How to continue with treatment?

[starrynight2331]

Hey everybody,

In this post, I talked about how I discovered the hard way that by not QT-ing new fish, I brought columnaris into my tank. It killed my betta and several other fish. Lesson learned. I got my money back for all the fish at least, but I’ve been so so depressed for my fish buddies

The fish I have now:
1 tequila sunrise
2 mystery snails
5 harlequin rasboras
6 Cory catfish

I started by treating the main tank with Furan-2 with everyone in it. I did the full first course in my 29gal. After that I was able to obtain a small 10gal and have now completed the full second course in that tank, which has all fish in it except the snails. All fish listed are still alive and well, but it does not seem that the disease is fully cured in either tank. I’m still seeing slime on the one Cory and the harlequins are pale. Additionally, the main tank has white powdery looking stuff on the glass. It looks like thin white powdery mildew. All fish are acting normally and eating, they just look off in their appearance.

Here are my questions:
Is the main 29gal tank safe since a full course was put through it, or is the water itself infected?

I ordered copper as a better treatment for the fish. How do I proceed? Should I put the snails in the QT tank, put the rest of the fish back in the main tank, and then treat the main tank?

Will carbon remove the copper so I don’t kill the snails?

Thank you so much

 

[A201]

Unless the Columnaris was a particularly virulent strain, the disease is for the most part fish specific. The disease is often spread when tankmates nibble on an infected corpse.
If the copper med is chelated, WC's will eventually eliminate the copper. Unchelated copper can be removed from the water column by carbon filtration.
Be a good idea to do a 50% WC & test the water chemistry before restocking the main tank.
Unknown what the white stuff on the aquarium glass is. Maybe medicine residue? Hope things get better soon.

 

[starrynight2331]

Unless the Columnaris was a particularly virulent strain, the disease is for the most part fish specific. The disease is often spread when tankmates nibble on an infected corpse.
If the copper med is chelated, WC's will eventually eliminate the copper. Unchelated copper can be removed from the water column by carbon filtration.
Be a good idea to do a 50% WC & test the water chemistry before restocking the main tank.
Unknown what the white stuff on the aquarium glass is. Maybe medicine residue? Hope things get better soon.

Hey there! Thanks for the info.

Yes, it’s chelated. It’s the Cupramine stuff. All of this being said, I’ll think things over and decide what to do tomorrow. It actually seems like the second course of Furan worked, so I might go with 50% WC and testing the main tank like you said and go from there.

If I were to stabilize the main tank and restock, would it be a good idea to take the snails out and treat with the copper as a precaution? Or should I just call it quits with treatment if they look healthy enough in a day or two?

thank you again

 

[A201]

Not a good idea to blindly medicate.
IMO, don't use the meds unless you observe symptoms of disease.

 

[starrynight2331]

Not a good idea to blindly medicate.
IMO, don't use the meds unless you observe symptoms of disease.

Ok, thank you. I’ll WC, test, and watch for more signs of disease. At least I have the copper on hand now

 

[starrynight2331]

The main tank tested well so all fish have been added back in, some new plants included.

I’ll watch for signs of columnaris, but does this look like the beginnings of dropsy? At this point I’m exhausted trying to get these fish on track.

 

[A201]

Dropsy is not an actual disease but a symptom of an underlying problem or disease. Looks like the pictured fish are suffering from "Saddleback" another name for Columnaris.
IMO, best to remove all obviously infected fish & euthanize. The chances of curing Columnaris with antibiotics is remote.
Once you get over this hurdle things will get better.

 

[starrynight2331]

Dropsy is not an actual disease but a symptom of an underlying problem or disease. Looks like the pictured fish are suffering from "Saddleback" another name for Columnaris.
IMO, best to remove all obviously infected fish & euthanize. The chances of curing Columnaris with antibiotics is remote.
Once you get over this hurdle things will get better.

I have the Cupramine—should I remove the snails and try that?

 

[A201]

I don't see why not.

 

[AvalancheDave]

Is the main 29gal tank safe since a full course was put through it, or is the water itself infected?

Columnaris is a natural resident of aquatic environments. In rare instances, you may introduce a new strain that is more pathogenic than the ones currently living in your tank but Columnaris is easy to treat if detected early.

Most antibiotics sold to aquarists don't work for various reasons. Fish veterinarians do not use these drugs for the most part and use trimethoprim, enrofloxacin, or some lesser known injectable antibiotics instead. Trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin (a variant of enrofloxacin) are available OTC in the US.

 

[starrynight2331]

Ok—I took a long look at them and googled photos of harlequins. It seems like their round shape is normal at this point. If their tummies get bigger I’ll assume dropsy and do a copper treatment, but right now it appears that the antibiotic worked. They all have strong colors and are acting just fine. Thanks both.