all. The nitro antibiotics are mild antibiotics with a very limited spectrum of what they are able to address. They work more effectively when combined with a strong antibiotic such as kanamycin for better broad spectrum treatment.

You honestly would need lab analysis along with a necropsy in order to be able to ID the specific vector that is wiping these guys out.

 

[Oohitsae]

Yeah, we were starting to lean towards bacterial too, but figured that there would atleast be some improvement with either of the treatment.

So kanamycin/kanaplex is recommended?

 

[jlk]

You can try the kana mixed with nitra/fura antibiotic for better broad spectrum coverage. Treat for atleast 7-10 days. Good luck!

 

[M4M]

I appreciate all of the help everyone! (these are my fish in the post).

I have ordered Maracyn, Maracyn 2, and Kanaplex. The last "Non-Native" survivor passed away yesterday morning, showing no symptoms at all.

There are 2 more survivors to this mysterious illness, but they were born in our community tank, and so it seems like they have some resistance to it. I'm still planning on treating them with Kanaplex and Maracyn 1 & 2, before I risk allowing them back into the main tank. what would be the most effective way to go about this? I want to be sure that whatever that nasty bug was, that it's dead before I risk my other fish.

It's a small consolation to know that I was right to think that it was bacterial in nature, and I spent so much time trying to treat it with what I had on hand, I lost a majority of my fish during the course of t. cycline.

Again, thank you so much for your responses!

 

[jlk]

Don't combine the kana with maracyn/m2. You can treat with one then follow with a course of the second. Keep a close eye on your parameters during treatment as your good bacteria may be affected. Good luck!

 

[M4M]

Don't combine the kana with maracyn/m2. You can treat with one then follow with a course of the second. Keep a close eye on your parameters during treatment as your good bacteria may be affected. Good luck!

Thank you!

 

[Autumnsky]

Any updates?

Anyone ever use Kanamycin with inverts, effect on BB?

Quick question, I just treated using Maracyn Two should I do pwc before trying Kanamycin.

Sorry to jump in but it is similar info needed. I am trying to make sure everything works well.

 

[M4M]

Any updates?

Anyone ever use Kanamycin with inverts, effect on BB?

Quick question, I just treated using Maracyn Two should I do pwc before trying Kanamycin.

Sorry to jump in but it is similar info needed. I am trying to make sure everything works well.

all of the guppies died before I could get any of the medications, because I had to buy online and have them shipped in.

 

[jlk]

all of the guppies died before I could get any of the medications, because I had to buy online and have them shipped in.

I am sorry to hear this

 

[jlk]

Any updates?

Anyone ever use Kanamycin with inverts, effect on BB?

Quick question, I just treated using Maracyn Two should I do pwc before trying Kanamycin.

Sorry to jump in but it is similar info needed. I am trying to make sure everything works well.

It may or may not affect bb- no guarentees. In respect to inverts, its never appeared to affect the pond snails I have but nothing seems to bother them anyway! I would do a wc and run some new carbon for a few hours before switching meds.