Fish looks like it needs a shave? is this columnaris?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Diogenes

Diogenes

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 9, 2008
2,407
21
68
Birmingham, AL
I hope somebody can help.

I recently noticed that my male A. centrarchus had kind of a patchy whitish/gray area on the side of his head. It was tiny and there were several grow outs in the tank, and he had been fighting with the female, so I thought at the time it was just some damage from the fighting. I removed the grow outs. Then I noticed that these fish were flashing against objects in the tank, but there was no visible ich or any other disease that I was familiar with.

Today I notice that the patch has spread from the gill area all the way to the snout/mouth area. It sort of looks like a grey 5 o clock shadow on one side of the fishes face.

I can't get a good pic of it. Does anybody know what this is, and if so how should I treat it?

Thanks
 
alright I just gave him a salt dip. It was 4 tbsp of NaCl per 1 gallon of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I let him soak for 30 minutes, and then I rubbed the effected area with cotton swabs soaked in hydrogen peroxide. I returned him to the tank. He's moving around a little lazily, and he's not displaying fins like normally does. He looks a little stressed. I lowered the water level.

Is he gonna be alright?
 
It sounds like it is either a fungal infection or it is a columnaris infection, those are the most likely and most common IMO. I am however, not experienced with this particular species, and would reccomend waiting for someone experienced with A. Centrarchus for any species specific health issues or common problems with them. Good Luck Diogenes, I wish the little guy well!
 
I got some video of him after the salt bath. Apparently, the stuff that looked like a beard to me was like necrotic tissue sloughing off. It cleared up after the salt bath. It's still discolored however. i added a little bit of salt to the tank and left him in there. He's acting normal for the most part now.

[YT]<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w2pkt2T1xlQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w2pkt2T1xlQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>[/YT]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom