Flexibacter columnaris...

[Kittykat7]

My dad's betta, Indy, just passed away from what I am assuming was flexibacter columnaris. I noticed 2 nights ago that he had white fuzz all over his dorsal fin (that's the one on top right?), so I did some research and concluded that it was flexibacter columnaris. I quickly isolated him and tossed him in a AQ bath. Yesterday I got some API Pimafix medicine and I thought he was doing better, but it rapidly spread and he passed away tonight.

My question is...
Do I need to sanitize his tank and everything in it? If so, how do I go about doing it? I have live plants in the tank. How should I clean the plants?

He also had a snail in the tank, which I have taken out and have isolated. Will the snail be ok? Do snails get flexibacter columnaris too? Will it be safe to put the snail right into the tank with a new betta after I get it cleaned.

I am not really looking for any suggestions on how I should have treated him... it came on so fast there really wasn't much I could do. I read a lot on the web and bought the only medicine I could find.

So, any suggestions on how to go about cleaning his tank so I can get him a new fishy friend would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!

[paloverde]

I woud use a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 4 parts water, start by rinsing everything except the live plants in plain cool water. Fill up the tank with the bleach solution then stuff in all of the items that came in contact with the infected fish right into the tank & cover with a plastic bag and let it a soak for at least an hour.As for the live plants, sometimes it is just so much safer to just toss them, columnaris is evil and fatal. After the bleach soak rinse with water, refill and add dechlor. rinse and air dry.I would never put that snail back into a fish tank ever again, and would never ever risk cross contamination. I have seen columnaris wipe entire fish populations in as many as 20 tanks in a matter of days.

[Wendyjo]

I would do the same as above. I would ditch any substrate and any filter material and any cheap stuff that can be easily replaced such as both fake (especially silk) and real plants. I'd also get rid of any driftwood or other porous decor like lava rock or coral. And yeah, I'd euthanize the snail or keep it in a container of it's own for the rest of it's life. Be sure to also disinfect any tools you may have used on the tank such as nets, turkey basters, siphons and gravel vacs, algae scrapers, testing supplies - ANYTHING that has come in contact with the fish, the tank or the tank water.