Red Parrot Cichlid - Columnaris/cotton mouth??

[firebirdmc]

Below is the a post I made about a week ago in the cichlid section, but with no responding help. In a nutshell, I think my red parrot has cotton mouth (columnaris). I've been doing almost daily 30% partial water changes, raised the temp to 82 degrees, added salt, continued to add rid-ich (see below - he previously had ich). I'm trying to attach photos now. I'm concerned that a) he may not be getting better (it's been about 2 weeks) b) the other 4 malawi cichlids may get infected... though everyone seems to be fine for the past 2 weeks... even the red parrot - no signs of stress or distruptions... except for the fact that his mouth looks to be peeling off.

Would appreciate any help!



I've recently finished cycling my new 55 gal. freshwater tank. Cycled for about 6 weeks, used mostly water from my existing 20 gal, and finally added the whisper x45 from my 20 gal in addition to the aquar clear 110 for this 55 gal. (needless to say, I should be covered with filtration). Ammonia and nitrite are 0. Nitrate is <10ppm for this 55 gal. tank. I had my one red parrot in the tank during part of the cyling period. I opted to go with some feeder goldfish for part of the cycling. They apparantly were diseased and are gone now. About 2 weeks ago, the red parrot got really sick. Had trouble breathing, laying sideways on the bottom of the tank, and had little white spots all over him. Looked to be ick. I treated him with Rid-Ick for 10 days doing partial water changes almost each time. I also raised the temperature to about 85 to speed up the treatment and kill the ich. It totally worked, and he was up and about with no spots by day 3 of the 10 day cycle. Three days ago I added my other 4 malawi cichlids from my 20 gal into my new 55 gal. Everyone seems to be getting along fine, until I noticed something last night. The red parrot now has white fuzz/cotoon above his lips and up until his nose. It appears to be Columnaris. Upon reading about this, it says that one of the likely culprits is higher than normal water temperature.

Did I give the parrot columnaris by treating him for ick? As soon as I realized he might have columnaris, I did a 50% water change last night. Currently there has been no change in his behavior... still swimming like normal and eating food. Not sure if I'm getting to the disease in time, or have mis-diagnosed. Would frequent water changes and bringing the temp back down to 75 degrees help him get better? When I get home from work today I'll check to see if there's any improvement on the white fuzz.

I appreciate any help and would be happy to provide more info.

Thank you!

[dkpate]

It could be a fungus too? Maybe Melafix or Pimafix will work?

[Blueiz]

It looks like a fungus to me as well. The fish probably got an injury of some sort which caused the fungus along with stress from the other treatments.

Personally, since you have treated this much as the fish isn't getting better, I would put it in a qt tank so that you dont have to keep treating the other fish as well. Fungus is generally not contagious. Continue to keep the water extra clean, gradually reduce the temperature, watch for signs of worsening or improvement.

The fish is probably stressed from all that has gone on lately with the treatment for ich, and ich alone will stress the fish. This has weakened its immune system allowing the, what I believe to be, fungus take hold. Destressing the fish will help boost its immune system so that it can fight the fungus.

If it is columnaris, good luck with treating it. I've never had any succes with curing it. I would think though if it was columnaris your fish would be far worse than it currently is, and would also be showing a white patch on its back. C always killed my fish within a few days.

[firebirdmc]

Blueiz, Thanks very much for your reply. That explanation is very helpful and makes a lot of sense. Good to hear that it may not be contagious. The red parrot is very active as he usually is (had this on his mouth for about 2 weeks), but could still be very stressed unbeknownst to me. The rest of the malawis show no sign of any problems. I've never personally seen columnaris, so it's partially self-diagnosed on my part. Hopefully it is a fungus that can be cured. I'm thinking about trying the herbal Melafix and Pimafix per dkpate's advice as well, unless someone thinks otherwise.

[Blueiz]

I think that would be fine. Pima fix is for fungus and mela fix is for bacteria.

[mfdrookie516]

Originally Posted by firebirdmc

The rest of the malawis show no sign of any problems.

that could very well be your problem right there. if youre keeping s/a with africans, youre asking for trouble. malawi cichlids in particular are some of the meanest and nastiest out there. if it got in a fight (which is a good possibility) you could be seeing injuries from that. just a thought, but its definately NOT a good idea keeping those fish together

[firebirdmc]

mfdrookie, you've got a very good point. You're not the first who's said that also. What are your thoughts on this: The red parrot (4 inches) is a bit larger than the largest of the 4 african cichlids (2 are 1 inch, and 2 are 3 inches). When the 3 inch cichlids come anywhere near the parrot's territory rocks bed (in the 55 gal) the parrot immediately chases the africans away! happens every time. Seems as if the parrot is bullying the africans! Am I reading this wrong?

[mfdrookie516]

ive never personally seen this as i have only mbuna in my tank, but ive heard that africans (mbuna in particular) can kill fish twice their size with no problem. Chasing isnt necessarily a sign of aggression. If they lip lock (hence the reason i think the fish has an injury to its mouth) then you know you have a problem.