Columnaris outbreak

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.

I get that but would you have to wait to add more fish since I had a recent outbreak? I keep getting conflicting info. Some sites are saying start over and deep clean which I think is unnecessary since it lives in all tanks and some are saying add more fish in 4 weeks and again some say you can add right away. I'm trying to get opinions or legit info on how long to wait.

 

I get that but would you have to wait to add more fish since I had a recent outbreak? I keep getting conflicting info. Some sites are saying start over and deep clean which I think is unnecessary since it lives in all tanks and some are saying add more fish in 4 weeks and again some say you can add right away. I'm trying to get opinions or legit info on how long to wait.

Usually when you have an outbreak you have a condition which promoted it. Stress or water quality/cleanliness.

If it’s me i would:

Euthanize any fish left over that show any sign of columnaris including bloat, Popeye, and cotton mouth etc.

With a gravel vac do a deep clean on the substrate.

50 percent water change. Prime. Maintenance dose of seachem stability or pristine.

Disassemble all the filters. Replace everything except bio media with new media. Don’t know what you have for filtration, but consider adding a secondary filter.

If you are starting from almost scratch no point on quarantining. Get your fish that you want all at once. When you have what you want medicate the tank with kanaplex. 3 doses a week for 2 weeks.

Consider buying a uv filter.

FYI I’m not just pulling this out of thin air, this is what I did when I had an outbreak in a 125 gallon take that took 80 percent of my fish. Except I didn’t add filtration to the tank, because I already run 3 large filters on this tank.

Columnaris has not come back.

 

Usually when you have an outbreak you have a condition which promoted it. Stress or water quality/cleanliness.

If it’s me i would:

Euthanize any fish left over that show any sign of columnaris including bloat, Popeye, and cotton mouth etc.

With a gravel vac do a deep clean on the substrate.

50 percent water change. Prime. Maintenance dose of seachem stability or pristine.

Disassemble all the filters. Replace everything except bio media with new media. Don’t know what you have for filtration, but consider adding a secondary filter.

If you are starting from almost scratch no point on quarantining. Get your fish that you want all at once. When you have what you want medicate the tank with kanaplex. 3 doses a week for 2 weeks.

Consider buying a uv filter.

FYI I’m not just pulling this out of thin air, this is what I did when I had an outbreak in a 125 gallon take that took 80 percent of my fish. Except I didn’t add filtration to the tank, because I already run 3 large filters on this tank.

Columnaris has not come back.

I definitely have enough filtration. I have a canister for 150g on a 75g plus 2 sponge filters. Stress is definitely the culprit as my water test came back fine. My heater died and I didn't realize it, I'm assuming it probably died 3 days prior due to the tank being moved. By the time i realized it, the water was in the 60s and it is usually 78. My betta was also the first sick and then it spread like wildfire after that. It has been a week now and noone else who is living is showing any signs. Thanks for the help. I'll do a water change and replace my filter floss and purigen. Should I clean my ceramic bio rings?

 

I get that but would you have to wait to add more fish since I had a recent outbreak? I keep getting conflicting info. Some sites are saying start over and deep clean which I think is unnecessary since it lives in all tanks and some are saying add more fish in 4 weeks and again some say you can add right away. I'm trying to get opinions or legit info on how long to wait.

I don't trust websites much. These are from papers/books written by veteriniarians/scientists:



Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment by Noga



Columnaris Disease in Freshwater Fish by Tripathi

Changing water isn't enough and probably isn't as helpful as frequent removal of organic waste from filters and substrate.

 

I definitely have enough filtration. I have a canister for 150g on a 75g plus 2 sponge filters. Stress is definitely the culprit as my water test came back fine. My heater died and I didn't realize it, I'm assuming it probably died 3 days prior due to the tank being moved. By the time i realized it, the water was in the 60s and it is usually 78. My betta was also the first sick and then it spread like wildfire after that. It has been a week now and noone else who is living is showing any signs. Thanks for the help. I'll do a water change and replace my filter floss and purigen. Should I clean my ceramic bio rings?

You can rinse the bio rings in bucket of aquarium water. Thats what I do. Having good water parameters doesn’t mean you have a clean tank. You might be surprised to find out what’s lingering in your substrate.

Betta fish are common carriers of columnaris. No surprise when you consider the poor treatment they receive from breeders and LFS.

I also think there is something to be said about UV sterilization and it’s ability to kill viruses and bacteria.

 

AvalancheDave is right about the organic waste.. my rasboras were battling a slow strain of columnaris for 2 months and it went away almost immediately after i tore down the tank they were in and added them to a well maintained, larger tank with little to no organic waste in it. every other parameter was always perfect except for the waste. that being said though, there are different strains and it sounds like yours is aggressive. i would wait and see if the other fish pull through, and when they've been in there for a few weeks without any problems i would slowly stock again. you can also just put 2 heaters in your tank. theyll work in tandem and if one dies youll have plenty of time to notice

 

Well since the tank is spotless and it is new sand, filtet maintenance is done regularly i know it isn't organic waste causing the problem. I feed every other to every 3 days and never have food at rhe bottom either. I also had very little stock in fish to begin with as I do not enjoy overstocked tanks and have a boat load of plants. I only had 10 cherry barbs, a couple endlers from previous school, a betta and like 6 cories. I'm down to 3 cories and nothing else. I was asking about when I can add fish not how dirty my tank is. Thanks for the replies.

 

Well since the tank is spotless and it is new sand, filtet maintenance is done regularly i know it isn't organic waste causing the problem. I feed every other to every 3 days and never have food at rhe bottom either. I also had very little stock in fish to begin with as I do not enjoy overstocked tanks and have a boat load of plants. I only had 10 cherry barbs, a couple endlers from previous school, a betta and like 6 cories. I'm down to 3 cories and nothing else. I was asking about when I can add fish not how dirty my tank is. Thanks for the replies.

No need to be trite. We didn't say your tank is dirty- I am sure it is very clean. Just trying to help you figure out what happened. That being said, I did directly answer you by saying I would wait 3 weeks at least. I didn't realize you only had 3 cories left in your 75g tank though... I would add a fish or two right away to maintain your cycle as I don't think 3 cories will be enough for a tank that large. if all goes well with them you probably don't need to wait it out that long. good luck and keep us updated

 

Well since the tank is spotless and it is new sand, filtet maintenance is done regularly i know it isn't organic waste causing the problem. I feed every other to every 3 days and never have food at rhe bottom either. I also had very little stock in fish to begin with as I do not enjoy overstocked tanks and have a boat load of plants. I only had 10 cherry barbs, a couple endlers from previous school, a betta and like 6 cories. I'm down to 3 cories and nothing else. I was asking about when I can add fish not how dirty my tank is. Thanks for the replies.

Keep in mind plants can contribute to your organic waste and increase your TDS. My tank was over planted and I think this created a little bit of stress for the fish I was keeping unbeknown to me. I did a lot of propagating, and thinning out and shuffling around to create a better environment. I had lots of plants that had grown close to the surface. It was an obstacle course and maze for Fish to get from one side to the other. They noticeably appreciated having them cut back.

 

No need to be trite. We didn't say your tank is dirty- I am sure it is very clean. Just trying to help you figure out what happened. That being said, I did directly answer you by saying I would wait 3 weeks at least. I didn't realize you only had 3 cories left in your 75g tank though... I would add a fish or two right away to maintain your cycle as I don't think 3 cories will be enough for a tank that large. if all goes well with them you probably don't need to wait it out that long. good luck and keep us updated

Thanks! I'll add like 3-5 more cories and see what happens. As long as everything goes ok for 3 weeks or so, I'll get more fish. I did a 90% water change along with sand vac just to make sure, trimmed plants and changed out my filter floss.