# Don't know what it is. Killing my fish! :(



## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

I think that two (of three) of my brand new Tiger Barbs have some kind of disease or fungus. I bought all four of my fish in my 10 gallon on Thursday (three Tiger Barbs and a Red-Tailed Shark). They all seemed to be doing well and getting along. This morning I fed them and walked out of the room for a few minutes (5-10). I came back and Porthos (Tiger Barb) was floating on the bottom dead when he was swimming around normally just moments ago. I was going to go back to PetSmart to get my refund tonight but I got there after they closed. I have been closely studying the other fish since Porthos died. Aramis has this fuzzy grayish thing sticking off his mouth. AND now that I think about it Porthos had one, too. I noticed it Thursday when I was coming home and they were still in the bag. Also Aramis has clamped fins and is 'breathing' hard. Athos (They were the Three Musketeers) doesn't have anything on his mouth and is doing okay. I removed Aramis to a small bowl. I don't have another tank with a filter that I could put him in. Since d'Artagnan and Athos seem to be doing okay I left them in the 10 gallon tank. Anyways, I have no meds to speak of and am worrying myself sick. I have been looking online but don't know what the Tiger Barbs had. I am supposed to be working on a paper that is due tomorrow. I am also freaking out because I don't have the time to go to PetSmart until tomorrow at like 2:00pm and the other fish could show symptoms or die. Does anyone know any home remedies or at least what my fish have and how to cure it?


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

I'm guessing your tank is new. New Tank Syndrome is very stressful on fish and can make them more susceptible to diseases they're already carrying or are already in the water. 

Also, tiger barbs and RTS need larger tanks than a 10 gallon.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

My tank isn't new. I just got new fish. I think that whatever the Tiger Barbs have they got at the pet store. I just don't know what it is.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

It's _Flexibacter columnaris_, more than likely, and the best advice I can give you is just do your paper and get ready to break down and restart your tank. Harsh, yes, but this is NASTY stuff that you'll spend a LOT of time & money trying to beat unless you just give up now while you can. Sure, there's things you could try, but by the time you read this it will likely already be too late.
I'm just a bright ray of hope, ain't I?

Get a quarantine tank going so you don't have another tank wipeout if you run across this stuff again.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

So are you saying to just get rid of the fish and totally clean it out? Or just scrub it inside and out? And there aren't any good meds for it?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

He means "nuke" the tank after all the fish die which he predicts will be soon. The method I use is the replace a good portion of the water with bleach and let the filters for a day so everything is touched, then drain it and let everything get totally dry. Some people boil gravel or run ornaments through the dishwasher. I've only done this when disease resists treatment and kills everything. You can try to treat you fish and hope for the best. But whenever you get an antibiotic-resistant strain of nasty that kills everything in the tank, nuke it so it doesn't kill the next fish you add..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

http://govdocs.aquake.org/cgi/reprint/2003/727/7270100.pdf

Heres a kind of scary articles (I think it recommends letting the fish continue to die, if they were cheap enough), but it has good pictures. I've got to think keeping an infected pond has got to bad in the long run.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

One more thing, wherever you got your newest fish, don't get any fish from.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

Update: So I came home and the Tiger Barbs that didn't show signs of the disease has now died. The one I put in the bowl to make sure the others didn't get it (it was highly unlikely but I thought I would try anyway) is still alive but the grey stuff (columnaris) totally covers his mouth so he can't eat. I think that even if I did treat him he wouldn't be able to eat anymore and die. The Red-Tailed shark looks okay (I think). He wasn't in the same tank at the pet store with the Tiger Barbs. Do you think he can be saved if I buy some medication? If I want to try and save him what do I do?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Throw every antibiotic you can afford at it ( of the proper gram-type; read the labels ) and hope that one of them still works. Keep the tank scrupulously clean while you're at it so as to give your fish the best chance of not getting infected.
The reason this stuff is so bad is that it's common, and commonly MIS-treated, thereby allowing it to live and grow stronger and resistant. When you use antibiotics, you can't do it halfway, but must instead go all-out. Too many people before you have wimped out on it, and now it's a real pain.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

Update: So Monday afternoon I came home from class to find that Athos (the healthy looking Tiger Barb) had died and Aramis (mouth was covered in the grayish white stuff) was still alive along with my Red-Tailed Shark (already posted but thought I would rewrite). So I went to PetSmart (*before I saw TheOldSalt's advice*) and thought I would ask the guy behind the fish counter (*BIG mistake!*). He thought it was fungus but wasn't sure and recommended a ton of products so I ended up just picking *Melafix* (still skeptical), doing a water change, and treated the tank. I thought they were doing better but three days later the remaining Tiger Barb had only one pectoral fin and his mouth was still being eaten away and I decided that I was using the wrong medication. He *died* before I could get to the pet store. I looked online at *Fishy Farmacy* and they suggested TMP Sulfa, Sulfa 4 TMP, or Triple Sulfa as a cure for *Columnaris* (TMP Sulfa being the best). I went to PetSmart and bought some *Triple Sulfa* b/c it was the only one of the three they had. I have been treating the tank for ~10 days for a *total of 6 doses (the box has 10)*. The *Red-Tailed Shark* never showed any physical signs of having the disease but I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't get it. He seems to be doing okay. I don't see any grayish patches or anything wrong with his coloration, etc. He has been *eating normally and swimming fine*, though he does like to hide in a specific plant in the corner (especially if I am right in front of the tank). Anyways, I think the hiding is just normal and he has picked that plant as his territory. *So should I use up the remaining four doses or not? And when can I get him a few tank mates? I know he will need a bigger tank as he grows but for now could I get three new Tiger Barbs?*


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I would use all the doses. Certainly use it for at least the time period suggested on the box or the fishyfarmacy website. You don't want to leave anti-biotic resistant disease in the tank. Even if the shark is immune, anything you add would get sick and die.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

emc7 said:


> I would use all the doses. Certainly use it for at least the time period suggested on the box or the fishyfarmacy website. You don't want to leave anti-biotic resistant disease in the tank. Even if the shark is immune, anything you add would get sick and die.


The box says to use *4 doses* and more if necessary. The Triple Sulfa I bought is from *Aquarium Pharmaceuticals* not Fishy Farmacy. I just used the website to find out what medication to use. The Fishy Farmacy med says to use theirs daily with a 25% water change before each treatment for 10 days. The API stuff I bought says to treat it for *two days* then do a *water change the third day* and then treat for another *two days* (for a total of four doses), etc. *Ok, I will use the rest of the box, but are you saying that I can't get tankmates even after I've finished treatment? He will be alone for his entire life?* :-(


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I'm saying that if the stuff works, you need to use a full coarse. If you don't take all your penicillin when you have strep-throat, you will get penicillin-resistant strep. If you luck out and the stuff wasn't already resistant to sulfa, then your tank should be safe for new fish after treatment. If it was already resistant, any new fish you add right away could come down with it. Since there isn't really any way to tell if you killed it, I would suggest considering the tank in "quarantine" for at least two months. Then add fish only 1 at time while watching carefully to see if they get ill.


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## FuzzyDragon09 (Sep 29, 2008)

Okay. No new fish till at least the middle or end of December. I really hope I'm lucky. By the way, thanks for your advice!


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