Emergency! Columnaris and Dropsy!

[Something_fishy_in_here]

So I posted about my betta awhile ago, and I didn't really get any useful information back...I had no idea what was wrong with him other than fin rot. I didn't think the white crust on his fin was columnaris because it wasn't fuzzy. It didn't look like the pictures. I treated him for fungus, ran through a slew of antibiotics, salt treatments, melafix....the usual. Now he's got dropsy....I thought it was constipation as he's not pooping that I can tell. He's bloated with bulgy eyes. Ugh! I decided just to give him clean water, and see where that took us, and I went to camp for a weekend, and I come back, and he's got a ball of "mold" growing on his fin. I know it's columnaris because the white crust never went away. He got a hole where it was growing, and finally his fin split. For tonight I've got him in a tsp/gallon of aq salt, half tsp of epsom (for the dropsy), and a dose of kanaplex which may or may not help with the damn columnaris since I've put him through two rounds of it already in my treatments. I'm hoping these things will help keep him comfortable, and control the spread for the night.

He's in a five gallon, temp 78, I change his water every day. My tap water is hard, and it's 8.0 ph. zero nitrite/nitrates/ammonia....he doesn't really get a chance to build anything up because I change his water every day. He's still eating, he's not pineconed yet, and he's still swimming around. Only difference in his behavior is that he's not as interactive as he was when I left him friday, and he's very obviously uncomfortable as he's wiggling around a lot when he swims. I'm hoping for suggestions on medications/dosages because now that I know what it is, I can treat it properly. He seems more comfortable in the salt bath than he was before it. Please help me help my poor Zucco!

 

[Crazy Cat Lady]

I can't help with the columnaris however aquarium salt won't help dropsy, it may cause more damage that help (quite the opposite is the case for columnaris). I cant remember the exact details but aquarium salt will block him up even more, whereas magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) will help draw out the excess fluid.. Or something like that. However aquarium salt (sodium chloride) is the only thing I know of that might kill columnaris.. So it sounds like if it is what you think it is, its a bit of a catch 22..

But I'm no expert on the subject either, run a search on sodium and dropsy, you'll see what I mean, and someone more knowledgeable than me is sure to reply sooner or later. good luck with Zucco.

Post script, others will be able to help more if you can get some pics of him up.

 

[Rbishop]

My columnaris treatment is simple.. euthanize and nuke the tank.....

 

[Blueiz]

What Rbishop said about the columnaris. I just lost a battle with it with guppies. 90 percent death loss. This was after dosing Kanaplex and Furan 2 in conjunction. After the spot developed, the fish went down hill fast. From what I understand this bacteria eventually paralyzes the fish leading to it's death. The swimming in place it is doing is most like because it's losing body function because of the bacteria. This does coincide with how all of mine ended up dying. I started euthanizing as soon as I saw the first sign of disease.

Luckily my tank has stabilized now and appears to be disease free. However, with that being said I will not add anything to that tank, nor take anything out of it and add to a different tank. The 2 remaining adult guppies and numerous fry, along with some cories will have to repopulate themselves.

 

[Something_fishy_in_here]

No he's not swimming in place. He's active. He's wiggling like he's itchy. I've heard of many people having success treating, and Zuc is a trucker. I don't have to nuke the tank as he's in qt.

 

[Something_fishy_in_here]

Also the fuzzy thing on his fin went away overnight with the treatment I added. He still has the white crust however which I suspect is the same thing.

 

[Gregg]

Half the battle with Columnaris is stress and water parameters, including temperature. Redox balance might play a roll too. Fish baths as well as optimal mineralization is key to Columnaris treatment.
Anyway, I have my doubts this is what you had, but we will likely never know.

As to the Dropsy, this is even much more difficult to treat if at possible under most circumstances, especially in a small enclosed environment.

I would certainly start with a fish bath here using about 1 teaspoon sodium chloride salt per gallon of bath water along with about a 1/4 teaspoon of Epsom salts for the same volume of water. Make sure to use water from the aquarium and throw away each time.

I would also add Kanamycin the bath and to a food soak

Ref.
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html

 

[Something_fishy_in_here]

After further review, I think the ball of fuzz was saprolegnia. He does still however have the white crust, and I'm going to treat as columnaris as best I can. I just finished an epsom salt bath for the dropsy. I'm thinking I need to treat that more strongly in the water, and dose the food with meds because I don't want him to get to the point of pineconing. I also did a spot treatment with the aq saltwater in an attempt to treat his affected areas. I appreciate you giving me detailed information Gregg. Thanks very much.

 

[Gregg]

After further review, I think the ball of fuzz was saprolegnia. He does still however have the white crust, and I'm going to treat as columnaris as best I can. I just finished an epsom salt bath for the dropsy. I'm thinking I need to treat that more strongly in the water, and dose the food with meds because I don't want him to get to the point of pineconing. I also did a spot treatment with the aq saltwater in an attempt to treat his affected areas. I appreciate you giving me detailed information Gregg. Thanks very much.

Your welcome.

It is not unusual to confuse Saprolegnia with Columnaris, but they do have different causes and somewhat different treatments. Close up inspection with a magnifying glass will often show the difference.
Melafix, while useful as a fish first aid, is not generally effective for either.

Here is some instruction on both Saprolegnia/Columnaris
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

 

[Something_fishy_in_here]

Thanks very much. I'm thinking maybe it's a problem with my tap water. I've tried every medication under the sun, and he's not getting worse too fast, he's just not healing. I'm going to start him on spring water effective immediately. On a side note, do you know anything about the medication, Dr. Discus Bacter-cure?