I have a question, can the fluffly "fungus" like growths show up loose in the bottom of the tank?
There are no visible patches on my fish but I notice the stuff in the bottom of the tank (hospital tank to keep an eye on them, being changed once a day)..
Yep. My fish has columnaris right now, too (fits the description to a 'T') and every day I find the 'fungus' on the bottom of his tank when I give him his 100% water change.
Are there any visible growths on your fish? Last night I looked but I couldn't see any spots on any of my fish, but the fluffly stuff at the bottom is always there..
I don't know how closely or how often you examine your fish. With my fish, the columnaris grows on his fins and then falls of to the bottom of the tank, which is most likely what's happening. I found the stuff on the bottom, too, before I saw it on my fishy.
Also, my fish has a very mild case of columnaris - its really hard to see unless you're looking for it (he's a crown tail, so it makes it a bit easier to see, but I don't know how easy it'd be to see on the fins of other fish). It's not really growing on his main body, though - but he's also white with a blue iridescence, so its really hard to tell xP
If you could post some pictures of your tank set up and fish, that'd be great.
I don't know how closely or how often you examine your fish. With my fish, the columnaris grows on his fins and then falls of to the bottom of the tank, which is most likely what's happening. I found the stuff on the bottom, too, before I saw it on my fishy.
Also, my fish has a very mild case of columnaris - its really hard to see unless you're looking for it (he's a crown tail, so it makes it a bit easier to see, but I don't know how easy it'd be to see on the fins of other fish). It's not really growing on his main body, though - but he's also white with a blue iridescence, so its really hard to tell xP
If you could post some pictures of your tank set up and fish, that'd be great.
With their fins, it's tricky to tell, but here are some photos of the two (they share a 2.5 divided tank, but currently is it only filled about 1/4 due to frequent water changes):
Shaka:
Zen:
Here are some photos of the gunk that I sucked out of their tank this morning (it has their poo as well, sorry) :
Unfortunately, yes, it does. I thought I glimpsed some on your blue one in the picture, but perhaps its just a blur. With their white-tipped veils its hard to tell.
Have you noticed any scale discoloration around the face? That was the first sign my boy showed before the fuzzy stuff even started showing up.
The most important thing is to keep on top of their water changes, 100% a day assuming that your tank isn't cycled. A qt tank wouldn't be a bad idea, either. I would treat both, since they're living together. In the early stages, columnaris can be taken care of with a lot of TLC and some daily aq salt baths. In the more advanced stages, looking into antibiotics wouldn't be a bad idea. If they're not acting like they don't feel well, I would just treat it as an early case and see how they react to the treatment.
Unfortunately, yes, it does. I thought I glimpsed some on your blue one in the picture, but perhaps its just a blur. With their white-tipped veils its hard to tell.
Have you noticed any scale discoloration around the face? That was the first sign my boy showed before the fuzzy stuff even started showing up.
The most important thing is to keep on top of their water changes, 100% a day assuming that your tank isn't cycled. A qt tank wouldn't be a bad idea, either. I would treat both, since they're living together. In the early stages, columnaris can be taken care of with a lot of TLC and some daily aq salt baths. In the more advanced stages, looking into antibiotics wouldn't be a bad idea. If they're not acting like they don't feel well, I would just treat it as an early case and see how they react to the treatment.
I just took a fairy good look at both of them, and it is difficult to say if I see anything on their fins. However, the other day, I noticed some of the fuzzy stuff (a very VERY small amount) on the top of Zen's head..
About a week ago (before the fuzzy stuff showed up, or before I noticed it), I thought I had fed Shaka too much food, as his belly got a little large and white. Then his chin area turned white to but it went away over night and I haven't seen anything like that since.
All of their decor/gravel/filter has been taken out of the tank, so it's just them, the divider, their heater, and the water. I'm treating this as their hospital tank. They are both acting perfectly fine (eager to eat, active), so it must not be a very advanced case. I have been using Aq. salt in their water, ever since I got them a week ago, using 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. What do I do for these salt baths? Also, I had been doing a 100% every other day and a 50% in between so I will amp it up to 100% changes every day.
Unfortunately, yes, it does. I thought I glimpsed some on your blue one in the picture, but perhaps its just a blur. With their white-tipped veils its hard to tell.
Have you noticed any scale discoloration around the face? That was the first sign my boy showed before the fuzzy stuff even started showing up.
The most important thing is to keep on top of their water changes, 100% a day assuming that your tank isn't cycled. A qt tank wouldn't be a bad idea, either. I would treat both, since they're living together. In the early stages, columnaris can be taken care of with a lot of TLC and some daily aq salt baths. In the more advanced stages, looking into antibiotics wouldn't be a bad idea. If they're not acting like they don't feel well, I would just treat it as an early case and see how they react to the treatment.
I just took a fairy good look at both of them, and it is difficult to say if I see anything on their fins. However, the other day, I noticed some of the fuzzy stuff (a very VERY small amount) on the top of Zen's head..
About a week ago (before the fuzzy stuff showed up, or before I noticed it), I thought I had fed Shaka too much food, as his belly got a little large and white. Then his chin area turned white to but it went away over night and I haven't seen anything like that since.
All of their decor/gravel/filter has been taken out of the tank, so it's just them, the divider, their heater, and the water. I'm treating this as their hospital tank. They are both acting perfectly fine (eager to eat, active), so it must not be a very advanced case. I have been using Aq. salt in their water, ever since I got them a week ago, using 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. What do I do for these salt baths? Also, I had been doing a 100% every other day and a 50% in between so I will amp it up to 100% changes every day.
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