Columnaris outbreak

What country are you in ?
US is 3%
UK is 6-9%
and one member from Wales said they had 12%
The 1 ml. per gallon is calculated with 3% so it would be 1ml per 2 gallon for 6% or 1ml for 3 gallon of 9%.....

I'm here in canada. I checked walmart they have 3%. So is the dosage correct, 1ml per gallon means 40ml for 40gal.

 

With somethings like fin rot or algae issues I usually start low but with this I would do the 40ml. Its actually pretty hard to over dose. I couldn't math one day and I ended up putting in 3ml per gallon. The only thing that died was the algea.

I'm not sure if you can or can't mix the full dose of antibiotics with it. They work in different ways and I can't find any studies on it. Antibiotics help control the reproduction of bacteria were peroxide kills it directly.

Maybe the best to do is kill it first then do a follow up treatment of antibiotics or with paraguard to control the bacteria.

 

I'm here in canada. I checked walmart they have 3%. So is the dosage correct, 1ml per gallon means 40ml for 40gal.

Yea 40 ml of 3% to treat 40 gallons.

 

Yea 40 ml of 3% to treat 40 gallons.

I forgot to ask, I searched in youtube and one video said it could kill my BB also which I may end up recycling the tank. Do I need to dose stability, or nutrafin cycle to boost the BB?

 

Can I dose aquarium salt too with h2o2 or no? Also any other diseases the h2o2 can treat? The reason I asked is because I want to reduce my spending buying antibiotics.

 

No salt. It just adds things to the water that the peroxide will react to. It can effect your cycle. I never really had it effect it much but in a newer tank it may effect it more. It works on any external infection or fungus.

 

No salt. It just adds things to the water that the peroxide will react to. It can effect your cycle. I never really had it effect it much but in a newer tank it may effect it more. It works on any external infection or fungus.

Awesome! Thanks for all the help I will try this and hopefully things go well.

 

Hello guys! I just want to give you updates about what happened in my battle with columnaris outbreak.

First treatment: Paraguard and Kanaplex with Metroplex in food - Not successful. Antibiotics seems to work but too slow and fish are dying in a faster rate in just 12 hours. Lasted 5 days of treatment. Followed Seachem’s Dosage in every medicine.

2nd Treatment: Polyguard with Kanaplex both dosed in tank water (Polyguard has FURAN and Kanaplex is KANAMYCIN) - Working but slow. Antibiotics are strong where fish got stressed. Infected fish has still white fungus like on them and seems like it will take additional 2-3 more weeks before the bacteria is eradicated. Some fish still died due to stress and they are weak and some are flashing on decors and plants. Bacterial bloom also occured in the tank. Treatment will be really expensive since I am treating a 40 gallon tank. For me this treatment is not feasible if you can’t buy the antibiotics needed to treat the tank for 2-3 more weeks a total of 1 month treatment in short. Estimated fish death 35%. Lasted 7 days of treatment, followed Seachem’s dosage on both meds.

3rd treatment: Hydrogen Peroxide 3% - 3 dosage every other day at 1ml per gallon with 50% WC before every dose. Successfully treated all fish, no more deaths and all other symptoms gone and lesions healed right away in 24 hours of first dosage! Cleaned the whole tank even attacked mild algae on glass. Waste buildup in gravel reduced with no vacuuming. Only downside is it will kill also your BB aside from the bad bacteria and exo-parasites. I have two HOBs in my setup, I turned off the other one during the whole treatment to save some BB. I ran the other one during the whole treatment to help spread out the H2O2 and to circulate the water in the tank. You may simply remove your bio media if you don’t have a spare filter. Highly recommended, fast action, and cheaper way of treatment.

Thanks to those who suggested the meds and ways of treatment. But to me from this experience H2O2 nailed it!

 

I don't see how ulcers from Columnaris could heal in 24 hours. Even if the infection magically disappeared instantly and completely it would still take quite some time for the wounds to heal.

 

Chris_96 thanks for the follow up info. We see so many "what do I do?" threads here, and it's rare to have a follow-up like yours. I find your experience(s) described after the fact to be many times more useful than a list of "do this" or "do that" recommendations.
Thx!!

 

I don't see how ulcers from Columnaris could heal in 24 hours. Even if the infection magically disappeared instantly and completely it would still take quite some time for the wounds to heal.

O sorry I did’t clear that part. I actually took out that certain infected fish and applied H2O2 on the ulcers using a cotton swab. The moment I put her back in the tank isolated in a breeder box, the H2O2 did its magic. I just did it once, while dosing the tank as well with H2O2. Though today is day 8 (last dose of h2o2 was day 5) and that fish has a scar now, but not sure if the scales will grow back.

I will do a 50% WC again today and will run my other filter as well and will add Aquarium salt to aid recovery in all the remaining inhabitants.

 

Yes that’s right columnaris hit my kids tank. I had slacked in the tank cleaning and also found a shrimp and snail dead inside my filter. Almost the entire stick was wiped out except a neon tetra and 2 honey gourami. The tetra is still fighting mouth fungus but it is nearly clear and the gourami were not affected. I have been treating the tank since Tuesday and have done 2 water changes since. I have 3 questions: how do I properly clean the decorations so they can be added to the tank? How do I know the tank is disease free? And when would it be safe to introduce new fish?
Please no comments about how I slacked (life gets in the way sometimes) and don’t ask about the water parameters as those are not relevant to the post.
Thanks!

 

From what I've seen, columnaris is ever-present, much as E. coli is in our environment. It's opportunistic the same way as well, attacking when the fish are weakened by stress (same as we're more vulnerable to illness when under stress.)

Meaning, there's probably no need to disinfect decorations. You're taking care of the stressor already (water
quality), which is the most important thing.

But, if you want to disinfect, a bath in a bleach solution followed by a bath in a Prime solution (neutralizes the bleach) would probably kill anything and everything on the decorations.

If you're concerned about the tank, the recommended treatment is a combination of Kanaplex and Furan2, in 3 treatments done every other day. Remove carbon from the filter while treating.

Adding fish back should probably be done in increments like you're cycling a new tank, because you'll likely have lost some of your beneficial bacteria in this process as well.

The water parameters will be your guide, with the understanding that too much of an ammonia spike could bring on another outbreak. Naturally also be wary of the fish's health in the store when you're getting them, especially if you don't quarantine them when you bring them home.

 

Hi, please, can anyone confirm these white discolouration patches are the signs of columnaris? Two platys were also scratching yesterday and exhibited hostile behaviour. Pleco seems to have ick. I am in my way to buy spectrogram, but wouldn’t want to give them antibiotics if not necessary. Please help!!! Since we had these water mild looking growth in the water, and the only medicine I had was ickguard I applied it last night. Took carbon out and replaced filter. Red platy was neurotic yesterday pacing up and down, as well as guppy but this morning they are calm. Please, please, let me know your thoughts.



More photos

 

I'm not an expert, but if I were you, I would also think it's columnaris.
Did you check out this guide?
Columnaris Symptoms And Treatment | Freshwater Fish Disease 263058

Treatment: Lower your tank temperature to 75 to help slow down the spread of the disease. The best treatment if you're in the US is a combo antibiotic treatment of Kanaplex and a nitrofurazone based medicine found in the following popular brands: API Furan-2 or Tetra Fungus Guard or Jungle Fungus Clear tabs. If you can't get a hold of Kanaplex then Mardel Maracyn - 2 (minocycline) is your next good option. You'll want to remove carbon during treatment. Follow the dosing on the packaging and do at least two rounds of nitrofurazone with a large water change in between. Its best to do one round of Kanaplex as its a strong medicine and can be hard on the kidneys if treated for too long. According to Seachem a second round can be repeated if necessary though. Medicated kanamycin fish flakes are another option though not necessary for successful treatment.

Kanaplex would be your best bet, I think.

 

Please, any help is appreciated

I'm not an expert, but if I were you, I would also think it's columnaris.
Did you check out this guide?
Columnaris Symptoms And Treatment | Freshwater Fish Disease 263058


Kanaplex would be your best bet, I think.

thank you! I am on my way to local Walmart, they have spectrogram, According to their website. It is a combination of the two medicines you mentioned first. Last night I applied some ickguard and this morning fish seems much calmer and no scratching. I wonder if the marks in the red platy can be bites from the other platy?
many thanks, will keep everyone posted.

 

Sorry, I had to go to work. How are they doing? I think you're on the right track using Spectrogram. A quick google search tells me it is good for columnaris.

 

Sorry, I had to go to work. How are they doing? I think you're on the right track using Spectrogram. A quick google search tells me it is good for columnaris.

seems that spectrogram is not legal in Canada so ended up buying lifeguard, sea salt and melafix. Last night I added 2/3 of the ickguard and fishes looked so relaxed, seems it is helping them. Added 2 tablespoons of sea salt in top of it today. So far they have a good appetite and are energetic. I wonder if my diagnosis is correct. Wish someone would confirm with certainty. Got conflicting advice from different stores. Lifeguard alderman so toxic and melafix is all natural product, so am hesitant to use it. Will wait until tomorrow to see how fish behaves before applying any of these products.

 

From what I've seen, columnaris is ever-present, much as E. coli is in our environment. It's opportunistic the same way as well, attacking when the fish are weakened by stress (same as we're more vulnerable to illness when under stress.)

Meaning, there's probably no need to disinfect decorations. You're taking care of the stressor already (water
quality), which is the most important thing.

But, if you want to disinfect, a bath in a bleach solution followed by a bath in a Prime solution (neutralizes the bleach) would probably kill anything and everything on the decorations.

If you're concerned about the tank, the recommended treatment is a combination of Kanaplex and Furan2, in 3 treatments done every other day. Remove carbon from the filter while treating.

Adding fish back should probably be done in increments like you're cycling a new tank, because you'll likely have lost some of your beneficial bacteria in this process as well.

The water parameters will be your guide, with the understanding that too much of an ammonia spike could bring on another outbreak. Naturally also be wary of the fish's health in the store when you're getting them, especially if you don't quarantine them when you bring them home.

Hi, please let me know if you managed to save the remaining fish and what medication you used. I am dealing with Culminaris now, at least that matches the most what my fish have. I haven’t received much response on my post, hopefully someone who went through it in Canada reaches out.

 

Hi, please let me know if you managed to save the remaining fish and what medication you used. I am dealing with Culminaris now, at least that matches the most what my fish have. I haven’t received much response on my post, hopefully someone who went through it in Canada reaches out.

This thread was from someone in Canada who treated it successfully. Colomnaris? lymphocystosis? Help - | 455331

Success often depends on how advanced the infection is to start with. I've had success with merbromin swabs on the lesion, with salt/meth blue, and with peroxide when it could be used safely (small lesion near the tail).

I've also had failures with all of those methods, as well as with kana/furan, and medicated food. There are unfortunately no foolproof methods, but hopefully one of them will work for you as it did for Chalkpie in the linked thread.

 

Hi Oriongal, this is very useful information. And encouraging. Is methylene blue present in ickguard? I just put carbon in my filter to clear it out, but if it contains I would take out carbon again. My fish has much smaller lesions and my first thoughts that they would both die from the heart attack if I took them out or tried to hold them. Every time I do water change or do anything in the tank they freak out. If lesions become bigger I will try it. One of them did this flashing against the gravel that I have not observed before, usually they flash against the decorations, don’t go to the bottom for it.
Thanks again

 

Flashing isn't necessarily a symptom of columnaris, most of the fish I've had with external lesions didn't flash at all. Also doesn't mean it's not columnaris if there is flashing, just means that flashing is not a specific indicator like it is for ick.

I don't know if Ickguard is methylene blue, haven't used it. Without knowing for sure what is in it, I'd recommend just plain salt baths, and clean water (0 ammonia and nitrites) to go back into.

 

Hi,

please, please someone help.
my fish is getting worse. Please see attached images. My sunburst platy gills are now super inflamed, seems almost there is a hole. Medication that I ordered from the us hasn’t arrived yet (furan 2 and Kanaplex). Is this flukes or columnaris? If fluke, what can I quickly buy in Canada?

 

Hi,

please, please someone help.
my fish is getting worse. Please see attached images. My sunburst platy gills are now super inflamed, seems almost there is a hole. Medication that I ordered from the us hasn’t arrived yet (furan 2 and Kanaplex). Is this flukes or columnaris? If fluke, what can I quickly buy in Canada?

Looks like dropsy to me. I'm no expert though.

 

Looks like dropsy to me. I'm no expert though.

Thanks. She has recovered from whatever it was and now we are treating her for fin rot. She is quite a big girl, unusually big, which made us think that she might have dropsy, but she doesn’t. She just dropped some fry yesterday and I expect many more tonight or in the next few days. Although she received treatment for fin rot and fungus growth she and the rest of the fish look good. They enjoy their bigger home and water parameters are finally good. Me happy

 

Thanks. She has recovered from whatever it was and now we are treating her for fin rot. She is quite a big girl, unusually big, which made us think that she might have dropsy, but she doesn’t. She just dropped some fry yesterday and I expect many more tonight or in the next few days. Although she received treatment for fin rot and fungus growth she and the rest of the fish look good. They enjoy their bigger home and water parameters are finally good. Me happy

Good to know you solved the problem.

 

Hello everyone!

I had a columnaris outbreak in one of my tanks and sadly, my fish didn’t make it. There are a lot of plants and decorations in the tank so I don’t want to tear it down. I’m planning to stock that tank again once I completely eradicate the columnaris.

Will columnaris eventually die off once there’s no more host just like ich, and how long will that take? Or do I just continue to medicate the tank?

I was medicating with melafix and aquarium salt, but i was too late.

Please help me! Thank you!

 

Hello everyone!

I had a columnaris outbreak in one of my tanks and sadly, my fish didn’t make it. There are a lot of plants and decorations in the tank so I don’t want to tear it down. I’m planning to stock that tank again once I completely eradicate the columnaris.

Will columnaris eventually die off once there’s no more host just like ich, and how long will that take? Or do I just continue to medicate the tank?

I was medicating with melafix and aquarium salt, but i was too late.

Please help me! Thank you!

Melafix and aquarium salt won't do anything for columnaris, most people recommend furan 2 and kanaplex. I dont know if it will die off or not without any hosts, it may go into a dormant state. DoubleDutch seems to know a lot about it so I'd see what they have to say about it.

 

Melafix and aquarium salt won't do anything for columnaris, most people recommend furan 2 and kanaplex. I dont know if it will die off or not without any hosts, it may go into a dormant state. DoubleDutch seems to know a lot about it so I'd see what they have to say about it.

I already purchased Furan-2 and will get it tomorrow. I am concerned though because my tank is a planted tank. My plants are fairly easy and low tech plants so I’m not sure if they’ll be able to handle the medications.
I have:

Amazon swords
Bacopa carolina
Anubias
Crypto wendtii
Crypto crinkle
Hygrophila stricta
Dwarf saggitaria

Any advice regarding dosing furan-2 in planted tank?

 

Melafix and aquarium salt won't do anything for columnaris, most people recommend furan 2 and kanaplex. I dont know if it will die off or not without any hosts, it may go into a dormant state. DoubleDutch seems to know a lot about it so I'd see what they have to say about it.

Also, do I have to use both furan2 and kanaplex?

 

Those antibiotics will likely put a huge dent in the BB, potentially causing an ammonia spike.
Columnaris is an opportunistic bacteria that infects weakened fish.
Strong healthy fish can usually slough it off. Columnaris is also a natural component present in a FW aquarium environment.
IMO, a big 50% WC coupled with a two week fish vacancy should bring you back to a restocking point.
If possible hand pick the next group of fish you stock, selecting only the strongest most vibrant ones available.

 

Those antibiotics will likely put a huge dent in the BB, potentially causing an ammonia spike.
Columnaris is an opportunistic bacteria that infects weakened fish.
Strong healthy fish can usually slough it off. Columnaris is also a natural component present in a FW aquarium environment.
IMO, a big 50% WC coupled with a two week fish vacancy should bring you back to a restocking point.
If possible hand pick the next group of fish you stock, selecting only the strongest most vibrant ones available.

This is really helpful. But may i just clarify if I understood correctly.

I don’t need to put any medication, 50% water change, no fish for 2 weeks, then I could put fish after those 2 weeks and if they’re healthy enough, they won’t get infected with columnaris?

 

Your tank will likely be fine with the reccomendations listed above.
Antibiotics wreck havoc on an established aquarium environment & rarely cure infected fish.
More & more countries are banning antibiotics for aquarium use.
Prevention is the best cure for Columnaris. Careful selection of fish, stable water parameters & good nutrition.

 

This is really helpful. But may i just clarify if I understood correctly.

I don’t need to put any medication, 50% water change, no fish for 2 weeks, then I could put fish after those 2 weeks and if they’re healthy enough, they won’t get infected with columnaris?

Yeah and solve possible stressfactors,
variation in food, keep up waterchanges

 

Your tank will likely be fine with the reccomendations listed above.
Antibiotics wreck havoc on an established aquarium environment & rarely cure infected fish.
More & more countries are banning antibiotics for aquarium use.
Prevention is the best cure for Columnaris. Careful selection of fish, stable water parameters & good nutrition.

Thank you so much, this helped a lot!

 

Your tank will likely be fine with the reccomendations listed above.
Antibiotics wreck havoc on an established aquarium environment & rarely cure infected fish.
More & more countries are banning antibiotics for aquarium use.
Prevention is the best cure for Columnaris. Careful selection of fish, stable water parameters & good nutrition.

One more question. I have 2 nerite snails in that tank, is there any chance that they could host columnaris and potentially infect new fish?

 

Bettayonce I believe that you don't need to sterilise your tank or worry about your snails. This is why.

Basically, all freshwater fish have Columnaris bacteria living on their slime coat without problems.

Healthy fish have a healthy immune system that protects them from the bacteria.

If fish become unhealthy and the immune system is weakened then the bacteria can attack and feed on their skin, fins, gills and muscle, causing disease and even death to the fish.

Various factors can cause stress and decrease immunity including incorrect water parameters such as temperature, ammonia, nitrate, oxygenation etc.

Other factors that may induce stress including bullying, overcrowding, lack of plant cover for security etc.

To be a successful fish keeper demands that you master the art of keeping these factors at the optimal level for your fish in order to prevent stress and avoid disease.

Otherwise you will be merely a fish buyer like the majority of aquarists and be visiting the LFS for new fish every few weeks.

 

Bettayonce I believe that you don't need to sterilise your tank or worry about your snails. This is why.

Basically, all freshwater fish have Columnaris bacteria living on their slime coat without problems.

Healthy fish have a healthy immune system that protects them from the bacteria.

If fish become unhealthy and the immune system is weakened then the bacteria can attack and feed on their skin, fins, gills and muscle, causing disease and even death to the fish.

Various factors can cause stress and decrease immunity including incorrect water parameters such as temperature, ammonia, nitrate, oxygenation etc.

Other factors that may induce stress including bullying, overcrowding, lack of plant cover for security etc.

To be a successful fish keeper demands that you master the art of keeping these factors at the optimal level for your fish in order to prevent stress and avoid disease.

Otherwise you will be merely a fish buyer like the majority of aquarists and be visiting the LFS for new fish every few weeks.

I’ve been thinking about how my fish became stressed out because this tank has been running for 7 months now and I didn’t do anything different. One fish died and suddenly more fish die everyday until none remained.

I was thinking it could be due to catching the siamese algae eaters because since they are really hard to catch, I had to remove the stone decorations and took a pretty long time catching them.

My plant is heavily planted tho with lots of hides provided. Don’t worry because I assure that I am passionate in this hobby. I have been in this hobby for more than a year now (and I’ve had prior experience 3 years ago but decided to quit) and things went well during that time. It’s just unfortunate that this situation didn’t turn out well.

 

So my 75g tank got hit with columnaris which I have never ever dealt with. I caught it too late and lost 90% of my fish. My question is how long do I need to let the tank run before it would be safe to add new fish? i know columnaris is sorta like ich as far as it lives in the aquatium and strikes when a fish gets stressed or sick so it would be pointless to tear my tank down and scrub it but how long should i wait?

 

Columnaris is a normal resident of aquatic environments. Ich can actually be eliminated from a tank whereas it would be impossible to have a tank or pond without at least some strains of Columnaris present.