Cory With Fungus Or Columnaris?

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Desiree

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Can anyone tell what this is? It's on my bug Cory but doesn't seem to be on the rest, the Platys, Endlers or Glofish Tetras... I'm really jinxed with Corys. They are all in the same tank.

Yesterday I did a 40 percent water change because my Nitrates were a bit high but ammonia and nitrites are 0.
I have Kanaplex.. Should I start treating the whole tank? Will Kanaplex even
This was him just yesterday!!
 

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  • #3
b80b9a557eb177f4f2145f65638c4f64.jpg

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I didn't realize those pictures didn't post. I'm sweating over here!!
Punkin
 
Hmmm I see it now. I'm not too sure. I don't have luck with cories either. I'll tag some one who knows about this way more than I.
CindiL
 

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Awww. Poor little guy! My Daddy cory had an injury that looked like that. He got it when I was moving him into the big tank.

Hopefully someone on here will be able to help out with your little guy.
 
I'm not even close to an expert, but the head on view worries me, looks cotton like. the side view just looks like an injury.
someone will tell us soon.
 

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It looks like Columnaris to me. Do you have a hospital tank?
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I have a tank I can use as a hospital tank. I have a 2nd filter running on my main tank. Please tell me exactly what I should do, please!! I would so appreciate it
 
I agree with James17 in that it looks like an injury that got infected, but not with ich. I agree with AvalancheDave. It looks like Columnaris, a bacteria, from the front on picture since it seems to be "cotton ball" puffy looking. But Columnaris can look like Saprolegnia, which is a fungus. From what I read/researched when I had a sick cory two weeks back, the way you can spot the difference is by looking closely at the infected spot. If you have a magnifying glass even better! Columnaris will just look like cotton fluff, but the Saprolegnia will have long, thin (I mean thin), hairlike strands poking out of the cotton fluff part.

My cory had an injury from the pet shop I bought him at and he did develop Saprolegnia. Just clean, clean water and one bath in 8 oz. of tap water with 3 drops of hydrogen peroxide and he was all better.

So I say, look closely. Because if it's Saprolegnia you won't need to do a lot of meds. If it is Columnaris though, you will need to medicate.

I don't know if I can link to the website I used or not, being I'm a super new member and I'm not sure what is OK for me to post. But I will link it if I can.
 
Columnaris can look different. Sometimes it's not fluffy at all. Saprolegnia usually makes your fish look like a chia pet.

Fill the hospital tank with water from your main tank and put the fish in it. Refill your main tank as if you were doing a regular water change. Add the appropriate amount of Kanaplex to the hospital tank. The instructions call for dosing every 48 hours so I would do a nearly 100% water change then re-dose every other day. Continue using water from your main tank as the source.

I would add an air stone and heater (if necessary) but pass on the filter since the antibiotics might prevent the biofilter from working.

I would get nervous about ammonia in a 5 gal tank and do a test after the first 24 hours.

Treat 7-10 days if necessary, contrary to the instructions.

Do not light the tank.

You could feed a little as long as ammonia doesn't get too high.
 
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  • #17
Fill the hospital tank with water from your main tank and put the fish in it. Refill your main tank as if you were doing a regular water change. Add the appropriate amount of Kanaplex to the hospital tank. The instructions call for dosing every 48 hours so I would do a nearly 100% water change then re-dose every other day. Continue using water from your main tank as the source.

I would add an air stone and heater (if necessary) but pass on the filter since the antibiotics might prevent the biofilter from working.

I would get nervous about ammonia in a 5 gal tank and do a test after the first 24 hours.

Treat 7-10 days if necessary, contrary to the instructions.

Do not light the tank.

You could feed a little as long as ammonia doesn't get too high.
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You're amazing, thank you so much. I will let you know how it goes... Just the one Cory that is affected, right?
 
Columnaris can look different. Sometimes it's not fluffy at all. Saprolegnia usually makes your fish look like a chia pet.
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This is true. In the head on pic of the cory posted it looked a little fluffy to me, but I couldn't see the "chia pet" look going on. In my case, my cory started with just a fluffy spot that quickly progressed to hairlike in the affected spot, so I was able to treat accordingly. I am just the type who doesn't like to use antibiotics without as close to a definitive diagnosis as one can get with fish. Of course with anything fish, the faster you can catch it and treat it the better.

I hope your fish gets better Desiree. That fish is a cutie! I'll be pulling for you and your fish.
 
Only the affected fish needs to be treated but I'd keep an eye on all the others.

The chia pet look of Saprolegnia would be funny if it wasn't bad news for the fish.
 
Only the affected fish needs to be treated but I'd keep an eye on all the others.

The chia pet look of Saprolegnia would be funny if it wasn't bad news for the fish.
Click to expand...

Also true. Thankfully I was able to halt it before he went full "chia". Because once they get there, I don't think there is much you can do.
 
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  • #21
I moved him into the hospital tank and added the Kanaplex but it's probably too late. He's laying sideways on the bottom of the tank. He keep trying to swim but he just falls back down. My heart is breaking. I just don't understand why my corys are dying. If he passes, I have 3 left. I'm at the point where I just might rehome them because obviously I am doing something wrong. My husband already calls me Darla (finding nemo) I'm sick over this
 

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Oh! I'm sorry. I don't have luck with cories either. I wish I could help. I know how you feel.
 
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  • #23
Fill the hospital tank with water from your main tank and put the fish in it. Refill your main tank as if you were doing a regular water change. Add the appropriate amount of Kanaplex to the hospital tank. The instructions call for dosing every 48 hours so I would do a nearly 100% water change then re-dose every other day. Continue using water from your main tank as the source.

I would add an air stone and heater (if necessary) but pass on the filter since the antibiotics might prevent the biofilter from working.

I would get nervous about ammonia in a 5 gal tank and do a test after the first 24 hours.

Treat 7-10 days if necessary, contrary to the instructions.

Do not light the tank.

You could feed a little as long as ammonia doesn't get too high.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately he didn't last through the night. I really appreciate your help, though.

What are the chances of my other fish getting sick? What can I look for?

Also, what should I do to the tank I used as a hospital tank, any special cleaning required?

I will throw out my net and get a new one definitely.

A quick check on the main tank and I didn't see anything out of normal but I'll get a better look when I get back in a few hours.
 
Unfortunately he didn't last through the night.
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I'm sorry to hear that. I am dealing with possible fin rot in 2 of my cories, currently being treated in a hospital tank. I'm not sure about your other questions, but I know others with more experience will chime in.
 
One of my young sterbai cory has a lot of what i believe to be fungus. I think it has been 2ish weeks. A couple of the others had similar (but not quite as bad) fungus and i left them alone and eventually it cleared and the skin came out shinny and healthy. This one is a little worse and i'm undecided if i should give it a couple of more weeks or treat it. If i treat it I think i'll have to net it and put it in a pail with heater and sponge filter. I consider treating always a risk because there is a certain stress to the fish being removed and then the drug itself. The tank itself is pretty clean and nitrate are reasonable (below 20). I have 7 sterbai in there along with a pair of rams; 6 white fin tetra and a couple of angels in time-out. No one has died in that tank since i killed my last pair of ram with a bad water change (6 months ago - wild guess) and i do 40-50% water change once a week - the oldest fishes in there are the kuhli which is around 10 months.
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I guess the primary reasons i am reluctant to treat is the other cory went through a similar phase but as i said this one is a bit worse. 5.jpg
 
Has it seemed to improve at all over the last week? If it doesn’t get better soon you should probably intervene. He looks pretty rough in the picture
 
Behavior wise he is acting normal - eating et all. The question i guess is does the external fungus actually harm him in any way? Then there is the side question of how to treat - salt or something stronger and if salt how much and how long. If I remember cory do not particularly like salt.
 
The fungus is harming the fish, but not as much as say a bacterial infection where there would be open wounds or welts. I would be mostly concerned that it's there and isn't going away because it can be an indication that something else is wrong with the fish, weakening its immune system. Fungal infections are often secondary infections.

If it where my fish I would treat with a mild medication such as Pimafix since it's not healing on its own. In this case I would also use Melafix at the same time incase there is another issue as well. I have had great success with these meds dosing as directed, however some people don't like them and some fish are very sensitive. There are many other natural antiseptic and antifungal remidies that can be used as well. Indian almond leaves are one, though they're more antibacterial than antifungal. Make sure you keep the water clean to promote healing. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, under 20 nitrate.
 
How long do you think it should take to go away on its own ? Netting it will of course be quite stressful since it will run so if i must i will treat but i'd like to wait as long as possible.

The fungus is harming the fish, but not as much as say a bacterial infection where there would be open wounds or welts. I would be mostly concerned that it's there and isn't going away because it can be an indication that something else is wrong with the fish, weakening its immune system. Fungal infections are often secondary infections.

If it where my fish I would treat with a mild medication such as Pimafix since it's not healing on its own. In this case I would also use Melafix at the same time incase there is another issue as well. I have had great success with these meds dosing as directed, however some people don't like them and some fish are very sensitive. There are many other natural antiseptic and antifungal remidies that can be used as well. Indian almond leaves are one, though they're more antibacterial than antifungal. Make sure you keep the water clean to promote healing. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, under 20 nitrate.
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As long as the fish is acting normal and the fungus patch isn't growing I don't see any issue with trying to wait it out. If it hasn't gone away after 2-3 weeks of perfect water quality, I don't think it's likely it will go away on its own, but stranger things have happened.
 
This is a strange phenomen I've only seen with C.Sterbai lately. For some reason they seem to have an overproduction of mucus. Could be a parasite, but personally I think there is something in the water causing this.
Are you by coincidence using a waterconditioner with Aloe Vera in it ?
 
I have had exactly the same problems with two of my Sterbai. I have tried treatment with no success. They are in a tank with 4 other Sterbai and some other community fish. They are acting normally and eating fine. I really dont know what to do now other than wait it out and see if it improves.
 
I have had exactly the same problems with two of my Sterbai. I have tried treatment with no success. They are in a tank with 4 other Sterbai and some other community fish. They are acting normally and eating fine. I really dont know what to do now other than wait it out and see if it improves.
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What waterconditioner do you use JCM?
 
This has happened with this batch in two different tanks (these came from the same source); the only additives in the water are prime (put in new water on water change) and nilocg fertlizer/root tabs. I tried to keep the water as pure as possible (no additive esp in this tank due to the rams).
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Hum. One thing i did add to both tanks in early feb was chemiclean - it was before i obtained the sterbai - i would think it has washed out by now.
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The one i took a picture of is in the 29 (the other 5 are in the 120). In the 29 I put 7 - 6 of them are completely clear now and the skin looks very shinny this is the last one with any issue. I have had the ones in the 29 since 2nd week of feb (i put them in about 10 days after the chemiclean - i had held them in a pail for an extra week to do several water changes to the 29 before adding them - so i've had them for 8 to 10 weeks - i think this one i noticed being bad about 2 weeks (but time flies). Because it cleared on the others and they came out looking really clean i'm hopeful i can just wait a bit more on this one. The 5 in the 120 have something similar but much lighter - the problem with the 120 is it is harder for me to track them down because the plants in that tank is quite dense in area and i can only spot them when they want to be seen - also i have 6 or 7 older ones in the 120 so they are mix up and while the females are quite large (nearly 3 inches) there are several smaller males that can be confused with the new ones unless i see them side by side.

This is a strange phenomen I've only seen with C.Sterbai lately. For some reason they seem to have an overproduction of mucus. Could be a parasite, but personally I think there is something in the water causing this.
Are you by coincidence using a waterconditioner with Aloe Vera in it ?
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Searched on the internet and I see several threads over the years (Noticed me joining one in 2015) but nowhere is a clear answer. Costia Chilodonella Trichodina are mentioned.

My advise : Ask on Planet Catfish. Some worldfamous Cory-experts are there and might have clue.

After years I logged in and started a thread Jake. Been scrolling through old threads. Even found recent one from 2019 on the UK forum. Exact the same issue. Hoping we can solve this issue.
 
Thank you DoubleDutch. I will say that the first set of sterbai i purchased last year did not have this issue (i had purchased 7 one was a runt that died 3 months later but the other 6 are healthy and as i noted the females are just short of 3 inches so nice size as adults). I am curious if most people can just leave them alone - they are in two different tanks with different chemistry. The tds in both tanks is around 133-135 - tap is around 120 so they are not collecting a lot of solids over time (both have been setup for over 10 months). I'm extra careful with the 29 because of the rams as I have a deal with myself that if i can keep them alive for 14 months i get to upgrade to discus. That is just a little joke quite frankly gold rams are currently my favorite fishes.

After years I logged in and started a thread Jake. Been scrolling through old threads. Even found recent one from 2019 on the UK forum. Exact the same issue. Hoping we can solve this issue.
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DoubleDutch wanted to check if you found out anything interesting.

After years I logged in and started a thread Jake. Been scrolling through old threads. Even found recent one from 2019 on the UK forum. Exact the same issue. Hoping we can solve this issue.
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He did eventually die - i knew when he was near death but i had no clue what to do - the others are all healthy - as i noted when young several had this condition (whatever the condition might be) but only this one never cleared up. Mostly posting this in case you learned anything new and what this condition might be (I don't think it is normal fungus as fungus treatment had zero effect - if anything it made it worse).

After years I logged in and started a thread Jake. Been scrolling through old threads. Even found recent one from 2019 on the UK forum. Exact the same issue. Hoping we can solve this issue.
Click to expand...
 
He did eventually die - i knew when he was near death but i had no clue what to do - the others are all healthy - as i noted when young several had this condition (whatever the condition might be) but only this one never cleared up. Mostly posting this in case you learned anything new and what this condition might be (I don't think it is normal fungus as fungus treatment had zero effect - if anything it made it worse).
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Sorry to hear mate.
Still searching for answers.
Earlier I was able to join in to multiple forums by Tapatalk. Planet Catfish, TFFUK, Aquatic Community TASAA, etc....
Most stopped usibg Tapatalk and one should log in seperately. That makes things more difficult. But I'll still try.

Got a membership of Practical Fishkeeping magazine recently and noticed the possibility to ask questions there.

Still think it is mainly a Sterbai-issue but can't wrap my mind around it.
 
I would not be surprise if it was specific to sterbai as i noted more than one fish had it but only one failed to clear it self. I can't tell you much more about them since they came from ebay other than other sterbai i had purchased a year ago did not have the issue.

Sorry to hear mate.
Still searching for answers.
Earlier I was able to join in to multiple forums by Tapatalk. Planet Catfish, TFFUK, Aquatic Community TASAA, etc....
Most stopped usibg Tapatalk and one should log in seperately. That makes things more difficult. But I'll still try.

Got a membership of Practical Fishkeeping magazine recently and noticed the possibility to ask questions there.

Still think it is mainly a Sterbai-issue but can't wrap my mind around it.
Click to expand...
 
I am seeing a similar issue with one of my sterbai. A young one, I had for about 6 weeks. Not eating or active like the rest. Been that way for a month - so as DoubleDutch says may not be columnaris. I feel his condition is worsening, although not rapidly. I have one more older Sterbai in the tank, which I had for 15 months.

DoubleDutch were you able to find more about this condition? Should I quarantine. I hate to add any additional stressors.
 

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I am seeing a similar issue with one of my sterbai. A young one, I had for about 6 weeks. Not eating or active like the rest. Been that way for a month - so as DoubleDutch says may not be columnaris. I feel his condition is worsening, although not rapidly. I have one more older Sterbai in the tank, which I had for 15 months.

DoubleDutch were you able to find more about this condition? Should I quarantine. I hate to add any additional stressors.
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Does it misses its barbells as well ?
 
Does it misses its barbells as well ?
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DoubleDutch You are correct. I just observed this too. The barbells seem not prominent or even absent. Even in my older Sterbai, the barbells are not easily visible. Not sure what to make of it. I have two albino and two panda corys. Barbels are visible in them.

Hi DoubleDutch and others. Any advice? Looking closer, even the Panda Cory's have relatively smaller tham usual barbells. Not sure whats going on. I dose the tank with Thrive+ and Excel. Otherwise nothing.

With the Sterbai, I am tempted to leave it alone and maintain peace.
 

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