Maybe it was a bad idea to buy him at Petsmart for 2.11 (including tax) when the rest of them looked so rough. There was one that was bloated and dead already and another that looked awful. But the one I settled on was bright red, really pretty, no visible legions or imperfections, flared when I got in his face, showing he was active.
I noticed though that he wasn't extremely active, but I thought it was just a different personality. However even now in his new tank all he does is lay at the bottom, swim around and then rest again. His color is fading and that's when I noticed the white spots on his face.
I've been reading up on it but I have no idea what to do or where to start. I used safestart to treat his filter, should I basically waste the $10 and disinfect the filter or risk another out break assuming he survives treatment?
What should I use to treat him, and when should I start even if I'm not sure that it's Columnaris?
How fast does columnaris kill? Should I move him to a "hospital tank" even though it's cold as all hell in my room and I wouldn't have a way to regulate the temperature? Can I treat him in his tank?
I just got him like two days ago and don't want him to just die. Please help!
2 gallon tank, heater, filter, gravel substrate, small snail, temperature fluctuates between 72-78 degrees. Used safestart to help cycle the tank, seeing white and gray patches on his face, kind of fuzzy looking. Use Nutrafin betta plus water conditioner and dechlorinator. I got him the day before yesterday and the temperature got kind of high last night (78) and that's when the fuzzy white stuff finally showed up. He didn't eat yesterday and ate like one tiny flake of betta food today.
No aeration, haven't tested the water, have only had him for 2 days so I haven't changed the water yet, 2 snails in the tank with him, one of them is a tiny baby and the other is bigger but it hasn't moved since I bought it earlier so I assume its dead.
What's worse though is that he's really laying there long enough for me to just take pictures of him at my leisure.
If the treatment for Columnaris doesn't work, what can I expect in terms of life expectancy? And how can I disinfect the tank in case I want to try this all over again if he doesn't live? Is Maracyn okay to treat it?
Hi astrid and welcome to the forum. First, can you answer a few questions?
What size is his tank?
Any live plants or tankmates?
Is it heated? What temp?
Can you get a pic of the white spots? Do they look fuzzy and raised?
If it's columnaris, it can vary depending on the strain. Some forms of acute columnaris can kill within days but usually, we can catch most forms and at least start treatment before things get worse.
For now, leave him in his tank where he can stay warm. If he's having a hard time reaching the surface to breathe, lower the water a bit.
did you read the sticky on this?
here is the part about what you think he has.
Columnaris
•Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth, Fins rapidly disingrate, starting at the edges
Gray areas around head and gills, As the disease progresses the gray lesions may change in color to yellow/brown/red, Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
•Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while acute can kill within a day. It is contagious so isolate sick fish. If more than one fish shows symptoms then treat the entire tank. Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II, API Erythromycin, OR API Triple Sulfa, combined with Jungle’s Fungus Eliminator (if possible).
right now i have 2 bettas in a 10 gal tank. i noticed my newest betta has a slight fuzzy patch on him. so i quickly did a major but not complete water change on the whole tank. i then added AQ salt to the whole tank. i also have a half gal tank i am using to separate and really treat my sick fish. i boiled everything for the 1/2 gal and replaced it and treated with a 1/2 tsp AQ salt. we'll see how it goes!
hey, ya'll. i helped her out on Tumblr, but i'm not that great on Meds, so i turned her here. :V i copy-pasted the sticky there to her already, but as i said, i'm not great with things like this. x-x
•Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
•Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II.
I think it's chronic because it's been 3 days since I've bought him. He's very lethargic, I've seen cottony growth. He won't eat, but he's not really clamped. He breathes fine. I don't have Aquarium salt so I don't know what to do with it right now. I will definitely go pick up some aquarium salt and Maracyn I and II. Should I do both or just try one? Thank you so much for responding.
If it's columnaris, it can vary depending on the strain. Some forms of acute columnaris can kill within days but usually, we can catch most forms and at least start treatment before things get worse.
For now, leave him in his tank where he can stay warm. If he's having a hard time reaching the surface to breathe, lower the water a bit.
I went back and edited the first post to answer questions when I saw the sticky while waiting for someone to respond. He's still swimming up to the surface, but only when he gets up the energy to it seems. Like it's not difficult for him but he just... doesn't. How long should treatment take?
A course of Maracyn should take 5 days for both Maracyn I and II. Do you have something you can put the small snails in? They're really sensitive to chemicals and I kinda worry two meds would kill them. I can definitely see the white fuzz so I think you are right, it looks like chronic columnaris.
Remove any carbon from your filter before you medicate, otherwise the carbon sucks the meds right out of the water.
A course of Maracyn should take 5 days for both Maracyn I and II. Do you have something you can put the small snails in? They're really sensitive to chemicals and I kinda worry two meds would kill them. I can definitely see the white fuzz so I think you are right, it looks like chronic columnaris.
Remove any carbon from your filter before you medicate, otherwise the carbon sucks the meds right out of the water.
So a separate course for both of them (so 10 days?) or can I use both of them at the same time? And I can put the smaller snail in my mom's fish tank. And should I disinfect the carbon out of the filter or can I keep it? Or would that be a chance of reintroducing the columnaris into the tank once he's treated?
You use them at the same time. You should be able to keep the carbon but if you don't want to take a risk, you can always dump it.
To help with dosing the Maracyn, you'll need two pretty big jugs, 1/2 or 1 gallon. Fill the first with 5 cups dechlorinated water and add the dosage for one med. Shake well. Now, you'll use 1/2 cup of medicated water per gallon of tank water. So you'd pour in 1 cup of medicated water into your 2 gallon tank. Discard the rest of the medicated water if it is Maracyn II, as the dosage changes for the next days. Repeat for Maracyn I in the other jug. This jug you can keep for a few days and use for water changes. After a few days, make up a new fresh batch.
You'll want to do daily 100% water changes and redose the meds each day.
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