HELP HELP HELP! Please help!

[Julesann]

An online buddy suggested this site. This is my first post and thank you for being here - a hand of help in troubled times!

The problem:

(1) Four weeks ago I had my relatively new clown pleco get an ulcer on his tummy. It was red around it and I segregated him and treated with melafix and pimafix. He is back in the community tank and looking better - not 100%, but better.

(2) Three weeks ago I had a glow-light tetra start swimming sideways and upside down. No other apparent problems. After 3 days of death watch, he succumbed. Of course, during the 3 days he had also stopped eating.

(3) About 2 weeks ago I noticed one of my panda cory's got a white lump on her tummy. She still seems OK. Eating. Swimming fine. But has got a white lump.

(4) This morning I woke up to another sick glow-light tetra with a white swatch across his middle and breathing fast, swimming oddly. (lack of balance). Swatch does not appear fuzzy and runs vertical from top to bottom of his mid section, left side belly area.

At first I thought it was neon tetra disease. Now I'm not sure. Columnaris?

PLEASE HELP!!

Pictures are available. Unfortunately, the tank glass had spots of water on it which I didn't clean before picture taking for fear that any delay would cost me a photo of the Cory who doesn't usually stay still for long. Nevertheless, the white lump and white swath is visable.

What I know about Columnaris:

It strikes when a fish is stressed. Poor water quality, sudden changes in conditions, wide temperature swings, high nitrate concentrations, low dissolved oxygen concentration, crowding, shipping, and bullying.

What I am doing, or doing wrong!

I have a heavilly planted 10 gallon tank. My signature will give details about the fish inhabitants and other criteria. Water parameters:

pH: 6.8
KH: 50 ppm
GH: 80 ppm
C02: 13.3
Ammonia: 0.06
N03: 0.3
P04: 5.0

On another post I described a brown dusting of substrate debris on plants. Maybe it's excess waste? It has helped significantly since I started pouring the water into the tank onto my hand - keeping the substrate from unsettling - though the cory's like to nose their way through the bottom a lot.

I do 50% water changes weekly. Treat the water. Do dose fertilizers, but everything seems in check.

Treatment?

I'm considering copper for treatment, but won't it will kill the plants? Do I rip all the plants out - treat the entire tank (10 gal). Treat just the visibly sick?

I'm thinking of a diatom filter for the brown debris that settles on the plants. Might this help? UV? Gulp - $$

Columnaris is treated with an antibiotic specific to gram-negative bacteria or a broad-spectrum antibiotic. I've read that Kanacyn (Kanamycin sulfate), Spectrogram (Kanamycin sulfate and Nitrofurazone), Tetracycline, or Furan 2 (Nitrofurazone) are all good choices. I've also heard of people getting good results with medicated foods containing oxytetracycline. How are these treatments on plants?!?

***** ALL thoughts, opinions, guesses, constructive criticism, any type of reply that might help my fish and plants be healthy, are appreciated!!

P.S. Sorry for such a long post! Thanks for reading!

 

[Julesann]

** Update, tetra has died

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA. I am unable to help you on the plants but I would do a pwc. Then I would treat with Maracyn or Maracyn II, removing carbon from filter. I have used these meds with cories and the cories are not affected by them. Copper may affect your cories.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Maracyn II is good. I had to use it with fire eels in the tank, and they were't affected. Not recommended to use meds in tanks with scaleless fish, but the fire eels were just fine. But give it a try. Also, read the instructions on the box. If you have carbon in the filter, and it's been in there over a certain number of days (says on the box), you can leave it in. Then later, when you want to remove the meds from the tank, PWC's and replace the carbon with new.

 

[Devilishturtles]

(4) This morning I woke up to another sick glow-light tetra with a white swatch across his middle and breathing fast, swimming oddly. (lack of balance). Swatch does not appear fuzzy and runs vertical from top to bottom of his mid section, left side belly area.

At first I thought it was neon tetra disease. Now I'm not sure. Columnaris?

That was my first thought as well. The stripes down the body are a good indicator. Columnaris usually spreads very quickly and is not so defined, IME anyways. Also, to the best of my knowledge, NTD is very untreatable, and very contagious. I would QT the suspected fishes to keep them away from your heathy ones asap. I also know it can be a pain to get fish out of your tank, specifically if it is heavily planted like yours is. Maybe it would be a good idea to remove all the plants and treat the tank then, IF you seem to have trouble catching the evasive little fishes.

On another post I described a brown dusting of substrate debris on plants. Maybe it's excess waste?

Diatoms. They can be a nasty pain, but are usually the result of an unbalanced tank. Your readings seem ok though. A reading of .06 for NH3 is minimal, but in a well balanced tank that number should be 0 all the time. I don't know much at all about dosing with CO2, or how that can affect fish. Be patient, and you should seem them go away almost as quickly as they appeared.

You may want to wait for a confirmation, but most plants are sensitive to antibiotics. Copper is a definite no no. Most fish are sensitive to it, and there are much better options for treating your tank.

Maracyn 2 may be a good option for you, like already suggested. Erythromycin (in Maracyn 2) is a good broad spec that is widely used and not harmful to your bio filter like some other stronger antibiotics are.

HTH

 

[Devilishturtles]

Oh, and about the tumors. Are they getting progressively worse at all, or staying the same? Benign tumors or cysts can pop up on the most healthiest of fish at anytime. It's likely genetic mishaps, and not a human cause. If the growth does not impede the fish, or get worse, I'd leave it and just watch it for now. There is nothing you can do to treat it anyways, without stressing your fish more. If the sore becomes open though, you will want to keep good water quality to prevent a secondary (usually fungal) infection from making home there.