Possible Columnaris- Treatment Help

About the tank:
-Set up last Friday with seeded media, and all new fish.
-30 gallons
-10 neon tetras
-5 male guppies
-Temp kept around 75F
-0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, ~<5 nitrate (lots of plants)


This morning I woke up to one dead guppy, and another gasping at the bottom of my tank with a cotton looking growth near-ish his mouth(He's currently floating in a breeder box). After doing research I believe it to be columnaris. The medication to treat this is kanaplex and furan-2, but I currently only have kanaplex on hand. Should I treat with kanaplex, and treat with furan-2 once I can get it delivered? Or is it best to wait and treat with both together?

 

Treat ASAP with kanamycin. But make sure it's not Saprolegnia first.

 

How can I determine that? I'll attach a picture of the guppy who's currently struggling to survive. I check on all of the fish twice a day, and all of the fish looked perfectly fine last night

 

Almost DEFINATELY columnaris, which spreads really quickly and is really deadly? Do you know the previous owner of the filter media, or is it yours? Anything else that was used by a previous owner?

I would treat with a small bit of aquarium salt in the tank, 50% daily water changes and either shop bought meds or copper sulfate.

Unfortunately columnaris is common in livebearers.

 

How can I determine that? I'll attach a picture of the guppy who's currently struggling to survive. I check on all of the fish twice a day, and all of the fish looked perfectly fine last night

At first glance I would say Columnaris but there's a bit of fluff. It's hard to photograph fish disease so I like to recommend doing a Google search for both diseases and comparing them to what you see on the fish.

Columnaris is usually flatter and ulcerating while Saprolegnia is fluffier, giving fish a chia pet-like look. It's possible to have both.

 

I'm just thinking the spine looks a lot like columnaris, and the areas where the guppy is infected also say columnaris... then again... fluff isn't common.

 

I am the owner of the previous media, but these fish were bought from a petco last week, so their condition wasn't the best when purchased.

It definitely looks fluffy. Kind of like if a piece of fish food gets stuck in the tank for too long. I know columnaris is contagious, but if it's Saprolegnia, will this affect my other fish? And could it take nearly two fish so suddenly and out of nowhere?

 

When I have read the scientific literature it has been said by the researchers that it is very difficult to isolate the columnaris bacterium. This is because by the time it has done enough damage to be noticeable many other organisms have opportunistically grown on the damaged tissues.

I think Sapro is one such opportunistic organism.

Also, whilst Columnaris can spread rapidly I believe it does not always do so (even the worst strains). I believe it can live in the tank environment and also be carried on the fishes bodies for a long time without being lethal.

 

Ah, so it is likely a columnaris/other bacterium/fungI combination.

 

Ah okay. So should I start treating with kanaplex? I currently have kanaplex, metroplex, AQ salt, pima and melafix, and Erythromycin.

 

I would start treating asap with as much as you feel comfortable using/they reccomend (I can't help you with the brand's I'm afraid)

AQ salt and kanaplex sounds like a good combo.

 

No matter what, that guppy looks to be in bad shape.

Did the one that died have any if the fuzzy stuff on it?

I dealt with something like this earlier this year and after AvalancheDave mentioned it I believe my case was Sapro.
It didn't react to the Kanaplex and Tetra Fungus Guard treatment but did react to the Betta Revive (methylene blue and malachite green) treatment.

The fact you've had one death and one very sick guppy in such a short time would lean more towards columnaris.

 

I am the owner of the previous media, but these fish were bought from a petco last week, so their condition wasn't the best when purchased.

It definitely looks fluffy. Kind of like if a piece of fish food gets stuck in the tank for too long. I know columnaris is contagious, but if it's Saprolegnia, will this affect my other fish? And could it take nearly two fish so suddenly and out of nowhere?

Both Columnaris and Saprolegnia live in all freshwater, mostly living off of detritus. Columnaris can rapidly colonize wounds or fish whose immune systems have been compromised in some way. Saprolegnia is slow but it can easily piggyback off a Columnaris infection.

I would treat Columnaris first due to its speed and deadliness and then Saprolegnia if there are signs of it afterwards.

 

I didn't notice any fuzzyness on the guppy that died, though I had just woken up and was in a rush to take care of the one I saw was still alive (I put him in a breeder box).

I forgot, I do have methblue so I'm giving that guppy a bath currently, and I'll treat the rest with kanaplex and AQ salt.