# Treating tank after columnaris/mouth fungas



## dandries (Apr 6, 2013)

Okay, after years without a tank I got a new 34 gallon aquarium. I make sure to get special Caribeasea rock with bacteria in it Plus added bacteria according to the bottle for 10 days before adding any fish. I did add a bunch of live plants.

I did a lot of water testing and about the pH was a little high it was steady and everything else okay. Since everything told me that a steady pH is better than trying to change pH I didn't worry about it.

I got about 10 Guppies from Petsmart and added them to the tank. I had a couple die initially the first couple of days, but then everything seemed OK until Wednesday when within 24 hours all but two were dead. They did not show any illness so I thought there was something in my tap water that I couldn't test for and even ordered a special tap water filter for aquariums. When I was down to two I noticed the remaining two had swollen lips that were somewhat whitish.

I went back to Petsmart they diagnose it as fish mouth fungus after a very heated conversation with the manager they refunded my cost of fish gave me a new filter and medication to treat the fish (Api for fungus that makes the water bright green). I did the first does Thursday night but by Friday morning the last two were dead. So I now have an empty tank and I'm trying to decide the best way to cleanse it before adding fish.

Cording to the directions on the box I added a second dose of medication. It then recommend doing a 25 percent water change after another 48 hours. I also took out the plans an added one tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water to help kill bacteria. I took out the decorations and soaked them in bleach water for about 5 minutes and then bring them out but have not put them back in. I want to know if I should do a larger water change than 25 percent and if I can do it before Monday night so I can start working at building up the beneficial bacteria? 

Also I need to know what to do to avoid this from happening again. I've been a lot of mixed information online that suggest that no matter what I do I can't get rid of columaris no matter what I do, so I wonder if it would be better to start getting the tank back in order before adding fish. I talked to two different pet stores and they said I could add fish with in a couple days after treatment but I don't plan on adding them for at least a week provided the water conditions stay steady.

Any one have any experience with this? I added a pic of the last two fish to die. They were the only ones to show symptoms. 

Thanks,
Darcy

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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

That does look like what they call "cottonmouth". Its a bacteria, so you have to treat everything that came in contact with the water with something that kills those bacteria. An effective treatment product (some strains are resistant to some antibiotics) would work. So may bleach, peroxide or other effective "antiseptic". But you have to get everything, filters, hoses, buckets, gravel, decor. And then you have to "re-cycle" the tank as a good strong, anti-septic like bleach with klll the filter bacteria too.


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## DarwinAhoy (Mar 13, 2013)

I have had pretty good luck treating this with PimaFix. Don't be surprised if it pops up again, as it's terribly common in livebearers. Adding Indian Almond leaves/Ketapang has been known to keep it at bay as well.


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## dandries (Apr 6, 2013)

So emc, are you suggesting the medicine won't work and I need to sanitize the entire tank? 

And Darwin, I already treated the tank with another medicine. Should I treat with prima fix too? But then what? It seams I am no closer to a solution.

Darcy

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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If the med cured a single fish, I would say it could cure the tank. If every last fish died, then you don't know that the med you used can kill this stuff. Same for pima fix or any other untested med. You could try a very high dose of it, or bleach or scrub it all down with salt. But I would indeed "sanitize" the tank as best you can and get your next fish from a different source. Look for a local breeder if you can find one.


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## dandries (Apr 6, 2013)

Unfortunately I didn't discover the illness until it was too late. So I don't know if it would have cured the illness or not. The last fish died right after the first dose. 

I just don't know if trying to sterilize the tank for something that supposedly is always present makes the most sense when there's a chance that some of the beneficial bacteria is still remaining. Also I don't know if I could sterilize the plants in any way that would make sense.

If I thought tossing everything out would guarantee that I never get this again I would do it but it doesn't and I don't want to be out all this money I spent on decorations.

Darcy

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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Some form of this bacteria may be everywhere, but a strain that kills in days is not something I'd want to continue doing battle with losing fish after fish while spending a fortune on meds. 

If all the store guppies have it, then you don't want any store guppies. I can't see paying good money for fish and watching them die from a toxic tank. And if their whole system is infected, find a new place to get fish. 

Dip (live and plastic plants) or soak (hard things) everything in 20% bleach solution, run the decor through the dishwasher, toss the substrate and the filter cartridges and start over with healthy fish.

Do the bacteria in a bottle thing again, 2 doses a week apart. 

Anyway that is my recommendation. If the store/wholesaler/Asian breeder has been battling this crap for awhile it may be resistant to several meds already. Just not worth the aggravation of fighting with, IMO. I'd rather deal with "cycling". 

Best of luck whatever you do.


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## dandries (Apr 6, 2013)

What about uv sanitizers? I know people use them to kill algae but has anyone had any experience with them killing bad bacteria vs good bacteria?

Darcy

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