Fishes mouths turning white then dieing

[Paxdaddy]

It started with a couple corys. Their snouts seemed to have lost all color and within a day they died. Then a mollys lips looked swollen and white. And she died within a few hours. What do I have and what do I treat them with. I'm losing fish and I feel terrible for them.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Could be Columnaris.

Bacterial External Infections, Columnaris (specific to F. columnaris); Often Misnamed "Mouth Fungus", Fish Tuberculosis/TB Skin Infection (specific to Mycobacterium spp.)
Pathogen/Cause: Various organisms. Positive diagnosis not possible outside of lab culture & microscopy (not practical for most hobbyists). Gram positive: exceedingly rare in FW fish; small handful of SW species, but most primarily do not attack skin. Gram negative: Flexibacter columnaris, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., many others not listed. Non-stainable: Mycobacterium spp., mostly M. piscium & M. marinum
Physical Signs: White, clear, red/pink areas of necrosis. Occasionally slightly ragged/fuzzy appearence. Inflammed patches and sometimes deeper ulcers develop. Various patterns of appearence and presentation. Columnaris usually presents near the head and sides of the body and is often mistaken for a fungus; it is characteristically white and patchy.
Behavioral Signs: Various: lethargy, hiding behavior, "hanging", clamped fins, loss of appetite, general constitutional signs.
Potential Treatment: Broad spectrum antibiotics. (Examples include but are not limited to: Maracyn I & II, Jungle Binox, Aquatronics Kanacyn, etc.). Frequent water changes a must to improve quality. Tuberculosis is difficult to treat because it attacks intracellularly.
Other Notes: Frequent water changes a must to improve quality. Test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. Columnaris perhaps one of the most common skin infections of pet fish (livebearer fish and certain other fish especially susceptible). Specifically for F. columnaris, read this article by Dr. Barb. Fish tuberculosis (though not transmitted by the same species that causes human tuberculosis) can be transmitted as zoonosis called "fish tank granuloma" on hands with open wounds (again, another article by Dr. Barb discusses this issue. Use gloves if reaching in the tank with suspect animals.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#ERM

 

[bkiggy]

Treat for Columnaris !!!

 

[Paxdaddy]

Has anyone treated it before? What medication have you used or what should I use?

 

[Paxdaddy]

Can anyone recommend the best meds to treat this?

 

[bkiggy]

Apifishcare.com. OR seachem.com

Best medicine out there. IMO seachem medications are great and safe
You can even call them or email with pictures and they will recommend what to do
support@seachem.com

 

[Paxdaddy]

Thank you very much!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You'll need an antibiotic that treats gram negative bacteria.

 

[bkiggy]

API Furan 2 is gram neg antiBio

 

[bkiggy]

API Melafix and Pimafix. Also Triple Sulfa

Seachem Paraguard

If you want a homeopathic medicine, go with Voogle or microbe-lift Artemiss

 

[Paxdaddy]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I went to my lfs and the owner said I should use binox. So that's what I got. Hopefully it does the trick. He swore by it.

 

[jlk]

You may want to check the expiration date on this product before using it. I would also order some kanamycin sulfate or kanaplex in the event this does not work.

 

[bkiggy]

I've never heard of it and no one around here has either
Becarefull

 

[Paxdaddy]

You may want to check the expiration date on this product before using it. I would also order some kanamycin sulfate or kanaplex in the event this does not work.

Just out of curiosity why do you say that? And it's good for another year

 

[Paxdaddy]

I've never heard of it and no one around here has either
Becarefull

It's made by jungle. I've read about it before.kensfish sells it online too. I think it's pretty well known

 

[jlk]

I had never heard of it either and its difficult to find any info on it because its was made by Jungle. Jungle was bought out by Tetra/Spectrum awhile ago and most of their products were discontinued or reformulated/named under the Tetra brand. Theres still some Jungle products around on shelves but they have been there for awhile. So, I asked to check the exp date. I only could find a single reference to any of its ingredients and that was nitrofurazone (a fura antibiotic). I have no idea what else may be in it because info on this product is nonexistent.

 

[jlk]

It's made by jungle. I've read about it before.kensfish sells it online too. I think it's pretty well known

I just looked on this site. Kens fish does not sell it neither does any of the other big retailers. As I mentioned, Jungle products (meds) have since been discontinued.

 

[Paxdaddy]

I had never heard of it either and its difficult to find any info on it because its was made by Jungle. Jungle was bought out by Tetra/Spectrum awhile ago and most of their products were discontinued or reformulated/named under the Tetra brand. Theres still some Jungle products around on shelves but they have been there for awhile. So, I asked to check the exp date. I only could find a single reference to any of its ingredients and that was nitrofurazone (a fura antibiotic). I have no idea what else may be in it because info on this product is nonexistent.

Says a broad range treatment that clears irritations such as fungus (columnaris), scratching (flavo bacteria) and open sores (furunculosis)

Active ingredient nitrofurazone

 

[Paxdaddy]

I just looked on this site. Kens fish does not sell it neither does any of the other big retailers. As I mentioned, Jungle products (meds) have since been discontinued.

Sorry. They used to sell it. Well they guy at my lfs says he had really good luck with it. He said he never had luck with maracyn 2 and a couple others he mentioned that I can't remember. I don't know. Maybe he was just trying to get rid of it. I can usually trust him

 

[jlk]

As long as the product is not expired, your welcome to try it. Usually, you want to use a stronger antibiotic such as kanamycin combined with a fura antibotic for the best effectiveness. As you fish loss rather quickly, I suspect you have a much more virulent strain of flex. If you have fish that are salt tolerant, increasing the salinity to .1-.3% will help too. Heres some more info on columnaris: Columnaris (Flexibacteria); Aquarium, Pond Treatment, Prevention; Fungus, Saprolegnia