The Bill is now due. The beat goes on.

[jjohnwm]

...I wouldn’t treat fish individually in a bucket as water parameters can change too rapidly.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Taking a fish that is already at a low ebb thanks to some disease or infection, and sequestering it in a tiny quantity of water with no filtration, no temperature control and wildly unstable water quality has never made any sense to me.

If one wishes to treat and cure such a fish, it needs the best conditions that can be provided (i.e. a properly equipped hospital/quarantine tank) rather than the worst.

 

[FINWIN]

I'll have to see how long my meds will hold out at current supply. The fish are normally fed every 2-3 days. I had no success treating the tank before, but perhaps the combo of Kanaplex/furazone will do it.

The filter floss with the media will get tossed frequently as I mentioned.

 

[FINWIN]

All information and updates on the 125 regarding this problem will be posted here. Lucky perished some time during the day. I found him gone an hour ago when I got back from work.

The tank will get the first treatment tonight. Filter floss will be replaced with fresh stuff. Hopefully the meds won't damage the java. I will post measurements and schedule.

Ordered backup, the straight pure stuff. Specifically says for Columnaris, Flexibacter, Bacterial Gill,Mouth/Fin/Tail rot, Aeronomas, etc etc. I should have enough of the current Nitro to get started. Ordered more Kanaplex, not sure if the stuff I have is fresh enough but will start with it anyway. Sick of f++++ing around. Wish me luck, I'll take scraps of hope at this point.

 

[phreeflow]

All information and updates on the 125 regarding this problem will be posted here. Lucky perished some time during the day. I found him gone an hour ago when I got back from work.

The tank will get the first treatment tonight. Filter floss will be replaced with fresh stuff. Hopefully the meds won't damage the java. I will post measurements and schedule.

Ordered backup, the straight pure stuff. Specifically says for Columnaris, Flexibacter, Bacterial Gill,Mouth/Fin/Tail rot, Aeronomas, etc etc. I should have enough of the current Nitro to get started. Ordered more Kanaplex, not sure if the stuff I have is fresh enough but will start with it anyway. Sick of f++++ing around. Wish me luck, I'll take scraps of hope at this point.

View attachment 1563031

I could never get rid of columnaris without using both the Kanamycin and Nitrofurazone at the same time. I just followed the full dosage instructions for each of the meds.

This website (https://fishlab.com/columnaris/) recommends a similar dosing schedule to what I followed:

Day 1: Furan-2 and KanaPlex
Day 2: Furan-2
Day 3: 25% water change, Furan-2 and KanaPlex
Day 4: Furan-2
Day 5: 25% water change, Furan-2 and KanaPlex

Furan2 = nitrofurazone

Good luck!

 

[FINWIN]

Ok, update and questions.

Medicine is in the 125. Everyone hiding in their little spots (night mode lights will go completely off soon).

Here's the thing. I will have just enough Furan for tomorrow. That's it. The new stuff won't get here till Friday. Kanaplex, same deal. Could have sworn I had more. Have plenty of Metroplex though. I also have some internal bacterial disease meds supposedly for flowerhorns Will take a look at those ingredients.

Could I substitute Metroplex for the Kanaplex? I'm gonna keep digging around but need a backup plan. Earliest might be Wed to get the Kanaplex.

P phreeflow thank you so much for the information provided. Previous info I read didn't say to include both meds TOGETHER which is what added to my frustration. After reading the article it seems as though my theory about this situation has merit. Injuries and stress can cause this from wounds and nicks. The always present bacteria gets a toehold. As I said before it would explain why I've only had males come down with this. Same environment, same fighting and chaos and not ONE female contracted or died from it while the males dropped like flies. So either they're more resilient to stress, their hormones aid them or because they generally don't do as much damage on a consistent basis. The females tend to settle scores quickly. The males just go on and on.

I may go back to filter floss exclusively. I've changed it out twice in the last three days and the amount of UNSEEN stuff it grabs is amazing. Despite two 90% w/cs back to back, the filter floss was nearly black on the intake side both times. This after I tossed the cleaned sponges. Sometimes old school is old cool. What this tells me is that despite cleaning those sponges likely held some stuff in the tiny crevices that couldn't be washed clear.

That's all for tonight. Next treatment tomorrow evening.

 

[phreeflow]

Unfortunately, Metroplex and Kanamycin aren’t interchangeable. Metroplex is mostly used for internal parasites and protozoans like hexamita. Kanamycin treats mostly gram negative bacterial infections.

It’d be best to wait until all your meds arrive before starting treatment so you can really knock out the illness. You don’t want to treat in spurts or incompletely for a variety of reasons such as taxing the kidneys and liver or building resistance to the meds.

In the meantime, until the meds arrive Friday, you can just keep the water pristine and maybe add some salt.

 

[FINWIN]

Unfortunately, Metroplex and Kanamycin aren’t interchangeable. Metroplex is mostly used for internal parasites and protozoans like hexamita. Kanamycin treats mostly gram negative bacterial infections.

It’d be best to wait until all your meds arrive before starting treatment so you can really knock out the illness. You don’t want to treat in spurts or incompletely for a variety of reasons such as taxing the kidneys and liver or building resistance to the meds.

In the meantime, until the meds arrive Friday, you can just keep the water pristine and maybe add some salt.

Yeah, kinda figured that. welp, first dose will be cleaned out when I get back. Not sure what percent of salt to use, 1, 2 or 3 (like for ick). I'm concerned about the java. Read conflicting info on whether it can tolerate salt.

 

[phreeflow]

Yeah, kinda figured that. welp, first dose will be cleaned out when I get back. Not sure what percent of salt to use, 1, 2 or 3 (like for ick). I'm concerned about the java. Read conflicting info on whether it can tolerate salt.

In my experience, I had no issues with Java ferns dying back in brackish but to be certain, you can just throw them in a bucket of freshwater.

I only recommended the salt, not as a treatment, but therapeutically until the meds arrive. A bit of salt helps with osmoregulation and with mucus production. Meaning it reduces stress on their bodies as they’re fighting off an illness.

 

[FINWIN]

In my experience, I had no issues with Java ferns dying back in brackish but to be certain, you can just throw them in a bucket of freshwater.

I only recommended the salt, not as a treatment, but therapeutically until the meds arrive. A bit of salt helps with osmoregulation and with mucus production. Meaning it reduces stress on their bodies as they’re fighting off an illness.

Believe it or not there's info saying salt kills columnaris (in high concentrations). If I can find that article I'll post it. I tried that once at 3% did a lot of nothing. I also saw notes saying high GH values cause columnaris to attach to fish much faster.

Meanwhile, day 2 of treatment was tonight. Had just enough Furan-2. Tomorrow they get a flush and break from meds until Friday when more Furan-2 arrives. The Kanaplex arrives tomorrow. I'm kinda in uncharted territory here since I'm treating the tank as much as the fish and I don't want to overdo it. I'll pick up the rest of the treatment schedule Friday and see what happens.

Update on syno Cash. Doing well! In an aerated bucket healing nicely. I've put wafers in for him but hard to tell if much was eaten. Relaxed and cuddling the airstones.

 

[FLA]

Sorry to hear that. From your past descriptions, sounds like a bad case of columnaris and that stuff is very virulent.

In the past, I’ve successfully treated it with acriflavine but I haven’t seen that in a while. A combo of furan2 and Seachem Kanaplex.

I’d up your water changes to large daily changes, do deep gravel vacs, lower your temps, and medicate with Kanaplex and furan2. You can even try to knock it back a bit by using potassium permanganate in your tank but that stuff kills your beneficial bacteria so you’ll have to be careful.

Diquat® | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

www.fws.gov

Diquat works pretty well for columnaris. it is an herbicide so make sure you are comfortable with moving or losing your plants.