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Is it really cotton mouth / columnaris?

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  DarkMoon17 
#1 ·
My little sister's betta (Draco) is now on his 5th and final day of treatment for cotton mouth. I've been using maracyn 1, and it says that if necessary, I can do another 5 days. The cotton/fluff/columnaris hanging on his lip has not really changed at all, and is still there. However, I see no other issues with health, and Draco's lip is perfectly fine, which leaves me wondering if it truly is columnaris, if it is fungus, or if it is just a piece of fluff that got stuck to his lip and that I ought to manually remove...

Do you think I should do another five days of maracyn 1 and during those 5 days also double up with maracyn 2 just to be safe? Or could all those meds make him sick?

advice would be nice :)

(pics will be up in a few minutes)
 
#2 ·
sorry about the double post

Also, when I look carefully at the water in his qt tank (2 gallons, 100% water changes every single day), I notice little bits of clearish stuff similar to what's on his lip floating around in the water.... This makes me guess that it's a fungus and that maracyn is doing absolutely nothing to fix it.... opinions?

( :p I can't get any good photos, I'll try again tomorrow.)
 
#3 ·
Can you post a pic...I am a little confused....The Betta is Draco....correct......first you post that he has an area on his lip that has "fluff" and next you post that the lip is "fine"...typo and two different fish.....lol.....

Overall the fish is acting and eating fine....can you describe in detail what you are seeing or a clear photo of the area in question......also, how long has it been on the fish and no change in after antibiotic......
 
#4 ·
The cotton is still on his face right?
Have you tried Aquarium Salt? Once you finish the first course of Meds, you can try Salt. It would be effective against columnaris or true fungus. Add 1tsp/gal 2 times, 12 hours apart so you end up with a concentration of 2tsp/gal. If there is little/no improvement after 3-4 days increase it to 3tsp/gal. Don't continue for more than 10 days. Lowering the temp to around 76*F would help too. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
#5 ·
Thank's DarkMoon.

Update:Draco's been in 3 tsps of epsom salt for a bit over a week now, and there are no signs of the fungus/stuff going away. In fact, it's gotten bigger as of recently, and today I noticed (my sister did as well) that it looks like it might be attaching itself to his eye.... help?! D:
 
#7 ·
OFL, I'm really sorry I didn't respond to your post and clear things up for you, I actually didn't see your post 'til I got on to type this up.


Anyways, good news... It fell off when I was trying to get him into a cup to hold him during a water change. Now that it's off and I'm not worried half out of my mind, I have the feeling it was just a piece of harmless fluff or nonharmful fungus caught to him due to the fact that for the whole 2 or so weeks it was attached to him, there was no deterioration of flesh or general health like I was expecting to see if a body fungus or columnaris was affecting him. I feel rather silly now for partially over reacting. Thanks for all your replies. :D
 
#8 ·
I'm very glad it's cleared itself up. Don't worry at all, I think we would all freak a bit if we saw that! In the future, Epsom Salt will not clear up an infection. It helps reduce swelling and works as a laxative. For Columnaris and other fungal or bacterial infections, you'll need Aquarium Salt. You may want to use Aquarium Salt at 1tsp/gal for a few days just in case it was a fungus. That would prevent it from regrowing. Keep us posted! Hopefully it won't come back!
 
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