I hope this can help others. It's based on my most recent experience with this disease. I'm sure I've dealt with it before, back before the internet, but this time around I found out a LOT I didn't know.
I did not have any fish show the 'cotton mouth'.
Fish showed a filmy or ghost looking coat over body.
A few had white tufts on fins.
Water changes did not work.
Salt added to water did not work.
amoxicillin DID slow it down.
It is VERY VERY contagious.
My first tank was decimated in days. The only thing I could find to treat it was potassium permanganate(PP).
I gave remaining fish a 3 minute bath. This seemed to stress them out more, as well as caused respiratory issues.
I chose to euthanize such fish.
Sanitizing a planted tank:
I dumped the PP bath water into the full tank. Left it there for hours. Turned off filter.
To neutralize, I drained all water down to plant roots. Added hydrogen peroxide(H2O2). Let sit half an hour. Filled tank. Let sit for an hour. Removed plants. Put in a bucket with aged water. Added light amount of PP. Put plants outside for 24 hours where they could get full sun(for UV benefits). Added a lot of bleach to the tank. Turned on filter. Removed media. Let sit half a day. Did 50% water change. Added a 1/4 cup of pond water conditioner to neutralize bleach. Still smelled bleach. Did another water change down to gravel line. Refilled. Added normal amount of water conditioner. Let sit for an hour. Did water change for a healthy tank in another room that was used for fry. Wiped the tank with clean filter media to jump start new cycle for the newly cleaned tank. Added plants from the healthy tank to the original tank. Replanted tank. Added a heater. Put guppies from the other room into the new tank. Left tank alone for 2 days, other than feeding guppies. Tested water. No issues.
A tank in the same room as diseased tank- got disease. I had gotten Kanaplex between PP bath and euthanize decision. Decided to try and treat second tank. Lost 3/4 of fish in tank 2 by day 2 after first Kanaplex treatment. Removed all plants and wood from tank. PP treatment for those. Plants outside, boiled the snot out of the wood. Day 3 no fish loses. Plecos and snails survived. As did a half dozen guppies- all female. Variation on directed treatment for Kanaplex- I used full dose on day 1, 1/2 dose on day 2. Did water change before full dose on day 3. Alternated this for 8 days. No more deaths.
Original tank appears healthy. No longer share nets or equipment between tanks unless bleached between uses(water change tubing). New varieties of young fish added to first tank. No signs of illness. New fish were from a local specialized fish store that breeds their own or uses local breeders fish. No centralized filtration there either. Used malachite green for 3 days to be on the safe side.
I have no idea if tank 2 will remain disease free. Plan to test with fish from tank one at some point. I figure if I transfer 2 fish and they remain healthy for 2 months, I've succeeded. Going to wait a few weeks first(if I have the patience) and see if I get another outbreak. I'm trying to avoid breaking down tank 2. I hate dealing with under gravel filters and can't save trumpet snails if I sanitize like tank 1 I would also just end up putting fist from that tank back in it if I did. Fish appear healthy now, they never did go off their food.
NOTES OF INTEREST
I noticed that fish started to flash after initial dose of Kanaplex. Research on the web showed others found this too, but attributed it to other causes. I am hypothesizing that it is a side effect. Too many references at too many different sites and different times for these to all be attributed to a secondary cause.
Based on timeline of disease appearance in tank 1, I concluded that the bacteria columnaris was most likely introduced to the tank from either a plant or driftwood. I strongly suspect driftwood. I had collected some locally. Though I didn't dry it out, I did boil to snot out of it. Some was too big to fully submerge. I discarded that particular wood.
None of my plants appear to have died. They did stress out and some melted. Almost all show new growth. Even the Anubias that accidentally got caught in the bleach soak.
hopefully I will remember to update with more details later.
I did not have any fish show the 'cotton mouth'.
Fish showed a filmy or ghost looking coat over body.
A few had white tufts on fins.
Water changes did not work.
Salt added to water did not work.
amoxicillin DID slow it down.
It is VERY VERY contagious.
My first tank was decimated in days. The only thing I could find to treat it was potassium permanganate(PP).
I gave remaining fish a 3 minute bath. This seemed to stress them out more, as well as caused respiratory issues.
I chose to euthanize such fish.
Sanitizing a planted tank:
I dumped the PP bath water into the full tank. Left it there for hours. Turned off filter.
To neutralize, I drained all water down to plant roots. Added hydrogen peroxide(H2O2). Let sit half an hour. Filled tank. Let sit for an hour. Removed plants. Put in a bucket with aged water. Added light amount of PP. Put plants outside for 24 hours where they could get full sun(for UV benefits). Added a lot of bleach to the tank. Turned on filter. Removed media. Let sit half a day. Did 50% water change. Added a 1/4 cup of pond water conditioner to neutralize bleach. Still smelled bleach. Did another water change down to gravel line. Refilled. Added normal amount of water conditioner. Let sit for an hour. Did water change for a healthy tank in another room that was used for fry. Wiped the tank with clean filter media to jump start new cycle for the newly cleaned tank. Added plants from the healthy tank to the original tank. Replanted tank. Added a heater. Put guppies from the other room into the new tank. Left tank alone for 2 days, other than feeding guppies. Tested water. No issues.
A tank in the same room as diseased tank- got disease. I had gotten Kanaplex between PP bath and euthanize decision. Decided to try and treat second tank. Lost 3/4 of fish in tank 2 by day 2 after first Kanaplex treatment. Removed all plants and wood from tank. PP treatment for those. Plants outside, boiled the snot out of the wood. Day 3 no fish loses. Plecos and snails survived. As did a half dozen guppies- all female. Variation on directed treatment for Kanaplex- I used full dose on day 1, 1/2 dose on day 2. Did water change before full dose on day 3. Alternated this for 8 days. No more deaths.
Original tank appears healthy. No longer share nets or equipment between tanks unless bleached between uses(water change tubing). New varieties of young fish added to first tank. No signs of illness. New fish were from a local specialized fish store that breeds their own or uses local breeders fish. No centralized filtration there either. Used malachite green for 3 days to be on the safe side.
I have no idea if tank 2 will remain disease free. Plan to test with fish from tank one at some point. I figure if I transfer 2 fish and they remain healthy for 2 months, I've succeeded. Going to wait a few weeks first(if I have the patience) and see if I get another outbreak. I'm trying to avoid breaking down tank 2. I hate dealing with under gravel filters and can't save trumpet snails if I sanitize like tank 1 I would also just end up putting fist from that tank back in it if I did. Fish appear healthy now, they never did go off their food.
NOTES OF INTEREST
I noticed that fish started to flash after initial dose of Kanaplex. Research on the web showed others found this too, but attributed it to other causes. I am hypothesizing that it is a side effect. Too many references at too many different sites and different times for these to all be attributed to a secondary cause.
Based on timeline of disease appearance in tank 1, I concluded that the bacteria columnaris was most likely introduced to the tank from either a plant or driftwood. I strongly suspect driftwood. I had collected some locally. Though I didn't dry it out, I did boil to snot out of it. Some was too big to fully submerge. I discarded that particular wood.
None of my plants appear to have died. They did stress out and some melted. Almost all show new growth. Even the Anubias that accidentally got caught in the bleach soak.
hopefully I will remember to update with more details later.
