Fish Lips Falling Off???

[stepho725]

Okay - weird but true...two of my tetras have no lips!! One penguin and one bloodfin. What the hell is going on?!?! Are ALL of my fish going to lose their lips? All I could find about this was cotton mouth but it doesn't look white really...just like a gaping hole straight to the mouth....NO LIPS!!! HELPPPPPP!!!
P.S. just beat an ich outbreak about twoish weeks ago.

 

[Hholly]

Do they have any fin damage? Are you having any spikes in ammonia, nitrite or nitrates? Pictures?

 

[stepho725]

No spikes in any parameters except possibly PH.
Unsure how true that is though because been using strips to read it but again its the only parameter which has shown change.
Ammonia is between .25 & .50 and having a hard time getting it down to zero - may go get ammonia remover media for filter..
Nitrates are 15ish and nitrites are zero
Ph climbed from 6.8 to 7.4ish (again I can't be certain of the accuracy of this result but still strange as its always shown as acidic)
Because they are small & fast fish it may be difficult to get a picture but I will try once my phone charges some more.

 

[Hholly]

Not sure if it could be columnaris. But if it is, lowering the temp a bit slows it down. Then meds are needed. Keeping up on lots of water changes seems to be the best thing in fish problems, especially since you have detectable ammonia.

 

[Convict2161]

First pray its not columnaris. Can you take any pics?

This is what columnaris looks like.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/columnaris_disease.php

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html

Good luck.

 

[jlk]

Even its not columnaris specifically (you would need lab work for specific bacterial id), treat it as columnaris. For tissues to fall off, it indicates they completely necrotic. For tissue to die off in such a fashion indicates a serious bacterial infection. The majority of fish bacterial infections, including columnaris, are gram negative so the treatment suggested for columaris should treat the bacterial infection (even if its not columaris specifically) and stop its progression. The tissues affected though likely will remain as scar tissue and not regrow.

 

[stepho725]

Okay I got some medicine - something oxy....ugh can't remember and really lazy right now don't feel like getting up. I read something about euthanizing them because it won't stop spreading....?
Also - my male gourami has been in the bottom corner all night.

 

[stepho725]

I don't know if its columnaris but looks like mouth rot after looking through a couple of photos....not positive...I dosed the water with the medicine tonight. Gonna add an ammonia remover media to my filter tomorrow too I think.

 

[Hholly]

Hope the meds help.

 

[stepho725]

Me too!! I've put lots of hard work n love into the darn tank...ugh grrr!

 

[stepho725]

Noooo!!! My "Papi Gourami" is dying! I'm so sad. Hes on the bottom and he looks like his side has been sliced open or something. *cries* Hate to see him suffer like this!
Praying that he is my final loss. Lost the two tetras (who lost their lips) overnight.

 

[Hholly]

Sorry to hear it. What medicine are you using?

 

[stepho725]

Maracyn-oxy.

 

[jlk]

Maroxy is intended for treating fungal issues primarily though it has some antibacterial properties (not the same thing as an antibiotic). Its a stabilized form of chlorine and can cause severe or fatal reactions in fish.

 

[stepho725]

Oh great....so what should I do now?

 

[mazie51109]

This has happend to several of my rosy barbs and penguin tetras, and I'm starting to see signs of it on a dwarf gourami. I treated them for fin and mouth rot. So sorry though hope your fish heal soon!

 

[jlk]

If you want to remove it from your tank, do some decent water changes with a double doses of dechlorinator along with running new carbon for a few hours. I am guessing you have a petsmart/decent lfs near you? Depending on your ph, you can try Maracyn Plus or Maracyn2 (NOT regular maracyn!) along with reduced temps and salt at .1% if you have salt tolerant fish.

 

[stepho725]

Where should my Ph be to use those? I know this could be a fatal attraction but I waited the 24 hours with no problems and I just dosed again because I am broke until next Friday (rent week) and I think its better to do something than nothing....right???
This sucks... :-/

 

[jlk]

Ill keep my fingers crossed for your guys!!

Ph is really only an issue with the Maracyn2 (minocycline)- Ph's of 7.5+ make it less effective. The higher the ph, the less effective it is. One of those little things that should be mentioned on the box but its not.

 

[stepho725]

We lost our male Gourami tonight. He looked awful and soooo thin but I think that was from my female not allowing him to eat. But then again, he did still eat from the bottom and had been eating the sinking pellets. His fins and side were a bit blackened and ratty looking so I think it is columnaris.
How bad is it on the average? So far I've lost three fish.
Can I expect things to get worse?
Also - I'm due for a water change but should I hold off until treatment is over?
Thanks for your help everyone! Still hoping for the best but noticing a couple tetras are somewhat still and female gourami is hanging out at the top more than usual. Bamboo shrimp is less red and has been fanning the same spot all day....
Maybe I'm just overly concerned and am OCD about it right now....
Maybe its not as big of a disaster as it seems.... :-/