# Help!!!!!!



## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

This small cory panda has like cotton on its mouth! I isolated it in a hanging container flipped in toward the tank so the temp stays consistent but what do i do? I put melafix in but called the LFS and he didnt really give me an answer, but mentioned pimafix too. Please help! And do we treat the whole community tank?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Treat the whole tank.
Use search in our toolbar for "columnaris"
Cotton Mouth
Good luck.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you, I will take a look right now!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f5/pos...ble-treatment-67265.html?highlight=columnaris
This thread was very long and sad,but jr had good info on meds in there.
Fish Columnaris | Fungus & Saprolegnia | Treatment & Prevention
This was some of the best info I found.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Im reading the first stuff now, it said stress is the initial trigger like from a move. Well we unfortunately had to move a few weeks ago. Strike 1. Some fish dont seem to get to the food like hide during feeding time, so i add more food. Strike 2. Overfeeding. Ugh im so upset right now, we just lost a albino cory that had labored breathing but looked fine on the outside, which the reading said can happen Strike 3.  i just hope we dont lose the entire tank


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Columnaris can be brutal(I never even knew)!Somewhere in that thread jrmain gave a name of a supplier for meds that were high quality.I would go right to the top as ,even if all fish are lost(to columnaris) it could still survive for months (maybe years) with out a host .Killing it is SERIOUS!


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

My god! How do we even know its eradicated? I cannot believe this is happening. Thank you for your help, i hope we caught it in the early stage still! Ill keep updating each day with the progress. Right now i only have melafix on hand and used that until we can get to the LFS.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

And hes dead.... I didnt even finish reading all the info and hes already dead


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sorry he passed so quick.
Lower temps(72) are better then high with columnaris.
There are some strains that kill in 24 hours and sometimes it takes longer depending on the fish and its immune system.
Not funny(more coincidence?) that the thread on this before involved cories also?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

This was the other thread that was going at the same time;
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f5/clueless-confused-67994.html?highlight=columnaris
I think in permelink 4 is the link to the meds jrmain recommended.
My LFS actually carries this brand meds so maybe they are available for you besides mail order?


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

We treated the community tank last night with triple sulfa and put in carbon-less filters, I awaken today today to find one of our albino corys has the cottony growth on its right pectoral fin. I put him in the isolation box, it wasnt easy to catch him, as he took a swim around the tank  possibly spreading this more? This is 3 fish in 2 days now, with 2 of them with the cottony growth. I didnt even get to treat the panda yesterday as by the time i put the methyline blue in the isolation box, he was dead. We drove around to all the LFS we could last night and no one really had any meds other than the mycin class or the cycline class meds. Also, since i did my routine water change yesterday and found the panda, there have been this feather like things floating in the water, i have never seen them before and they do get trapped on the filter intake. I dont know what to do! I feel like nothing is going to work! We only been keeping fish for a little over a year now and we are still noobs really at this. Can anyone help put our heads together and try and beat this? The story from above in those links was heart breaking, this is like the absolute last thing we need to go wrong in our lives. 

We dont have too many resources or equipment anymore as I threw some nets out yesterday and we only have a few things to put water in like pitchers and 2 big buckets for water changes and 2 smaller buckets that we use to put our plants in to clean the algae off each week. We have a gravel vacuum too. But we also have a second tank that is fine and im sure we have to buy all brand new stuff just to keep seperate for that tank to prevent cross contamination. Ugh!!!! This just is not fair! :,(


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

I will read the link right now coralbandit, thank you for your help so far, i hope we can find a solution


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Ok so get the TMP Sulfa? That seems to be what has worked in the clueless and confused thread you listed above. In the mean time i turned the temp down to the low 70s in both tanks, the healthy one and the sick one just incase that does help at all, maybe slow it down a bit.

Do I still feed the fish while this treatment goes on?, do I still change the water? Should i buy new equipment to use on the "healthy" tank like the gravel vacuum and buckets and nets? Its 7:52 am right now and the LFS I want to go to doesnt open until 9 or 10 am, i just feel helpless in the meantime. Idk if i should put in a second dose of triple sulfa even though the box says to wait 24 hrs but idk if i can wait that long! Its only been about 11 hours since the first dose


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Also, should i buy right from that site or try and find the TMP Sulfa cheaper elsewhere?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If you can find that brand cheaper then go for it.But I think getting that brand is important.They are high quality meds,and who really knows about some of the others?


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Very true, i called a actual LFS, not a pet chain, if they understood me right, they have it for $9.99! So later we are going to get it and i pray to god its the right stuff. Thank you for your help during this horrible time, we truly appreciate it and the unfortunate experiences others have had that have lead to our collective learning of columnaris. I will keep updating with our progress. Any answers to the other questions i asked about regarding buying new equipment? Are the filters going to be ok too from this disease?


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Im at the LFS now, they thought i meant triple sulfa so they dont have tmp sulfa. The guy said if he was treating columnaris here he would use maracyn/erythromycin and furan 2 as a last ditch effort. Idk i guess im getting the maracyn i cant not do anything. I will still try and track tmp sulfa down today or order it if i must. They dont gove shipping details until you check out


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I think I read that you could use both maracyns together.One is for gram negative and the other for gram positive.They are respectable meds.I also think I read about the furan 2,but can't remember if it can be combined with other meds.It is best to try to treat with something as soon as possible as the longer the columnaris is alive the stronger it gets.so if you even kill some or weaken it that woul be a step in right direction.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Furan 2 will work but better along with Kanamycin. Check you water parameters for ammonia spiking since meds will kill off good bacteria. When I treat the whole tank, I change the water at least 50%/day and redose. This ensures that the ammonia levels don't spike, especially if you use Prime.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Berylla, the Maracyn package said not to change the water until the treatment is over?

Update: this morning i woke up at 4:30 am for work and the albino i had isolated was doing fine, swimming all over the little hanging box, i had put methyline blue in there the night before bc i read that would help on the cottony growth. It is now over 12 hours later, just got home from work, its 5:21 pm and the albino has passed away :,(. I dosed the tank again with todays dose of Maracyn, no signs of any cottony growth on the other fish in the tank.

I had lowered the temp in the tank to around 74 degrees bc in the reading i read it helps slow the virulency or spread of the columnaris so hopefully its just isolated to just these 3 fish thus far. This is Day 3 since first fish died, Day 2 of Maracyn treatment. I have been treating with Triple Sulfa as well but the box says to do a water change after day 2, but that conflicts with the Maracyn instructions so i am not sure what to do.

Current fish loss:

1 panda cory
2 albino corys


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Tonya&Mike said:


> Berylla, the Maracyn package said not to change the water until the treatment is over?
> 
> Update: this morning i woke up at 4:30 am for work and the albino i had isolated was doing fine, swimming all over the little hanging box, i had put methyline blue in there the night before bc i read that would help on the cottony growth. It is now over 12 hours later, just got home from work, its 5:21 pm and the albino has passed away :,(. I dosed the tank again with todays dose of Maracyn, no signs of any cottony growth on the other fish in the tank.
> 
> ...


Sorry for your loss. Let's try to save the rest of them.

Methylene blue should only be used in a QT tank that is at least 5 gallons. It kills good bacteria and should NEVER be used in the main tank. 

If you have used in main tank, do massive water changes until all the blue is gone (50% AM, 50% PM)

Regarding drugs,

Columnaris is gram negative bacteria. Maracyn (which is erythromycin) only treat gram positive. The triple sulpha does treat gram negative but it's not as effective for a massive infection like the one that is attacking your tank. The best is bi-furan with the addition of kanamycin, or in a pinch, bi-furan alone.

Regarding water changes,

Changing the water every day will keep the tank water pristine and free of ammonia. The drug instructions will say to not change water because it will only dilute the drugs, but I recommend you redose the full amount every day for 7 to 10 days. This is the expensive way to go, but it's the best way. You will kill the infection in the tank for good and not encourage the development of a super bug.

How do the surviving fish look like? Are they showing massive signs of infection? Are they lethargic?


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you Berylla!

Is bi-furan the same as furan and furan-2? I know there is 4 types of columnaris, are they all gram-negative? The Maracyn box said it specifically treats columnaris. I wonder why they would say that if the erythromycin only treats gram-positive, these companies make this so difficult for us! I wish every pet store had what we needed for these things. I feel so stupid at times that i dont know what to do or decipher if what im told at the stores and on boxes is true or not. Thank you all for your help so far!

Update today 2/22/14:

The tank looks good, no cottony growths on any fish. I have kept the temp the same from yesterday. I have fed them A LOT less than I usually do, as I am notorious for over feeding, I know its horribly bad but I do it so my neon tetras eat and this other fish, it was labeled an xray tetra but later found out it wasnt, but you can see through its body and it has medium thin flowing fins, its beautiful but we dont know what it was and it was the only one in the tank so we bought it, it has big black eyes. Anyways, the head and tail lights and zebra danios eat the flakes and i feel the aforementioned fish dont get to eat really, hence the over feeding, but i have been good on it since this has all happened.

No fish have died today either, yay! I have not changed the water yet. I just gave Day 3 of Maracyn. The box of triple sulfa said to do a 25% WC and in the end, have a total of 4 doses given. Should I give it today? I am afraid the vacuum would contaminate the tank again or anything ive used to change the water would cause an outbreak again and i dont have the money really right now to buy more buckets and another vacuum. The last water change on either tank i did was on Wednesday, 4 days ago when I first found the infection.

Ugh i am just afraid im guna do something and the infection will come back at full force or something terrible like that. So im kinda standing pat bc nothing else has happened in 2 days. Btw its 6:17 pm right now.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Tonya&Mike said:


> Thank you Berylla!
> 
> Is bi-furan the same as furan and furan-2? I know there is 4 types of columnaris, are they all gram-negative? The Maracyn box said it specifically treats columnaris. I wonder why they would say that if the erythromycin only treats gram-positive, these companies make this so difficult for us! I wish every pet store had what we needed for these things. I feel so stupid at times that i dont know what to do or decipher if what im told at the stores and on boxes is true or not. Thank you all for your help so far!
> 
> ...


If you have bleach, soak your bucket and your python in a solution of 1:5 bleach for 10 minutes, then rinse like crazy then soak again with a high concentration of Prime and water for 10 minutes. If you still smell cholorine, you need to resoak with prime.

If you have started using marcyn and triple sulpha, complete the full treatment. Triple sulpha will treat bacterial infections, but not as well as bifuran, which is the same as furan2.

Keep up with the water changes, check your parameters for ammonia spikes. I know they say not to change the water but I would. Just redose the drugs at full strength. Your fish seem to be recovering 

In the future, feed less, change water more frequently. Vacuum substrate.


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## jccaclimber2 (May 6, 2012)

Additionally to bleach something I've done to sanitize nets is keep a bucket of saturated salt solution. When I say saturated I don't mean ocean levels, I mean so much salt that it creeps up the sides of the container and doesn't dissolve in the bottom. This is something like 3 pounds per gallon, and sodium based driveway salt (Solar Salt is NaCl) is fine. You'll want to rinse any equipment left in this in tap water before going back in a tank. I've found this to be easier on some equipment than long term bleach soaks and you don't have to worry about dechlorinating.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

jccaclimber2 said:


> Additionally to bleach something I've done to sanitize nets is keep a bucket of saturated salt solution. When I say saturated I don't mean ocean levels, I mean so much salt that it creeps up the sides of the container and doesn't dissolve in the bottom. This is something like 3 pounds per gallon, and sodium based driveway salt (Solar Salt is NaCl) is fine. You'll want to rinse any equipment left in this in tap water before going back in a tank. I've found this to be easier on some equipment than long term bleach soaks and you don't have to worry about dechlorinating.


Great idea!! I like it!


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Well this morning i awoke at 4:30 am, it is now 5:50 am. I cleaned the filter intakes and the lip of one the filters bc it was nasty. Ive found several cories with clamped fins it looks like. Idk if they are cold bc the water has been cooler than i usually have it bc of this or if they too now have the internal infection. I want to clean the tanks so bad, they are disgusting compared to what we usually have them at. Idk if the maracyn is working. I finished the triple sulfa dose and started a second round of maracyn. Im losing faith in it after today and i see these fish like this. I dont have anything to put more than one fish at a time in.

This fish just dont look happy, i can tell, they used to have a happy look to them and they all look depressed now. This is killing me.... :,(


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

One of the cories ithought had clamped fins, its pectoral fins opened up but its dorsal fin is still down. Idk im going to work now and this is going to be bothering me all day, i donot want to come home to dead fish


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If it were me, and I come here and read near daily and have had bouts of Columnaris myself, I would search "treating columnaris". There are so many means and methods that have worked for people around the net and they are posting about them every month. The Furan that you bought will treat one form of Columnaris but not the other form.

The first time getting through a bad breakout of this stuff is a learning experiment and trying to find what works. If you come out of it better prepared for the next time, if you get one, you're golden.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Tonya&Mike said:


> One of the cories ithought had clamped fins, its pectoral fins opened up but its dorsal fin is still down. Idk im going to work now and this is going to be bothering me all day, i donot want to come home to dead fish


What treatment have you chosen to treat your fish? Are they getting better?


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Well the treaments ive done are a bout of triple sulfa and a bout a maracyn. Im starting a second bout of maracyn. Ive read the maracyn 1 which i. Using treats the external kind and hram positive bacteria, the leaflet in the box says maracyn 2 treats the internal infections and gram negative bacteria. Im thinking of doing a bout of that as well. I have not had any fish die recently but i really want to clean the tank. I also need to clean the other tank we have that is free of infection but the auestion above of sterility came about, i do t want to cross contaminate, i will take the suggestions you guys gave for that


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Both the maracyns can be combined(used at the same time).I did mention reading on these earlier.Being this disease can be so tough,with many (I think 4) variations,it is best to hit it as hard as possible.
Don't forget that it was mentioned that you can change water anytime during treatment as long as you redose the meds removed.None of us like to watch our fish suffer,so if you think the tank needs maintenance you should do it and redose.This does unfortunately raise the cost of treatments,but we all draw our own lines on this.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you everyone. Its been a few days since i posted. We cleaned the tank bc it needed it badly. No fish have died since but there have been a few that have seem to lost coloring and have that clamped dorsal fin. The pec fins are ok. They are acting normally. Idk about it though. I didnt give the second round of maracyn, just an extra day of it bc the tank needed to be cleaned. Our hean and tail light tetras have been taking giant poops lately. I know the maracyn said it could affect it but these are about the size of the pellet of food we give the cories and are like a pink fuscia color. Anyone hear of this or come across it? Its weird. And they seem to take a while to poop it out too. Im studying to be a nurse, why cant fish just be like people?!!!


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Tonya&Mike said:


> Thank you everyone. Its been a few days since i posted. We cleaned the tank bc it needed it badly. No fish have died since but there have been a few that have seem to lost coloring and have that clamped dorsal fin. The pec fins are ok. They are acting normally. Idk about it though. I didnt give the second round of maracyn, just an extra day of it bc the tank needed to be cleaned. Our hean and tail light tetras have been taking giant poops lately. I know the maracyn said it could affect it but these are about the size of the pellet of food we give the cories and are like a pink fuscia color. Anyone hear of this or come across it? Its weird. And they seem to take a while to poop it out too. Im studying to be a nurse, why cant fish just be like people?!!!


Sounds like they are getting better. If you haven't keep to the course of treatement for 7 days at least since you are using antibiotics. This prevents the pathogens building a resistance to the drugs. 

Keep up with the daily water changes. Pristine water is key to the fish getting better. If you can, change with aged water, which is water that has been sitting overnight with an airstone and heater.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Update: 3/4/14

I awoke this morning and turned on the lights on the tank at 5:30 am. And found this little guy *sad I ran the full course of Maracyn like the box said, everyone has been doing fine since the water change last Wednesday. We were going to do it again tomorrow (Wednesday). I still have enough Maracyn to do another round of it but finding this guy this morning literally breaks my heart. We had about 5 of these small little pandas together, we lost one last outbreak and now this one. He is so little, maybe about the size of the end of your pinkie finger and hes covered in cotton on his back end and the bottom of his tail is red. I dont know what else to do and I have to go to work in like 15 mins. I guess I will start another round of Maracyn. We have like no money this time either. What we have is it. The rest of the Maracyn, one packet of Triple Sulfa, Methylene Blue, Epsom Salt, Aquarium Salt. Its like playing Mcguiver with what we have to beat this. I think all I have is about $20 until next thursday

:,(


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

I'm sorry about your fish. Is your PH low? I just read that triple sulpha doesn't work in lower PH's under 7. And your lights need to be shut off. 

If you PH is high, buy marcyn 2 but I just read in the thread that you already used this to no avail.

Since your are at your wits end, I have one more suggestion: potassium permanganate. You may be able to find it premixed at Walmart under the name Jungle Clear Water. The tiny bottle contains a purple liquid. In a QT tank, pour tank water and put an airstone and heater. Drop by drop, pour the liquid into the tank until it turns a light pink. Place your affected fish in there for a 4 hour bath. Make sure the water stays light medium pink. Add drops if you need to. If the water takes on a brown tone, add more drops so that it remains pink. 

Potassium Permanganate is a strong oxidizer that kill all organic material. It's an advanced treatment because it can kill your fish if you overdose. 

The neutralize the treatment which clears the water immediately, is a capful of hydrogen peroxide or water dechlorinator. 

I have instructions and a video on my blog:

My Quarantine Process for New Aquarium Fish

Skip down to the end of the blog where it talks about PP treatment to treat Columnaris and Fungus. 

You can also find Potassium Permanganate crystals in the water treatment companies like Culligan, or pool supply store, or just call places like Sears. Your local fish store may carry Jungle Clear Water too. Look in the Pond section of the store as well.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you so much! I just hope he is still alive when i get home as i work almost 12 hr shifts. We did not try maracyn 2 just maracyn 1 for the external infection. But since the treatment ended i noticed several cories with a clamped dorsal fin. Im wondering if they have the internal infection which Maracyn 2 would treat to my understanding. When I originally talked to the LFS guy he said if he had a columnaris infection in the store he would use the Maracyn. (This has been Mike talking this whole time). After Tonya gets out of work she is going to that same fish store and hoping that same gut is there and asking what he suggests. When we moved we got rid of out extra QT bc we could not fit it in the move. Our glass fluval heater just broke when we did the water change last week, it cracked and i was actually getting shocked in the water when my hand was in the tank. So we have 2 small 10 gal size heater in this 30 gal tank abd they are only factory preset to 78 degrees. So we are struggling with that until we get paid. The water parameters we honestly dont check but not bc we are lazy but bc we use Seachem products and read/were told that out API water test kit would give wrong readings bc of the Seachem products. Seachem test kits are not available in our area and hard to come by online so all we can find is the API one and only used it during the cycling of our original tank but never trusted the readings. So idk what to do there. I know that Seachem has the suction cup ph and nitrite testers and those were fine when we had them but hadnt had them in a while bc the readings were good so i just kept doing the same things thinking the water parameters wouldnt change but realize thats really stupid to think now but am stuck without a reliable test kit


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Tonya&Mike said:


> Thank you so much! I just hope he is still alive when i get home as i work almost 12 hr shifts. We did not try maracyn 2 just maracyn 1 for the external infection. But since the treatment ended i noticed several cories with a clamped dorsal fin. Im wondering if they have the internal infection which Maracyn 2 would treat to my understanding. When I originally talked to the LFS guy he said if he had a columnaris infection in the store he would use the Maracyn. (This has been Mike talking this whole time). After Tonya gets out of work she is going to that same fish store and hoping that same gut is there and asking what he suggests. When we moved we got rid of out extra QT bc we could not fit it in the move. Our glass fluval heater just broke when we did the water change last week, it cracked and i was actually getting shocked in the water when my hand was in the tank. So we have 2 small 10 gal size heater in this 30 gal tank abd they are only factory preset to 78 degrees. So we are struggling with that until we get paid. The water parameters we honestly dont check but not bc we are lazy but bc we use Seachem products and read/were told that out API water test kit would give wrong readings bc of the Seachem products. Seachem test kits are not available in our area and hard to come by online so all we can find is the API one and only used it during the cycling of our original tank but never trusted the readings. So idk what to do there. I know that Seachem has the suction cup ph and nitrite testers and those were fine when we had them but hadnt had them in a while bc the readings were good so i just kept doing the same things thinking the water parameters wouldnt change but realize thats really stupid to think now but am stuck without a reliable test kit


Oh, if you haven't used maracyn 2, please do so. As I mentioned before Marcyn is erythomycin and it treats fungs and gram+ bacteria. Columnaris is gram negative. The triple sulpha only works in mild cases of bacterial infection.

You will need to treat for 5 to 10 days. If it's really $$ you can still try the potassium permanganate if you can find. CAll the stores first so you don't get disappointed. After treating with PP, keep them in a QT tank with daily water changes until they grow their slimecoat back in a day or two. Add 1/2 tsp of salt to the 10G tank to encourage the growth of their slimecoat. With such a small amount of salt, it shouldn't hurt the cories.

If you still see the cottony growth, treat again 48 hours later. Don't worry about the heater - 78 degrees is fine for treatment.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Ok 3/10/14: Update: the big tank was treated was Furan-2 since the last time I posted. Everything has been fine up til now as I get up for work. I found an albino cory with a cottony growth as a pectoral fin, its just a stump, no whiskers. I need to leave for work and I can't find him now, he is hiding somewhere, all other corys are accounted for except this one. UGH! 

NOW: in the 20 gal tank that had been perfectly fine up until this morning, I found a cory with fin and tail rot!!!! I just cleaned the tank Saturday, its only Monday! I was able to isolate him in the little box we have. We still dont have a QT tank. We get paid thursday and friday this week, we can get one then. Is it ok to mix 2 sick fish from different tanks into the QT tank to treat them? Im sure by the time I come home the albino will be dead, i need to find him!!! Here is the one from the "good" tank I found.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

You can use a plastic sterlite container as a qt tank. Or even a 5 gallon bucket. I think you should use the pp treatment as more fish are succumbing to the infection. Furan 2 must be used for 7 days minimum with daily water changes and redosing. I suspect with all the antibiotics you've been using, the bio filter is killed back and you are experiencing ammonia spikes.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Im assuming the QT needs the usual heater/air bubbler/ filter as well? Thanks for those tips on other things to use for a QT. We need to buy another heater for thr 30 gal bc the fluval we had, the glass broke during a water change on it so we have a cheap one in for now. We also had taken out some bully fish and they are in a bucket for now with heater and air stone til we figure out what to do with them. Im probably going to have to get the PP online , ive never seen it in stores here and the LFS we like best ill call, but dont remember seeing it there.

Update: 3/11/14: the 2 sick corys from yesterday morning died over night. I think the stress of trying to net the albino was too much for him. The other im not sure why he died, he had fin and tail rot but i thought he would pull through

Death Toll:
2 panda corys (30 gal tank)
1 spotted green cory (from the "healthy" 20 gal tank)
3 albino corys (30 gal tank)


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Yes, PP treatment requires heater and airstone. It's a 4 hour treatment. Here it is online pre-mixed:

Jungle Clear Water

Here is the dry form. Mix with distilled or RO water in an empty water bottle. I just mix so that it's a dark purple. Then add drop by drop to your tank. 

Potassium Permanganate KMN04 1 4 Pound Ultra Fine Powder Screwtop Bottle USA | eBay


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you everyone for their input. Nothing has happened since the last time i posted. I think we may have gotten through this with minimal losses. I didnt want to post too quickly and have an outbreak again but its been at least 2 weeks without any problems. Once again thank you for all your help everyone!


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Well I spoke too soon...one of our skunk panda corys has cottony growth :,( uggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Here he is :,(


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

First read up as much as you can on it and if you feel comfortable get the PP.
I used it once on my 40b tank with swordtails and haven't lost any since!It is a powerful med,but IMO much faster working than any antibiotic and much.much cheaper.The 1/4lb Berylla listed would last you a lifetime!
I have 5 lbs(all I could get local),so if you don't want to do the ebay offer let me know.
I believe 1/32 of a teaspoon(dry powder) treats aprox 35 gallons!That's aprox.3 grams out of the 112grams in the 1/4 lb.
This is the link where I used the PP(and made a mistake dosing).
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f5/think-my-swords-have-problem-74682.html


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Thank you, i will call around today at work if i get a free moment. Ugh it figures the day i post all is well this happens. I jinxed myself :,(


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

Now you said in a previous post to dose the whole tank? Not just isolation box i have the skunk cory in?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Whether using antibiotics or the PP I would treat whole tank as columnaris is a bacterial disease .I believe it infects the whole tank even if only certain fish show symptoms.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

Treating the main tank with pp will kill back some of your good bacteria. Test ammonia levels daily to ensure that your tank is cycling properly.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

I have a thought. Our 20 gal tank has extreme less amounts of pond snails and zero trumpet snails that both came in on plants we had bought way back when. The problem 30 gal tank is loaded with trumpets in the gravel, some of them as big as the corys. There has to be hundreds of them. Initially we read they were harmless but this many plus all the pond snails add significantly to the bio load. Could this be what is stressing the fish out as the snails do carry fish diseases on them? I was thinking when I get paid next week to replace all the gravel when i do the water change and throughoughly clean the filters of snails. Would anyone support this as the probable cause? I have yet to locate PP and this might fix the problem first before go online for the PP.


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## Berylla (Mar 4, 2013)

I would clean your filter and substrate of snails before pp treatment.


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## garstrom (Jan 5, 2014)

Check this forum out in The Planted Aquarium Forum, under DIY Forum /snails by epex
Lightbulb
DIY: Snail Collector - (Assassin snail used for example)
Issue: Snail contamination of an established tank.

Project: Create a modular collection dish

Materials: Bottle cap or small container (used medicine bottle cap), Stainless Steel mesh (formed into half sphere), Food for collector (for assassin snails we will use Freeze dried bloodworms)

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Procedure:
1. Use a large enough stainless steel mesh to create a half sphere that will fit inside the bottle cap. The mesh should be pliable enough that you can use your thumbs or
use a small ball and push the mesh against it.
2. Fit the sphere mesh inside the cap and adjust to fit.
3. Use a paperclip to pull the mesh out of the cap if need be.
4. Put a teaspoon of bloodworms in the cap and fit in the mesh you created.
5. All that is needed to do now is place your creation in the water.


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The following 2 pictures below were taken about 30 minutes after containers were placed in the water.
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The containers below were restarted the next day and show them after 1-2 hours of soak time.
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epex is offline Report Post Reply With Quote


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Tonya&Mike said:


> I have a thought. Our 20 gal tank has extreme less amounts of pond snails and zero trumpet snails that both came in on plants we had bought way back when. The problem 30 gal tank is loaded with trumpets in the gravel, some of them as big as the corys. There has to be hundreds of them. Initially we read they were harmless but this many plus all the pond snails add significantly to the bio load. Could this be what is stressing the fish out as the snails do carry fish diseases on them? I was thinking when I get paid next week to replace all the gravel when i do the water change and throughoughly clean the filters of snails. Would anyone support this as the probable cause? I have yet to locate PP and this might fix the problem first before go online for the PP.


I have never heard of snails carrying diseases. Trumpet snails actually help tank health. Also, anything they add in bio-load they help by removing much of the muck in the bottom of your tank. At best, I believe their bio-load is zero since what they add, they also remove - even if you had hundreds. Even if they are increasing bio-load, your bio-filter grows to adjust to your bio load so it would stable out. IMO, snails are not your problem.


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## Tonya&Mike (May 14, 2013)

What about pond snails? We have those too. There is so much conflicting information everywhere idk what to do. If i get rid of the snails and take a chance its it and its not then all those good snails will have been wasted


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

OK here is my take on snails;If they come from a pond they could bring anything in with them.If they are in an infected aquarium they can carry the disease to wherever you put them.They themselves don't support any of the fish diseases,nor do I believe if only snails are present many diseases could survive with them as host.I think some of the nematodes can survive in them,but possibly their long life cycle makes this easily hard to prove.
It is the water they bring with them that carries the infection as I understand.Most meds used to kill any disease will kill snails also(most).


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