MARIE HAS DONE IT NOW.....

[Kindredspirit]

Okay guys ~


I am posting this so others can learn as we go here and me too ~ Let me state as well that I never moved over any fish as I was contemplating at one time ~


These discus in question are all my awesome fish from Dan ~ he is the sweetest guy I swear.....always there for me ~ like few others I know and love ~
Last night I noticed a small white spot on my discus ~ that is the first pic you see ~ I decided to wait and see ~ at the same time I noticed my biggest one was alone ~ not like him and I know my fish ~ very well ~ but ~ I blew it off and did a wc and waited ~

This morning the one with the spot looks like the second pic ~ one way for me to confirm what I feel is to feed them... they all ate but not as aggressively as they do ~

My first thought was... as some of you know I had purchased a new discus ...a juvie from our lfs at the same time I got my ONLY LIVE PLANTS ~ {and some Gobies} ~ as Dan helped me to create my driftwood~ this was a week ago approx ~ My new discus has since passed ~ I shld never have got only one ~ something I shall have to live with ~ he passed yesterday ~ yes he was qt'd and I used all separate equipment and rinsed my hands in alcohol and took every precaution I could think of ~except once I believed I forgot to wash my hands after feeding the new discus in qt~something again I will not forget anywhere soon make no mistake about that ~

Last night if I had hit them with meds I could have stopped this from progressing so quick over night but there was no way to know last night with that one little spot! ~ according to what I have relayed to Dan ~ in his opinion ~ this is Columnaris ~ I read so much on this today and .....wow...

I hit them hard with Furan2 and I know some may not agree but this spread over night so quick and I simply can not justify waiting any longer and applying the salt and wc change plan ~

So pl let me have it ~ bar none ~ I am a little more tough now ~ ( Dan... Candy ...Frank...quiet!)

My questions:

1. Do you think that I brought this home on the plants? I did soak them well and rinsed even better ~ I only had four ~ two died and only two are left attached to the driftwood ~

2. Most likely scenario is I did this personally when I didn't wash my hands after feeding the one in qt?

3. Is Columnaris the same as the BLACK? cuz according to some you might as well toss them now ~

4. Do discus usually bounce back from this?

5. So...when you see slime coat as in these pics YOU wld think of Columnaris straight away? I know that slipping of the slime coat indicates a bacterial infection but my tanks are so clean with reg wc and my fish are not weak and .....I am really upset and confused here ~do not understand how or why this hit them so quick as I thought it was mainly on weak stressed fish?

6. Wld you treat all the other tanks to be sure? Talk about paranoid now! Anything I shld do in re to this? I think I read that is is airborne?? Oh Hell no...

7. Okay.. I used my main Python on this tank now that has this ~ can I soak it in the tub with bleach? I really need to use it for the other tanks. But an outbreak of this on all my tanks wld not work well for me ~

8. Ya know I bought live plants for the first time ...why did I do that? I was soooooo happy with my silk ones....I also got a few gobies ...tiny tiny ones and they are all doing great in their own tank ~ What does that tell anyone?? Cuz should they be ill too? Same fish store....and same tank at home for two days as well ~

9. Does anyone think that changing the brand of fbw that I always use cld have brought this on?

I am sorry for such a long and boring post guys ~ and things that you have all heard and answered before ~ a kajillion ( kk) times! I just am def trippin here and I am worried ~ I have hit them with Furan2 hard ~ double dose ~ I will continue for 10 days at single dose ~ temp at 84...cuz bacteria does grow at higher temp....yes?

Thank you ~

Marie ~

[tpl*co]

Marie, I'm so so sorry, did you quarantine the plants too before putting them in? If not it could be the plants if they were from the same source . I didn't know gobies could go in with discus? (different water temps?).

I hope you kick this soon. It's too late if it was the plants, leave them in and treat everything!

Tina

[lhforbes12]

Marie,
I'm so sorry this has happened to you!
I had something very similar recently and lost over half my fish (6 out of 11)
so I know how devastating it is.

My questions:

1. Do you think that I brought this home on the plants? I did soak them well and rinsed even better ~ I only had four ~ two died and only two are left attached to the driftwood ~

No

2. Most likely scenario is I did this personally when I didn't wash my hands after feeding the one in qt?

Not impossible, I find a little unlikely though

3. Is Columnaris the same as the BLACK? cuz according to some you might as well toss them now ~

Sorry, I am unfamiliar with "black" but it does look like a bacterial infection

4. Do discus usually bounce back from this?

Not for me no, not without treatment anyway. BUT my remaining 5 are all fine now

5. So...when you see slime coat as in these pics YOU wld think of Columnaris straight away? I know that slipping of the slime coat indicates a bacterial infection but my tanks are so clean with reg wc and my fish are not weak and .....I am really upset and confused here ~do not understand how or why this hit them so quick as I thought it was mainly on weak stressed fish?

Yep, mine were all healthy and strong too. I'm not positive it's Columnaris, but I'm pretty sure it's bacterial.

6. Wld you treat all the other tanks to be sure? Talk about paranoid now! Anything I shld do in re to this? I think I read that is is airborne?? Oh Hell no...

I wouldn't, but I dislike dosing prophylactically, especially with antibiotics

7. Okay.. I used my main Python on this tank now that has this ~ can I soak it in the tub with bleach? I really need to use it for the other tanks. But an outbreak of this on all my tanks wld not work well for me ~

Exactly how I think it got spread in my tanks. Big Al's (among others I'm sure) sells Python accessories, one of which is the gravel washer thingie, I own 3 now just in case.

8. Ya know I bought live plants for the first time ...why did I do that? I was soooooo happy with my silk ones....I also got a few gobies ...tiny tiny ones and they are all doing great in their own tank ~ What does that tell anyone?? Cuz should they be ill too? Same fish store....and same tank at home for two days as well ~

I honestly doubt it was from the plants, but anything is possible. My guess is it came from the fish that died.

9. Does anyone think that changing the brand of fbw that I always use cld have brought this on?

I don't think so.


When this first happened to me Paul, Dave and Mat all told me it was a bacteria, but I refused to listen, I knew better, I thought it was a virus. You know the result. I FINALLY listened to Carol Roberts and used Furan 2. That was what did the trick. My suggestion is to get some Furan 2 and do it quickly. (If you have trouble finding it I'll send you some)


Larry

ps Do NOT panic Marie, you'll only make it worse

[N_E_time]

Marie I just wnt through this with my fish. It is VERY contagous and I do believe it to be COLUMNARIS. At first I used maracyn, that did not work then maracyn2 that did not work either then Cary Strong said to try tetracycline
and that did not work. Every day I could see more fish getting this and getting worse, this went in for a week and a half. Then I tried BINOX from Jungle and within 24 hours I noticed an improvment. Some experts say there are different strains of this disease and are immune to some medicines. Whats strange is I also have Rummy nose tetras in the same tank and they were un affected by this stuff. I did lose some fish in the process.


Mike

[marilyn1998]

Sis,


DEEP BREATH and calm down a second. The furan2 is a GOOD thing. What you are showing is EXACTLY what I had on my one fish (the original mate to my female) that died early May. It doesnt appear to be too late. Your guy isnt black yet. And he is still eating.

Your questions:

1. Do you think that I brought this home on the plants? I did soak them well and rinsed even better ~ I only had four ~ two died and only two are left attached to the driftwood ~


NO> but you do need to douse them in bleach water before you add them. They can carry snails, duckweed and disease. If they looked healthy, then I wouldnt worry.

2. Most likely scenario is I did this personally when I didn't wash my hands after feeding the one in qt?

NO> just feeding wouldnt do it unless you playing in the water in both tanks.

3. Is Columnaris the same as the BLACK? cuz according to some you might as well toss them now ~

NO> are you referring to hex?

4. Do discus usually bounce back from this?

THey can if treated quickly enough. I think you did good added Furan2 today.
I was also told to do the salt bath thingy. You might try that, then put him back in the tank with the med.

5. So...when you see slime coat as in these pics YOU wld think of Columnaris straight away? I know that slipping of the slime coat indicates a bacterial infection but my tanks are so clean with reg wc and my fish are not weak and .....I am really upset and confused here ~do not understand how or why this hit them so quick as I thought it was mainly on weak stressed fish?

YES. The fact they are NOT weak, still eating and you worked fast is the best thing for them! Kudos to you for catching this!! Remember to keep the temp about 84.

6. Wld you treat all the other tanks to be sure? Talk about paranoid now! Anything I shld do in re to this? I think I read that is is airborne?? Oh Hell no...

I wouldnt treat prophylatically. If you feel the need, use MElafix. IT has tea tree oil in it and is not antibiotic, so it wont cause resistance or hurt your filter or plants. I did this to the tank where my fish died. NOONE ELSE GOT SICK!

7. Okay.. I used my main Python on this tank now that has this ~ can I soak it in the tub with bleach? I really need to use it for the other tanks. But an outbreak of this on all my tanks wld not work well for me ~

I would soak it for sure. Can you get a cheapo to use for your QT tank? So you dont have to worry about cross contamination again.

8. Ya know I bought live plants for the first time ...why did I do that? I was soooooo happy with my silk ones....I also got a few gobies ...tiny tiny ones and they are all doing great in their own tank ~ What does that tell anyone?? Cuz should they be ill too? Same fish store....and same tank at home for two days as well ~

If the gobies arent sick I would take that as a good sign.

9. Does anyone think that changing the brand of fbw that I always use cld have brought this on?



NO>


Good Luck babe and call me if ya wanna talk.

[Kindredspirit]

Larry ~ Thank you!! The discus that died ....was in qt..in another room and all equipment was separate ...always......

The plants that came from the lfs are in this tank now...so........

Just that one time I did not wash my hands ~ once the only way I could have transferred from the qt discus was with my hand that one time Unless the plants...

I have started Furan2...today ~ but...i dont have anymore so I called everywhere and amazingly some lfs have never heard of it! I can not find anymore ...I have enough for one more day ~

So........I called Dr. Smiths and ordered some for tomorrow del'vry and it is sooooooooo much cheaper as I pay ( when i can find it ) 6 bucks for 8 tabs! I got 100 tabs for 19-....but overnight del'vry cost me $ 23! Thank you for the offer Larry ~ very sweet ~

Marie ~

[Kindredspirit]

Marilyn ~


Thanks ~ I am very sad ~ I feel like a total idiot ~


They are pretty dark now ~ Dan did say it may get worse before better ~ They hate this med tho ~ funny thing is that the two Yellow Pigeon x Snakeskins are not trippin at all! No signs ...nada....zip! Swimming around and all ~

But the Golden x Albino are not well ~ This happened so quick ~ Im tellin ya ~


Fine one min ~ down the next ~ on a dime man ~
So........if not the change of food...or one hand in for a sec...sep equipment on the qt tank....not the plants ....


WHAT??? HOW? The need to know and understand is great here ~

M ~

[Kindredspirit]

Marie I just wnt through this with my fish. It is VERY contagous and I do believe it to be COLUMNARIS.

Mike

Wonderful ~




Thank you Mike ~

[marilyn1998]

Marie,

When my guy got it I felt just like you. WIthin 24 hours of him not eating and getting slimy he was gone. Just like that. ANd noone else got sick and I had no clue he was.

All the reading I did pointed down to that many diseases are always present in the water and the fish. For reasons of stress, water params, and who knows what, (somethimes nothing we can see or do), the disease takes hold.
This is prolly the closest to an aswer you are gonna get.

Feel better knowing that you acted CORRECTLY, acted QUICKLY, and learned from this. YOu did everything right in the treatment.

I hope they all do well. Keep me posted.

[Kindredspirit]

Kudos to you for catching this!!

I caught the spot last night ~ Dan caught the problem this morning ~

I did nothing but cause it

[lhforbes12]

Marie,
I was hit in 2 tanks... and they weren't even on the same floor (one was in the family room, one in the basement) If you're interested you could check out my Discus Plague thread. It really devasted me. Ummm 10 days treatment? 4 days is the recomended treatment on my bottle, which I also got from Drsfoster&smith btw. I did 50% wc's every day, even though that isn't what the bottle says to do, and then full dose after (1 cap per ten gallons) mine were in a 55 gallon and I used 5 caps a day for 4 days. (I was going to use 6 caps but Carol suggested that I use the 5 only, and I think she was correct).
I agree with Marilyn about everything, except about the plants, I seriously doubt that's where it came from, but I most certainly could be mistaken.

hth,
Larry

Oh! The reason I reposted, salt baths are a very good thing, which was a suggestion I got from Dave. They helped a LOT. I don't think they cured anything but my fish always seemed more "comfortable" afterwards. Lower temps and low pH help keep bacteria in check.

[tpl*co]

Marie,

I ordered some Furan 2 from Bigal's about a week and a half ago, it should arrive any day. If you need some (or yours doesn't come in time) give me a holler.

Tina

[Kindredspirit]

Ummm 10 days treatment? 4 days is the recomended treatment on my bottle,

Usually antibiodics do not start working til after five days ~ mistake some make I think ~ and not continuing long enough ~


lets hope I am not an idiot here as well ~

[raglanroad]

Marie, YES to Furan 2. YES to salt DIPS, not bath. Strong salt dip. This looks like costia also, and it is likely many columnaris diagnoses are costia. No problem, same treatment. Costia has some forms that are marine or fresh, so those may be resistant to salt at sea water strength.

The salt dips did help my fish look much cleaner , and fins were spread afterward, even more and more quickly than the Furan 2. I would not use Furan for an extended period, and for sure, BIG TIME aeration, waves on the surface, and circulation too.

I would say to do 80% WC every day and fully re-dose.

Dave

[marilyn1998]

Marie,

SOmeone correct me please, but I think that Furan2 will color your water green and can affect the biofilter. So test daily. With those big WC's you shouldnt have any probs. Just be careful not to tax the tank too soon and aerate is good too. When the treatment is done, put in carbon for 3 days to get rid of the medicine. dont forget to remove it!