# symptoms of columnaris?



## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

i'm not sure what my fish had, i'm thinking it might of been columnaris...i took him out of my main tank cause his body had whiteish grey squiggly lines and was gasping for air and then over nite he got holes around the head, it was like he was disintegrating around the face, then he died this morning. i should of taken pics for ref, but i was too upset...

does this sound like columnaris to you?

should i be treating my main tank? i put aquari-sol in last nite because i think i read somewhere that copper was good for this and it was the only med i had on hand with active ingredient is soluble copper salts, all my other fish seem to be fine, but now i'm worried.

how do u clean a hospital tank? i want to make sure my hospital tank is clean for the future without spreading anything.

thanks


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi

from your brief description it does sound like Columnaris. 
Columnaris is caused by a bacteria that normally resides harmlessly in your tank so it's not like you can keep it from coming back by cleaning the tank or meds.

Once you have an outbreak in your tank it is contagious though. First thing you want to do is a partial water change of 30% using a good quality dechlorinator. Siphon the gravel, too. Adding salt, (sodium chloride-aquarium salt) at the rate of 1 tablespoon per five gallons and increasing water movement will help prevent the bacteria from adherring to the fish's skin. (NOT a cure all by itself but it helps)
Since fish are more susceptible to disease when stressed you should look into any source of stress for your fish: poor water conditions, aggressive tank mates, over feeding, etc.

For meds I usually advise going with either Kanamycin or a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn=two. Some people have had success with salt baths in treating Columnaris. There are good instructions for dosing with salt in the Columnaris article in the library section.

Robin


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

trying to figure out what this is - please help!
I thought i had columnaris in this tank but i lost only 2 fish since February and i am not even certain that the deaths are related ... somethings going on in this tank since please help me find out what.









this fish died in june, came home and turned my lights on he was missing both eyes( don't know if this was from aggression as i had 2 aulonocara baenschi mind you i never noticed the aggression. oddest thing to see a fish swimming with no eyes i could see right through his head..

2nd fish that died - had whiteish grey squiggly lines and was gasping for air and then over nite he got holes around the head, it was like he was disintegrating around the face.










in February this sulfer head got the same wound and then developed fungus out of wound note the yellowish spot on his side is exactly what he had but has now healed. this is a new spot. i am not sure what to treat with.

presently treating the tank with melefix but i really think i should figure out with the base of the problem is...been fighting with an unknown cause since February....

i do 35% - 40% water changes about every 5-7 days, i do have high nitrates about 40 (has always been the case as i have a heavy stock( 20 fish in 75 gallon) 2 filters running(rena xp2 and ehiem 2026)

ammonia - 0 and ph - 7.8 , temp - 78-80, feed nls

please help i don't want to lose anymore of my beauty's!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

If you are having nitrate readings of 40, your water changes are too small. If you are having a problem now, I would do a 50% to 70% change immediately, and another within 24 hours. The big change will do a couple of things. It will reduce the amount of nitrate, as well as any pathogens in the tank. You might also consider lowering your temp a couple of degrees. That will slow bacteria growth and allow for more dissolved oxygen.
In my experience over the years, tanks that are kept at the bottom of a fishes preferential range have fewer problems, than tanks that are kept warmer.
I don't have any Malawis right now, but the last ones I had were P.flavus, kept in an unheated tank that ranged from 75F down to 66F, depending on time of year. They grew to full size and I had no issues of any kind with them. I had them for 2 and a half years before selling them off. For what it is worth.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

It does sound and look like Columnaris. Columnaris can move very fast--overnight--and will eat a hole right into your fish. It originates from a bacteria that normally resides harmlessly in your tank and only becomes a problem when stressful conditions are present. One stressful condition is poor water conditions but it can also be from any number of stressors. *So the point is that along with treating a Columnaris outbreak you've got to take care of the stressors otherwise you will continue to have problems with Columnaris and other fish ailments. *

Treatment for Columnaris: 
First do a 40% water change using a good quality declorinator. 
Lower temp to 76'. 
Add aquarium salt at the rate of 1 tablespoon per five gallons, (dissolve first and add gradually) and increase water movement. These two actions will help slow the spread of the bacteria but should NOT be considered a cure all by themselves.
Treat the entire tank with one of the following:
Kanamycin
Maracyn & Maracyn-two, used concurently
Furan 2

Another option is to do a salt bath.
Directions for this is in the Columnaris article in the library section of this site. While I've had more people go the antibiotic route I have had people report back that the salt bath worked.

Robin


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

every since *** had my aquarium i have had high nitrates, how can i fix this? i thought i had enough filtration, and i do large water changes 35- 40 % weekly, what am i doing wrong?

what other kinds of stress are you talking about ? i see aggression with some of my fish but they kinda just pick on everybody, no serious injury's occur occasionally one of them has scrapes or an injured eye- melafix fixes that up quick..

i just want to fix the problem but i don't know how. :-?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Filtration does not fix nitrates, only water changes do this. Increase your percent change to 50% or more to get your nitrates down to 10ppm. (It will go up to 20ppm in a week when ready for your next water change.

Don't forget to clean the filters and substrate as well. Substrate weekly and filters monthly or less depending on what kind of filter you have.

Do you have nitrates in your tap water?

You should see only the occasional fin nip. Is anyone lurking just under the surface or behind filter intakes and heaters? Vertical swimming?


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

And make sure you're not overfeeding your fish. Uneaten food/excessive fish waste contribute to high nitrates. You may also want to remove some of your substrate if it's more than 3-4 inches deep.

I would do two things simultaneously: 
Take the necessary steps to improve water quality and treat the already sick for for Columnaris.

Good luck


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

i did 3 treatments of kanaplex, his wound seems to be healing, and no other fish have any symptons.

now i am trying to figure out the agression problem. i removed one fish as he was keeping all the fish on one side of the tank but now that he is gone, 2 others seem to be stepping into his place, should i remove them or is this just them figuring out who is boss?

2nd question is the fish that i removed, i was wondering if it is safe to put him in one of my other tanks, or could he tranfer the Columnaris to that tank? he has never apppeared to be sick. he is presently in a 10 gallom, and i really want to keep him.

thanks!


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

On the aggression: Could be that they are just sorting out the hierarchy as you suggested but really the first thing you need to do if you haven't already done so is identify the species of all fish in the tank and also the sex. Some species are not going to get along no matter what so you want to at least know that the fish you have are at least _possibly_ compatible.
And then even if you have compatible species you need to know what sort of a male/female ratio they prefer. 
If the species are suppose to be compatible, (and I say _suppose to be_ because that is by no means a guarantee that they will be), and you've got the correct male/female ratios for the individual species then the next step is make sure your tank is large enough. Generally speaking you want a 55 gallon minimum. Smaller tanks may work but only with certain species. I believe you said this is a 75 gallon which should be okay. 
Even when you have compatible species, the correct male/female ratio and tank size it can come down to one or two individual fish that are overly aggressive.

The fish you removed: if he's not sick then he's fine to be put back in the main tank--however, as I mentioned before: if there is ongoing stress in the tank then all of your fish are at a continued risk not just for Columnaris but other fish illnesses also. Ongoing aggression is a huge stress for fish so I would solve that and any water quality issues before I did anything else.

Robin


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

here is the list of my fish in my 75 gallon, all males and set up since Aug 2008. all my fish grew up together so no females.

aulo maylandia(sulfer head) - i took him out as he recently claimed half the tank as his and would attack anybody crossing over the invisible line...
strawberry peacock - always a little aggressive but being more aggressive since i took maylandia out of tank
ruby red peacock-always a little aggresive but being more aggressive since i took maylandia out of tank
aulonocara baenschi x 2- i know at some point i will have to get rid of one, but no aggression yet.
blood parrots x 3( presently trying to figure out what to do with them) they poop a lot so i think that may be part of my nitrates problem??
aulo. walteri
lithobates (sulfer crest)
aulo. jacobfreibergi eureka
aulo.lemon jake
aulo. maulana bicolor 500
aulo. ob
aulo. stuartgranti (nketete) hansbaenshi
otopharynx heterodon
copadichromis chrysonotus azureus
astatotilapia aeneocolor
sciaenochromis fryeri
placidochromis electra
aulo. stuartgranti maleri

i was wondering would a time out work for the aulo maylandia(sulfer head)? either that or do you think i can put him in my 90 gal mbuna tank? he is truly a beautiful fish i really don't want to part with him...

also just wanted to mention i got my nitrates down to 20 ppm before the treatment of kanaplex but the treatment is finished so i will be doing a large water change tomorrow.

so what do you think of the list of fish, any problems with it?

thanks


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