White Eyes After Salting - Columnaris/Flexibacter

[bjbass]

I have been dealing with a nasty Columnaris/Flexibacter infestation in my 210 gallon freshwater tank. I have three peacock bass and an Oscar. I have lost a few fish from this so far, such as, petentia splendida. He had white growths and the split fins/red base to the fins.

I have been salting now as I have tried many different treatments to no avail. Recently I have slowly worked up to a 1% solution as .5% didn't clear it up the last time. After getting the last amount in some of their eyes got white which has happened in the past with this infection. I believe it is just the salt healing their eyes where the bacteria is present. Thoughts?

I have been adding stress coat for them.

 

[bjbass]

i forgot to add that I have read Columnaris cannot survive solutions of 1% or higher

 

[Wailua Boy]

You will have a difficult time treating columnaris with salinity increases, if you are certain it is columnaris; you may need the proper antibiotic. If it were me, I would really focus on water quality and try to offer a improved diet; in the hopes of increasing the fishes immune response and battling the columnaris that way.

The white eyes are may not even be related to the salt...

 

[bjbass]

You will have a difficult time treating columnaris with salinity increases, if you are certain it is columnaris; you may need the proper antibiotic. If it were me, I would really focus on water quality and try to offer a improved diet; in the hopes of increasing the fishes immune response and battling the columnaris that way.

The white eyes are may not even be related to the salt...

I agree! I have tried to treat with a few different medications. I am feeding food with oxytetracycline that I got from Kens Fish. I think that has helped to heal them but then the disease eventually came back. I have read about Columnaris a lot and it can live for something like 30 days without a host and can live in the sand. I have gravel vac'd and I have two MP10s to stir up the bottom and have good flow. I have also read that well circulated and clean tanks can still have Columnaris problems. I think that is where I am at. I have been able to be free of it on my fish, but eventually comes back.

 

[Wailua Boy]

It complicate matters there are different strains of columnaris. Has it seems to progress quickly, as in a matter of days or has it been ongoing for weeks.

 

[bjbass]

It complicate matters there are different strains of columnaris. Has it seems to progress quickly, as in a matter of days or has it been ongoing for weeks.

It has been ongoing for weeks and possibly years. I started this tank in 2009 with native fish and slowly transitioned to South American. I had to euthanize a pumpkinseed and two bluegills within the last 6-8 months as they had it and weren't getting better/weren't eating the medicated food. I was in the clear again until seemingly overnight the red bay snook got it and croaked. So you can make the case that this has been in the tank for years because the smallmouth bass that I put in there originally I think had it as he had the white eye thing going and fin rot way back then. I would always use some aquarium salt after water changes for years and that kept anything at bay. Then I stopped and about three years ago a rock bass fell ill with it quickly and died. Had white like snot columns hanging off him all over he place and was listless and died the next day.

 

[Wailua Boy]

Increase water changes/filtration and examine your system, something in the environment is off would be my guess. You could post a pic and parameters, if wanted. A picture is worth a thousand words

 

[Aquanero]

Neither salt or oxytetracycline will cure this. My concern with the ops discription is the red base on the fins which would indicate septacimia. I would use a combination of kanamycin and triple sulfa to treat this. However a good pic with water parameters including pH would help. I'm doubting this this is columnaris, however I could be wrong just not getting it from what's written.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I was attributing the white eyes and redness to ammonia exposure and hate to medicate without a positive diagnosis....Possible the Oxytertra has created a recycling

 

[bjbass]

I was attributing the white eyes and redness to ammonia exposure and hate to medicate without a positive diagnosis....Possible the Oxytertra has created a recycling

I definitely appreciate both of your expertise! Yes I am not 100% positive that this is Columnaris, but I have read lots and lots of descriptions of different diseases over the years and Columnaris is what kept coming back to me as the culprit. With that said the oxytetracycline have not worked nor had salt to get rid of this. I am going to test my water and take pictures of the fish. The only thing they are showing right now are the white eyes