Columnaris?

[vampie]

At least that's what I think it could be.. I saw it first late last night, thought it was fungus and ended up doing a water change and adding Pimafix+Melafix. It did get noticeably better today, but I ended up reading that the "saddleback" that developed on it is a sign of columnaris.. what do you think? Notice the caudal fin is also damaged.

 

[Hebily]

I can't see the pics, but I do know that columnaris is very often mistaken for fungus, and fungus usually isn't a primary infection in fish. There are good odds it's columnaris. Hopefully the pima/mela works for you.

 

[jpappy789]

Looks like columnaris to me, although I'm not great IDing diseases.

 

[vampie]

Strangely enough, I don't think either Pimafix nor Melafix actually treats columnaris.. I put them in because I initially thought it was fungus.

I could get a proper mediciation for it if others can positively ID it as columnaris.. I don't suppose there is an invert-safe medication for columnaris is there?

 

[Hebily]

i believe that furan 2 and the maracyns will both treat columnaris, and that they are both invert safe. Also, furan 2 will work on some fungi, so if you are not sure, it may be a good choice.

I don't think mela/pima actually treat anything, but they are both supposed to be anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

 

[Cerianthus]

I doubt any problem with NH3 and /or NO2 but what pH were you keeping this fish and for how long?

 

[KarlTh]

Definitely no sign of fungus there, and I'm struggling to see any columnaris either. All I can see is some missing scales.

 

[kj5kb]

I've always had good luck with sulfa products...like "triple sulfa"...for fin rot issues like that.

 

[missmeliss]

It looks like it may be columnaris - I can't see in the picture but does it look like there is any "puffy" white around the affected areas? I had awesome luck with Maracyn-2 on my female Betta with columnaris. Good Luck!

 

[vampie]

The tail did have some puffy growth on it when I first saw it, unfortunately, I didn't take a picture at that point.. that was probably around 2-3am yesterday. I took it as fungus, dosed the tank and went to sleep.

By the time I woke up, any cottonly growth was gone.. after reading that columnaris often creates that "saddleback" damage on livebearers, I thought that would be it rather than fungus. That was when I took the pictures.

It looks like it has gotten much better today, the "saddleback" seems to be mostly gone.. at best I can only see a faint resemblance where it used to be. The caudal fin is still quite torn though, but clean water and time should fix that.

Have to wonder just how badly I misdiagnosed this though..