It’s very frustrating that we know what disease your young fish has, you are taking good care of it and keeping it in freshly maintained water, in a low stress environment, but we do not yet have the medical knowledge to save this fish. Someday, hopefully we will develop the cure to conquer this particularly devastating disease.
This gorgeous green terror is about to expire
- Thread starter tiger15
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If the disease is diagnosed early enough, an antibiotic effective against gram negative bacteria can be effective at fighting it off.
If, on the other hand it gets so far as to cause the entire jaw to atrophy, it is likely (IMO) to be a lost cause, and because it is so communicable, just preventing it from spreading to other fish in the tank (s) is sometimes what I consider the best one can hope for., causing the least collateral damage
For me, rather than take that chance, euthanasia is sometimes my choice for the best course of action.
If, on the other hand it gets so far as to cause the entire jaw to atrophy, it is likely (IMO) to be a lost cause, and because it is so communicable, just preventing it from spreading to other fish in the tank (s) is sometimes what I consider the best one can hope for., causing the least collateral damage
For me, rather than take that chance, euthanasia is sometimes my choice for the best course of action.
Presently, he is still showing good color and acting normally. I will wait until he declines to the point of certain no return and euthanize him. I don’t worry about and haven’t found the disease to be highly contagious if at all. I have seen similar symptoms killing my other SA/CA cichlid (never African) but typically older fish. I tried antibiotic treatment of my other diseased fish before with no success so I don’t bother.
Sorry to see your beautful gt struggling...its always hard to see a fish go downhill when you try everything possible. I'm wondering if columnaris can occur from injury or small wounds? Or is it something like ick where there's been some debate whether its environmental or specific?
Columnaris is one of those ubiquitous bacteria, that is always present in the environment, waiting for the right conditionss and opportunity to strike.
It was first mentiod in western aquaculture literature in 1922, and studied again in fishes of the Mississippi river in 1944.
It seems to thrive, and become most virulent in water temps above or at the top end of the particular species normal tolerance range, and in tandem with elevated nitrate, and/or detritus build up.
It was first mentiod in western aquaculture literature in 1922, and studied again in fishes of the Mississippi river in 1944.
It seems to thrive, and become most virulent in water temps above or at the top end of the particular species normal tolerance range, and in tandem with elevated nitrate, and/or detritus build up.
Agree. Columnaris, along with bloat, and HITH pathogens, are always present waiting for opportunity to attack. They don't seem to be highly contagious, but tend to attack the same vulnerable species subject to the same environmental stressor.
Do not mix up Ick with Columnaris, bloat or HITH. Ick is always introduced by new fish, highly contagious, and the whole tank need to be treated to stop spreading.
I had ich break out in an established tank inexplicably about 2 years ago (no new fish). It started with my chocolate cichlid who had chronic health issues. I know there had been discussion here questioning whether it's always present waiting to pounce on fish with weak immune systems. I'm still not sure which is true.
Ick is not an opportunistic pathogen and needs a host to complete the life cycle. Without a host, ick larvae will die off in about 6 days, so one remedy is to rotate infected fish in fishless tanks daily. Ick can be introduced from new fish, new plants, life food and dirty water. Fish can be silent carrier of low level of ick infection for weeks inside the gill and mouth not obvious to the eye and pop up abruptly and apparently from nowhere. This fact has been proven multiple times by rigorous experiments and here is one.https://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium-ich.html
It'd be great if Columnaris needed a host to complete its life cycle, but instead it can go inert indefinitely in water, and lay dormant up to maybe a year in a dry smudge of dirt.
The big problem is, as long as a sick fish lives, the columnaris bacteria continue to be shed into the tank, and replicate. And with columnaris, it's all about infective dose.
With a small bacterial colony, a fishes immunity is often capable of fighting it off, but with a large dose it can easily, and quickly become very contagious, and jump species.
The big problem is, as long as a sick fish lives, the columnaris bacteria continue to be shed into the tank, and replicate. And with columnaris, it's all about infective dose.
With a small bacterial colony, a fishes immunity is often capable of fighting it off, but with a large dose it can easily, and quickly become very contagious, and jump species.
This morning the fish acted as if he was struggling to maintain balance. The pits on the head had opened up to craters, even though bodily color remained vibrant. It’s a clear sign that he has declined to the point of no return, so I have no choice but to euthanize him. From the time of the first sign of sickness, appearance of a tiny white pimple on the forehead and refusal to feed, he is gone in a week, exactly as I predicted in my first post. Whether he died from columnaris (swollen lips), hexameta ( HITH and stringy fesses), or combination of both I wouldn’t know for certain without lab testing. This disease is very familiar to me in that I have lost GT, severum and other SA/CA with similar symptoms and progression of disease as before. I agree that leaving a sick fish in a community tank for so long is risky to spread to others, but so far there is no sign of spreading as in my past experience of similar symptoms.
