Dead Platty, suspect Columnaris

[ztaylor100]

I purchased two Plattys to add to my community tank two days ago. Last night I noticed that one was acting weird (lethargic, residing at very top or floor of tank) and upon closer inspection, noticed it's mouth looked strange. Was planning on removing it but this morning was dead. I am suspecting columnaris (cottonmouth) from what I can find.

The other Plattys appears ok and is acting normally but I am now afraid of the rest of the tank becoming infected. I am going to take the dead fish back to the store for advice. Thoughts?



P.S. Yes I will be setting up a quarantine tank for future use.

 

[tomiyama]

What are your tank readings and how long has the tank been running?

 

[ztaylor100]

What are your tank readings and how long has the tank been running?

Tank has been cycled for over a month. The day this happened readings were Ammonia 0, Nitrites .25, and Nitrates 10. I returned the other platty and the store recommended I treat tank with Melafix if I wanted to be safe. Today is 3rd day of treatment and no other signs of illness in other fish. I also treated tank with Prime due to Nitrite reading.

5 Neon Tetras, 5 Zebra Danios, 5 Brilliant Rasboras, 5 male Guppies and a pair of Blue Rams in 36 Gallon Bow.

I did have 3 Neon Tetras disappear the same day as this fish died so I am assuming that could have been the cause of the Nitrate reading but it's back to 0 now.

 

[Shrimp42]

Tank has been cycled for over a month. The day this happened readings were Ammonia 0, Nitrites .25, and Nitrates 10. I returned the other platty and the store recommended I treat tank with Melafix if I wanted to be safe. Today is 3rd day of treatment and no other signs of illness in other fish. I also treated tank with Prime due to Nitrite reading.

5 Neon Tetras, 5 Zebra Danios, 5 Brilliant Rasboras, 5 male Guppies and a pair of Blue Rams in 36 Gallon Bow.

I did have 3 Neon Tetras disappear the same day as this fish died so I am assuming that could have been the cause of the Nitrate reading but it's back to 0 now.

Melafix won't cure columnaris, so it may be you just got a bad platy.

 

[tomiyama]

It’s gills look red/inflamed perhaps due to the .25 nitrite reading. He may be the canary in the coal mine, I would do partial water changes and wait for the nitrite reading to zero before adding any more fish. Feed sparingly until nitrites read zero.
It is still a pretty new tank so may have had a mini spike, a milder version of new tank syndrome.

 

[ztaylor100]

It’s gills look red/inflamed perhaps due to the .25 nitrite reading. He may be the canary in the coal mine, I would do partial water changes and wait for the nitrite reading to zero before adding any more fish. Feed sparingly until nitrites read zero.
It is still a pretty new tank so may have had a mini spike, a milder version of new tank syndrome.

Agreed. Nitrites have been at zero for two days now. I still think it was a sick fish to begin with. All seems to be well now.