Serpae tetra dying every few days

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 60 gallons
How long has the tank been running? Three weeks
Does it have a filter? Two HOB fluval filters
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 75F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 3 turquoise rainbowfish, 3 possible boesemani rainbowfish, 3 oto, 4 Mickey Mouse platy (one cross swordtail), 8 neon tetra, 2 nerites, 3 green Cory, 1 peppered Cory, 5 serpae tetra

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Weekly
How much of the water do you change? 1/3-1/2
What do you use to treat your water? Prime and Stability
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Just water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes with decor and two filters from cycled tank
What do you use to test the water? API master test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0.25 (false reading from tap)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.4

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Every other day
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch or two of flakes and a scattering of sinking pellets for Cory
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one
Do you feed frozen? Occasionally brine shrimp
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? About a week
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? The current fish: today The tetra in general: a week ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Strange swimming before dying every few days
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Not that I saw
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Swims up near the top.

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
(Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
~~~~
I have a 60-gallon community tank and added a group of 10 serpae tetra about a week ago. I had them in quarantine for a few days before adding them. 1 died in quarantine day 1 no sign of injury or illness. Then when I switched them over two days later, 1 was swimming oddly and died maybe an hour later. I assumed they’re just a bad group of fish (got them from Petsmart).

Then every day or every two days I’d count and find one more dead. Sometimes there’s no sign of anything wrong and sometimes I see one swimming up at the top angled toward the top and usually that one ends up dead by the next day. But nothing ever seems wrong with the others.

I’m now at 5 tetra with another one up at the top. Though he looks to be injured and I have seen one other serpae tetra going after him. Here’s a video of him swimming strangely. No other fish in the tank are showing any signs of stress or injuries or disease. This is just the serpae tetra which is why I’m assuming I just got a group of bad stock.

Update:
I moved this injured one to another 10-gallon tank with 3 small platy males and an ember tetra so he's away from the other serpae tetra that was harassing him. He is swimming a bit better but still lost his color. not sure if the biggest serpae is just bullying the smaller males to death or what. Any ideas?

 

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 60 gallons
How long has the tank been running? Three weeks
Does it have a filter? Two HOB fluval filters
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 75F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 3 turquoise rainbowfish, 3 possible boesemani rainbowfish, 3 oto, 4 Mickey Mouse platy (one cross swordtail), 8 neon tetra, 2 nerites, 3 green Cory, 1 peppered Cory, 5 serpae tetra

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Weekly
How much of the water do you change? 1/3-1/2
What do you use to treat your water? Prime and Stability
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Just water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes with decor and two filters from cycled tank
What do you use to test the water? API master test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0.25 (false reading from tap)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.4

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Every other day
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch or two of flakes and a scattering of sinking pellets for Cory
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one
Do you feed frozen? Occasionally brine shrimp
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? About a week
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? The current fish: today The tetra in general: a week ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Strange swimming before dying every few days
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Not that I saw
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Swims up near the top.

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
(Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
~~~~
I have a 60-gallon community tank and added a group of 10 serpae tetra about a week ago. I had them in quarantine for a few days before adding them. 1 died in quarantine day 1 no sign of injury or illness. Then when I switched them over two days later, 1 was swimming oddly and died maybe an hour later. I assumed they’re just a bad group of fish (got them from Petsmart).

Then every day or every two days I’d count and find one more dead. Sometimes there’s no sign of anything wrong and sometimes I see one swimming up at the top angled toward the top and usually that one ends up dead by the next day. But nothing ever seems wrong with the others.

I’m now at 5 tetra with another one up at the top. Though he looks to be injured and I have seen one other serpae tetra going after him. Here’s a video of him swimming strangely. No other fish in the tank are showing any signs of stress or injuries or disease. This is just the serpae tetra which is why I’m assuming I just got a group of bad stock.

Update:
I moved this injured one to another 10-gallon tank with 3 small platy males and an ember tetra so he's away from the other serpae tetra that was harassing him. He is swimming a bit better but still lost his color. not sure if the biggest serpae is just bullying the smaller males to death or what. Any ideas?

This tetra is dead now. No visible signs of disease. Just the injury to its side. Color is dulled from stress but nothing appears wrong. It’s not a disease from what I’ve seen given no other fish are having issues just the serpae tetra. Anyone have any ideas? I’m drawing a blank

 

I got 6 more from the shop (different shipment since they get them every Thursday and there was only 2 before then once I got my 10). I acclimated them a bit slower this time. I did temperature acclimation and added a bit of tank water every 15-20min. Hopefully this helped transition them better and fingers crossed no more issues. Still don't know what was happening before and I will keep an eye to see if the same thing occurs with these ones.

 

I got 6 more from the shop (different shipment since they get them every Thursday and there was only 2 before then once I got my 10). I acclimated them a bit slower this time. I did temperature acclimation and added a bit of tank water every 15-20min. Hopefully this helped transition them better and fingers crossed no more issues. Still don't know what was happening before and I will keep an eye to see if the same thing occurs with these ones.

have you been quarinting your fish before adding them

 

have you been quarinting your fish before adding them

I quarantined the first group of tetra, yes. They were in a separate tank alone for a few days and one passed away in that tank and one was on his way out when I transferred them. Then I had one die two days later, then two days after that and so on. I checked on them daily and they were in their school together, acting fine, eating fine. Then one would be dead the next day or the day after. There was no sign of illness or disease from any of them before they pass. And none of the other fish in the large tank are having any issues. It's just the serpae tetra. I even had rainbowfish in with them in the quarantine tank (bought the same day) and they're all fine.

I know I should be quarantining them longer, however I'm being pressed to get rid of the other tanks (i had 6 and my mother wants her cabinet back...) so I used one tank I was getting rid of as their quarantine tank (still cycled just half as much water as it was in the process of being torn down) for I think 2-3 days.

 

I quarantined the first group of tetra, yes. They were in a separate tank alone for a few days and one passed away in that tank and one was on his way out when I transferred them. Then I had one die two days later, then two days after that and so on. I checked on them daily and they were in their school together, acting fine, eating fine. Then one would be dead the next day or the day after. There was no sign of illness or disease from any of them before they pass. And none of the other fish in the large tank are having any issues. It's just the serpae tetra. I even had rainbowfish in with them in the quarantine tank (bought the same day) and they're all fine.

I know I should be quarantining them longer, however I'm being pressed to get rid of the other tanks (i had 6 and my mother wants her cabinet back...) so I used one tank I was getting rid of as their quarantine tank (still cycled just half as much water as it was in the process of being torn down) for I think 2-3 days.

what did you medicate with?

 

what did you medicate with?

I haven't medicated them with anything yet. I look for signs of disease and other issues before I medicate my fish. I have a lot on hand though: melafix, pimafix, kanaplex, ich cure, and fungal tablets. I've had a columnaris and ich outbreak before in a previous tank so I know what to look for there. There's been no spots, no scale discoloration (other than slight paling from stress when I first move them which is normal), no physical abnormalities, no deformities or anything.

No other fish are dying (not the neon tetra, cory, rainbowfish or otos). No other fish are showing signs of anything going on. The parameters are a-okay. This is why I've been assuming it's either a bad stock that I got or some bullying or issue going on in the tank that I'm not seeing.

 

I haven't medicated them with anything yet. I look for signs of disease and other issues before I medicate my fish. I have a lot on hand though: melafix, pimafix, kanaplex, ich cure, and fungal tablets. I've had a columnaris and ich outbreak before in a previous tank so I know what to look for there. There's been no spots, no scale discoloration (other than slight paling from stress when I first move them which is normal), no physical abnormalities, no deformities or anything.

No other fish are dying (not the neon tetra, cory, rainbowfish or otos). No other fish are showing signs of anything going on. The parameters are a-okay. This is why I've been assuming it's either a bad stock that I got or some bullying or issue going on in the tank that I'm not seeing.

Can you define okay? It can mean a lot of different things I would suggest medicating with some expel P(parasite treatment) and tutning up the temp to 80 degrees and adding some salt(ich treatment) I know my lfs will take dead fish and look at them under a microscope for you to determine if anything is wrong with them if you can you might see if any place(or ypu) can do this

 

Can you define okay? It can mean a lot of different things I would suggest medicating with some expel P(parasite treatment) and tutning up the temp to 80 degrees and adding some salt(ich treatment) I know my lfs will take dead fish and look at them under a microscope for you to determine if anything is wrong with them if you can you might see if any place(or ypu) can do this

Parameters are:
0 ammonia (sometimes 0.25 but it's a false reading and I dose Prime with every water change because of that)
0 nitrite
20 nitrate
7.4 ph
75F is the temp (well within the range for all inhabitants)

I don't have any reliable LFS really close to me (and I don't drive currently so I tend to stick to the stores nearby). There are no parasites from what I see (and from what I've heard you would physically see something going on for most parasites; itchiness, cloudy eyes, redness, strange swimming, worms, etc) and again, I feel parasites or disease would affect all my fish, not just the serpae tetra. The rainbowfish I got the same day were only two tanks away from them and on the same filter system so why wouldn't I have them dying off too?

I have salt on hand and will add some of that but I don't feel comfortable doing something drastic like rising the temps or medicating for something that I can't identify and isn't affecting more than just the serpae tetra. If my neons, oto, cory, or rainbowfish were also having issues, I'd be medicating but for just one group of new additions, I'm a bit uncertain.

 

Tetras need to be in an acid tank, and they hate nitrates,fix those things and the Serpae's will be fine.

 

Tetras can be finciky with water parameters its probaly the nitrates

 

20ppm nitrates is normal though. The cycling process of a tank leads to nitrates. I have a planted tank and nitrate is fertilizer for those plants (the nitrate probably just comes from the liquid fertilizer I dose every week). I never let it get higher than 20ppm in this tank and it's never been a problem with any of my fish. I've got a tank with higher (30) and lower nitrates (5) too and no fish is ever bothered. I've got neon tetra in this tank and they're fine and have spawned in this water before. I've never even heard of nitrates being a problem in a fish tank unless they get over 40ppm (which mine never get to).

Everything I'm seeing is saying that serpae tetra can handle 5-7.8ph, GH 5-25 (mine is about 10-15), temps of 72-82F, nitrates <40. The only time I'm finding acidic water being mentioned is for spawning but I honestly don't care if they spawn or not. I did drip acclimation for both groups of tetra which should have helped transition them to my ph too so this "needs acidic" and "you need 0 nitrates" doesn't make any sense to me.

 

20ppm nitrates is normal though. The cycling process of a tank leads to nitrates. I have a planted tank and nitrate is fertilizer for those plants (the nitrate probably just comes from the liquid fertilizer I dose every week). I never let it get higher than 20ppm in this tank and it's never been a problem with any of my fish. I've got a tank with higher (30) and lower nitrates (5) too and no fish is ever bothered. I've got neon tetra in this tank and they're fine and have spawned in this water before. I've never even heard of nitrates being a problem in a fish tank unless they get over 40ppm (which mine never get to).

Everything I'm seeing is saying that serpae tetra can handle 5-7.8ph, GH 5-25 (mine is about 10-15), temps of 72-82F, nitrates <40. The only time I'm finding acidic water being mentioned is for spawning but I honestly don't care if they spawn or not. I did drip acclimation for both groups of tetra which should have helped transition them to my ph too so this "needs acidic" and "you need 0 nitrates" doesn't make any sense to me.

You sound very Knowledgeable, so you must be able to figure it out, I was only trying to point out the couple of things that stand out to me that could be the problem

 

Everything you can test comes back normal. 20ppm nitrate is not an issue. pH of 7.4 is not a problem.

I usually quarantine for a month, and if fish die I start the clock again. A few days is of little value.

If a fish dies on day one of quarantine I assume they came to me already compromised.

It's good to test the water they come in from the store so you know if there are big differences in parameters from your tank water.

IMO, when fish are dying in your tank don't go get more until you know what the problem is.

 

I have found the problem. It’s a mouth fungus. I noticed a platy today staying up near the top and his mouth is tinted white. Treating Pimafix and Melafix for this week and I have kanaplex and fungal tabs waiting if those don’t work.

 

I have found the problem. It’s a mouth fungus. I noticed a platy today staying up near the top and his mouth is tinted white. Treating Pimafix and Melafix for this week and I have kanaplex and fungal tabs waiting if those don’t work.

Why do you think they have mouth fungus?

 

Why do you think they have mouth fungus?

Two of my three platy have a white-ish coloration around their mouth/lips, their mouths are protruding a bit as well to where I don't know if they can close their mouths right now. I didn't really see it before now either and it's just come up within the last few days it looks like. I'll get pictures tomorrow as the lights are out for tonight so you can see. I'm seeing very slight white-ish coloration on a few other fish's mouths in the tank as well, though it's so slight on them that it's not concerning to me yet. Only seeing it mainly on the platy right now with 1 or 2 turquoise rainbowfish having very very slight whitening.

I've added a few Indian Almond Leaves as well because I had them on hand and some aquarium salt (half as much as recommended because of my plants and cory). I plan to dose as instructed on the Melafix and Pimafix until Saturday. Then, I'll do a 50% water change and go from there.

It could also be mouth rot so if I don't see any improvement in the next week I'll do Kanaplex.

 

Two of my three platy have a white-ish coloration around their mouth/lips, their mouths are protruding a bit as well to where I don't know if they can close their mouths right now. I didn't really see it before now either and it's just come up within the last few days it looks like. I'll get pictures tomorrow as the lights are out for tonight so you can see. I'm seeing very slight white-ish coloration on a few other fish's mouths in the tank as well, though it's so slight on them that it's not concerning to me yet. Only seeing it mainly on the platy right now with 1 or 2 turquoise rainbowfish having very very slight whitening.

I've added a few Indian Almond Leaves as well because I had them on hand and some aquarium salt (half as much as recommended because of my plants and cory). I plan to dose as instructed on the Melafix and Pimafix until Saturday. Then, I'll do a 50% water change and go from there.

It could also be mouth rot so if I don't see any improvement in the next week I'll do Kanaplex.

Ok

 

Two of my three platy have a white-ish coloration around their mouth/lips, their mouths are protruding a bit as well to where I don't know if they can close their mouths right now. I didn't really see it before now either and it's just come up within the last few days it looks like. I'll get pictures tomorrow as the lights are out for tonight so you can see. I'm seeing very slight white-ish coloration on a few other fish's mouths in the tank as well, though it's so slight on them that it's not concerning to me yet. Only seeing it mainly on the platy right now with 1 or 2 turquoise rainbowfish having very very slight whitening.

I've added a few Indian Almond Leaves as well because I had them on hand and some aquarium salt (half as much as recommended because of my plants and cory). I plan to dose as instructed on the Melafix and Pimafix until Saturday. Then, I'll do a 50% water change and go from there.

It could also be mouth rot so if I don't see any improvement in the next week I'll do Kanaplex.

I'm wondering why you're using the -fix oils for a suspected fungal infection & if you've had success doing so in the past? So far as I've found in research & my experience, the -fixes have mild anti-bacterial properties. It's a pity you're in this bind & weren't able to quarantine properly. Sorry for your losses.

 

I'm wondering why you're using the -fix oils for a suspected fungal infection & if you've had success doing so in the past? So far as I've found in research & my experience, the -fixes have mild anti-bacterial properties. It's a pity you're in this bind & weren't able to quarantine properly. Sorry for your losses.

I've used the -fix oils before and they worked okay. I had a 23-gallon tank before this that had an outbreak of both ich and columnaris at the same time. A terrible combo when one likes high heat and the other can be killed off with high heat. I started by using the Melafix and Pimafix first for a week and things improved slightly. I thought it was scratches.

That was when I started seeing the ich spots. With both happening at the same time, I looked up some things and got kanaplex and fizzy fungal tablets for the columnaris and ich cure for the ich and was using all 3. I stopped using the -fix oils at the time because I wasn't sure how they'd do with the other medications and I knew the other medications worked well together.

But I start with Melafix and Pimafix because they're mild. They've helped me with mild fin issues and mild scratches from when fish on occasion get caught in tight spots. I start with mild and then step up to the other stuff if I see it needs more serious treatment, if that makes sense? (I want to compare it to starting with cold medicine before realizing that what you have is worse and moving up to going to see a doctor.)

 

I've used the -fix oils before and they worked okay. I had a 23-gallon tank before this that had an outbreak of both ich and columnaris at the same time. A terrible combo when one likes high heat and the other can be killed off with high heat. I started by using the Melafix and Pimafix first for a week and things improved slightly. I thought it was scratches.

That was when I started seeing the ich spots. With both happening at the same time, I looked up some things and got kanaplex and fizzy fungal tablets for the columnaris and ich cure for the ich and was using all 3. I stopped using the -fix oils at the time because I wasn't sure how they'd do with the other medications and I knew the other medications worked well together.

But I start with Melafix and Pimafix because they're mild. They've helped me with mild fin issues and mild scratches from when fish on occasion get caught in tight spots. I start with mild and then step up to the other stuff if I see it needs more serious treatment, if that makes sense? (I want to compare it to starting with cold medicine before realizing that what you have is worse and moving up to going to see a doctor.)

Did you lose any fish after you started treating? Or did the fish just recover?

 

I've used the -fix oils before and they worked okay. I had a 23-gallon tank before this that had an outbreak of both ich and columnaris at the same time. A terrible combo when one likes high heat and the other can be killed off with high heat. I started by using the Melafix and Pimafix first for a week and things improved slightly. I thought it was scratches.

That was when I started seeing the ich spots. With both happening at the same time, I looked up some things and got kanaplex and fizzy fungal tablets for the columnaris and ich cure for the ich and was using all 3. I stopped using the -fix oils at the time because I wasn't sure how they'd do with the other medications and I knew the other medications worked well together.

But I start with Melafix and Pimafix because they're mild. They've helped me with mild fin issues and mild scratches from when fish on occasion get caught in tight spots. I start with mild and then step up to the other stuff if I see it needs more serious treatment, if that makes sense? (I want to compare it to starting with cold medicine before realizing that what you have is worse and moving up to going to see a doctor.)

I see. I wondered about an anti-bacterial, however mild, for a suspected fungal issue. We're limited, without veterinary care at least, in diagnosis & matching treatment. For example, I might use an anti-bacterial for wound care but choose an anti-fungal for a suspected fungal issue. I'd wonder about the proper anti-biotic if I don't know whether an infection is gram negative or the rarer gram positive. I understand wanting to start with solutions you've relied on in the past & using the least intrusive preparation initially. I tend to rely on a limited medicine chest myself: salts, methylene blue, malachite green.

I hope you're able to successfully treat your little guys & they all survive. Illness & loss are difficult but frequent parts of our hobby. Best of luck!

 

I see. I wondered about an anti-bacterial, however mild, for a suspected fungal issue. We're limited, without veterinary care at least, in diagnosis & matching treatment. For example, I might use an anti-bacterial for wound care but choose an anti-fungal for a suspected fungal issue. I'd wonder about the proper anti-biotic if I don't know whether an infection is gram negative or the rarer gram positive. I understand wanting to start with solutions you've relied on in the past & using the least intrusive preparation initially. I tend to rely on a limited medicine chest myself: salts, methylene blue, malachite green.

I hope you're able to successfully treat your little guys & they all survive. Illness & loss are difficult but frequent parts of our hobby. Best of luck!

I tend to always use anti-fungal and anti-bacterial when I'm not sure which. And if the fungal infection becomes an open wound, anti-bacterial will help prevent bacterial infections while it's healing. Salt I use sparingly because I have planted tanks and cory which I know can be affected poorly. I really should get some methylene blue though, but am broke right now and because I have other meds on hand I want to use those up before getting more of something similar.

And thank you! I'm hoping I don't lose anymore but as you said, it tends to be a frequent part of our hobby at times. While this killed my poor tetra quickly (stress probably played a big part in that) it's not as fast of a killer as ich and columnaris so hopefully I've caught it early enough to wipe it out.

Did you lose any fish after you started treating? Or did the fish just recover?

When I had ich and columnaris, I did not lose any fish while treating with melafix and pimafix. I actually lost fish just after that because some of them were just worse off than others. The platy, 3 of the cory, the otos, and the two angelfish (who were rehomed but were in this tank) in my current tank were all survivors of that incident and recovered back to perfect health.

I only lost 1 angelfish and 2-3 other platy in the whole mess which happened earlier this year (February maybe?) because the otos I added were infected and I had no quarantine tank at the time nor did I realize they were until it was too late. I spotted the ich days after I realized fish were lying on the bottom gasping. Ich showed up a few days after. The ich treatment cleared up the ich in 2-3 days and the kanaplex and fungal tablets did the rest of the healing that the melafix and pimafix couldn't/didn't.

 

I forgot how big of a tank this is, lol. I’m probably going to run out of pimafix and melafix before Saturday so once I run out I’ll do a water change and start dosing the kanaplex and fungal tablets if the problem persists. Here’s picture of the platy x swordtail who is the worse off, just so you can see what I’m dealing with. Whitish coloration around her mouth and it appears to be “stuck” open. If you think it’s something other than mouth fungus, let me know. (And yes. She’s chunky. She’s more of an eater than the rainbowfish and it’s hard stopping her from eating all the food)

 

I forgot how big of a tank this is, lol. I’m probably going to run out of pimafix and melafix before Saturday so once I run out I’ll do a water change and start dosing the kanaplex and fungal tablets if the problem persists. Here’s picture of the platy x swordtail who is the worse off, just so you can see what I’m dealing with. Whitish coloration around her mouth and it appears to be “stuck” open. If you think it’s something other than mouth fungus, let me know. (And yes. She’s chunky. She’s more of an eater than the rainbowfish and it’s hard stopping her from eating all the food)

How old is this fish?

 

How old is this fish?

She was born in August 2021 so a bit over a year old same with the other 2 platy in the tank with her.

 

She was born in August 2021 so a bit over a year old same with the other 2 platy in the tank with her.

I thought it may have been an age thing. She looks older than that.

 

I thought it may have been an age thing. She looks older than that.

Nope. Like I said, this came up the last few days. She’s been fine before then. I know the month she was born because I had a post here about her when she was a fry (and early on in my fish keeping). And given I’m seeing smaller signs of the same thing on other fish besides her is a disease/infection of some kind for sure.

 

I was just about out of pimafix and saw that while some of the white color had gone away on the big platy, the other platy looked worse. So I did a 1/3 water change and added the kanaplex and fungal tablets. I’ll dose as instructed (kanaplex every 2 days max of 3 doses, fungal tablets get a 25% water change after 4 days and another dose) and see how things go.

Funnily enough, the nerites are extra active today and while the platy were just huddled around the heater, they’re now swimming about since I’ve added the new meds. Hopefully this works faster and more effectively. No fish death yet though so either I caught it early enough or the melafix-pimafix was helping, just a little slower.

 

Okay, added more kanaplex yesterday and tomorrow I will add the 3rd dose and redo the fungal tablets. I'm seeing that the largest platy can close her mouth again but there are two are who bad off. The largest platy and one of the worse off ones have scratches on their face/heads. I caught them scratching themselves on things and assume it was from whatever is bothering them.

Gave the 3 platy who are worse off a salt bath for about 10 minutes. Put them in a bucket with a sponge filter, heater, aquarium salt, and some erythromycin powder mixed in. I'll try this daily and see if that helps on top of the meds. I would put the salt in the tank but I have cory and they're sensitive so it's easier this way.

 

Forgive me if I've missed it in the commentary but have you changed the temp in the tank? I'm scratching my head over your platy's mouth. I've seen this white, gaping mouth before but cannot remember the source, only that it was in relation to columnaris. You've dealt with that before it seems from your prior responses so may recognize a 2nd go round. In combination with the fish scratching it was setting off alarms for me - especially as it's spreading.

It sounds like you have your plan in hand for them tho & I wish you luck in saving them. Appreciate the update.

 

Forgive me if I've missed it in the commentary but have you changed the temp in the tank? I'm scratching my head over your platy's mouth. I've seen this white, gaping mouth before but cannot remember the source, only that it was in relation to columnaris. You've dealt with that before it seems from your prior responses so may recognize a 2nd go round. In combination with the fish scratching it was setting off alarms for me - especially as it's spreading.

It sounds like you have your plan in hand for them tho & I wish you luck in saving them. Appreciate the update.

My thermometer isn't properly set. I've been raising it a little every day to try and get it up higher, though I'll probably hold off now since columnaris likes the heat. Our temp where I'm living has dropped quite a bit so the tank has been about 72-75F. I've been raising it because I usually keep my temps more around 77-80F but this has put a wrench in that.

And when I had columnaris I was in a real pickle because I had ich at the same time (which likes cold while columnaris likes heat). The symptoms were different as well (fins clamped, white coloration on back of fish, sitting on bottom of tank). The itching is new though so I'm continuing my dose as planned (this got rid of it before in my other tank) and go from there.

Not all the fish are being affected though. Majority of my rainbowfish are fine (two newer ones have a very slight whitening on their lips). The serpae tetra are also mostly fine (only 1-2 have a slight white on their lips). The cory and oto are unaffected. It's just the platy who are having the worst time which is why they've been given a salt and erythromycin bath today. I'm going to drop the temp to about 72-73F today and hopefully that helps hold it back while they're being treated.

 

Lost the worse platy this morning and the second worse one looks on its way out as well with its whole face scratched up and it’s mouth unable to close. The largest platy is slightly better and can close her mouth again and appears to be recovering (wasn’t scratching but was hiding up in a corner until I fed them).

Dosed the last of my kanaplex and fungal tabs today. Gave the largest platy and the worse one a salt and erythromycin bath again while I did the water change and medicated the main tank. No other fish is any worse off than before so it’s just keeping these platy going. They were survivors of my first columnaris issue so that’s probably why they were hit the hardest.

I would like to keep a quarantine tank but can’t because I’m being forced to downsize and get rid of three empty tanks (3 gallon, 23 gallon, and a 15 gallon tall). Just hoping these guys survive it and I won’t have to worry about them anymore.

 

I'm sorry for your losses & difficulty with maintaining a quarantine tank. Glad at least one of the platys looks to be recovering.

I'm unsure what all tanks you have running & are allowed to keep but I guess it's a matter of deciding if you consolidate to keep one available as quarantine, or get permission to keep the 3g empty & ready to use only as an uncycled quarantine/hospital tank.

Having multiple smaller tanks that are virtually always full of fish awaiting re-homing, I have an emergency 1.5g tupperware & a few plastic shoeboxes set aside for emergencies & medicating. I also keep tiny sponge filters (battery operated) & heaters for them. Maybe you can get permission for that or just keeping the 3g empty for emergencies? After all, if you spring a leak you're going to need at least a bubbled, heated bucket for your animals.

Thanks for the update & hope everybody else survives. Not easy treating tanks long term or repeatedly.

 

I'm sorry for your losses & difficulty with maintaining a quarantine tank. Glad at least one of the platys looks to be recovering.

I'm unsure what all tanks you have running & are allowed to keep but I guess it's a matter of deciding if you consolidate to keep one available as quarantine, or get permission to keep the 3g empty & ready to use only as an uncycled quarantine/hospital tank.

Having multiple smaller tanks that are virtually always full of fish awaiting re-homing, I have an emergency 1.5g tupperware & a few plastic shoeboxes set aside for emergencies & medicating. I also keep tiny sponge filters (battery operated) & heaters for them. Maybe you can get permission for that or just keeping the 3g empty for emergencies? After all, if you spring a leak you're going to need at least a bubbled, heated bucket for your animals.

Thanks for the update & hope everybody else survives. Not easy treating tanks long term or repeatedly.

I've got a couple buckets and small heaters as well as a tiny sponge filter I can use in an emergency but I got this big tank to get rid of two smaller tanks because they're on cabinets my mother wants back. I have 5 tanks currently running though: a 12" shrimp bowl, 5-gallon betta tank, two 10-gallon community tanks, and this tank replaced the 23-gallon and 15-gallon.

I've been using a tupperware bucket for the salt baths with the tiny sponge filter for increased oxygen. Just ordered some more meds too. Some methylene blue, paraguard and more kanaplex. So hopefully things improve and I will have meds in case something new crops up but I'm definitely doing my best. I suspect I'll lose that other platy but hopefully that's it. I'm seeing no one get worse and improvement in those who were bad off, so I'm holding out hope I've gotten past the worse of it.

 

I've got a couple buckets and small heaters as well as a tiny sponge filter I can use in an emergency but I got this big tank to get rid of two smaller tanks because they're on cabinets my mother wants back. I have 5 tanks currently running though: a 12" shrimp bowl, 5-gallon betta tank, two 10-gallon community tanks, and this tank replaced the 23-gallon and 15-gallon.

I've been using a tupperware bucket for the salt baths with the tiny sponge filter for increased oxygen. Just ordered some more meds too. Some methylene blue, paraguard and more kanaplex. So hopefully things improve and I will have meds in case something new crops up but I'm definitely doing my best. I suspect I'll lose that other platy but hopefully that's it. I'm seeing no one get worse and improvement in those who were bad off, so I'm holding out hope I've gotten past the worse of it.

Fingers crossed.

 

So, things are looking okay right now. The largest platy is healing up nicely and even the worst platy in there who I thought would pass overnight is healing up too. There are still a few other fish (a couple of rainbows and maybe one tetra) with pale white lips but I've done the "max of 3" doses of kanaplex as of yesterday and finished my fungal tabs yesterday as well.

Gave the two platy and one of the rainbowfish a salt and erythromycin bath today and don't plan on doing it again. From everything that I've found here and other places, stress can make things worse, and given how hard it is for me to catch the fish every day, I plan to stop doing the separate baths to prevent further stress now that they're healing up. I have methylene blue and more kanaplex now just in case but plans are changing once again.

I'm going to do a 50% water change tomorrow and leave the fish as they are. I'm going to replace the carbon as well and start up the canister filter tomorrow too (it's new and will hopefully deal with any issues I've had using just the 2 Fluval HOB filters on such a large tank). I'll see how things go at that point but as the medication clears out and the canister filter is being used, I'll monitor them daily for signs of the columnaris getting worse.

Any signs of it returning and I will separate those who are having trouble since still have a spare tank I can use the methylene blue, kanaplex, and paraguard in. That way if it's not all gone or makes a return, not all the fish will have to deal with it this time (given only a few are showing signs as of right now, I'm assuming the rest are okay and have dealt with it without issue).

 

So, things are looking okay right now. The largest platy is healing up nicely and even the worst platy in there who I thought would pass overnight is healing up too. There are still a few other fish (a couple of rainbows and maybe one tetra) with pale white lips but I've done the "max of 3" doses of kanaplex as of yesterday and finished my fungal tabs yesterday as well.

Gave the two platy and one of the rainbowfish a salt and erythromycin bath today and don't plan on doing it again. From everything that I've found here and other places, stress can make things worse, and given how hard it is for me to catch the fish every day, I plan to stop doing the separate baths to prevent further stress now that they're healing up. I have methylene blue and more kanaplex now just in case but plans are changing once again.

I'm going to do a 50% water change tomorrow and leave the fish as they are. I'm going to replace the carbon as well and start up the canister filter tomorrow too (it's new and will hopefully deal with any issues I've had using just the 2 Fluval HOB filters on such a large tank). I'll see how things go at that point but as the medication clears out and the canister filter is being used, I'll monitor them daily for signs of the columnaris getting worse.

Any signs of it returning and I will separate those who are having trouble since still have a spare tank I can use the methylene blue, kanaplex, and paraguard in. That way if it's not all gone or makes a return, not all the fish will have to deal with it this time (given only a few are showing signs as of right now, I'm assuming the rest are okay and have dealt with it without issue).

Well done, sounds like a great fix.

 

Moved the largest and worse off platy to the spare tank with methylene blue, salt, and air bubblers. Both were alive but sitting on the bottom of the tank and not interested in eating. The rest are all fine from what I’m seeing. I’m not seeing anyone worse today.

New canister filter is up and running with old media added to it. 50% water change was done and hopefully the rest are all okay and there’s no more issues. Will monitor the two I’ve got put aside and see how they do. If they improve then I will move them back to the main tank in 3-7 days (depending on how they’re doing).

 

All 3 platy are in the medicated tank as of yesterday. The third platy who looked physically fine had been resting on the bottom so I figured better safe than sorry. I’ll leave them in one more day then check on them and do a big water change for them. If they’re not healed up or acting better, I’ll redose the methylene blue the day after (give them a day of no medicated water) along with paragard and kanaplex. Give them another 3 days and see.

Everyone in the 60gal tank are doing great though. More active with the canister filter (the rainbows love the flow) and I’m not seeing anyone looking any worse. Still a few scattered white lips but active and exploring. They’ll be fed tomorrow so I can make sure everyone is eating well too.