Cottonmouth Disease

I have cotton mouth (Fungus growth on my dwarf gouramis mouth) and a ball like fungus on one of my zebra danios and it is also on one of my boesmani rainbow fish what is a treatment i could use ? ive tried methylene blue for three days on the danio helped abit then grew back however i dont want to use it in the tank as it stains if im correct, need a strong med but not sure on the best one i can treat the whole tank with.

Can we get a pic of the fish? Cottonmouth or Columnaris can be a slow strain or fast, wiping out the entire tank. I had a horrible case of it once. Best thing to use If you can get it right now is Seachem Kanaplex and API FURAN-2. The Kanaplex is a strong antibiotic and the Furan-2 treats bacterial infections. You can continue to dip the fish in the methylene blue also while you treat with the above.

You can add aquarium salt 3-5g/ litre to stop the spread.
Fungus is secondary so you'll need to address the cause - usually poor water quality, poor hygiene or stress (habitat/ tank mates).

Here are some pictures, i have moved these three into a separate tank now, and all of the medication you have all suggested are hard to come by in the uk this is the issue im having

@essjay, do you know of meds in UK that treat Columnaris?

Deanasue said:

@essjay, do you know of meds in UK that treat Columnaris?

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i have just ordered aquerium salt and Esha 2000 Fungus, Finrot and Bacteria Treatment 20ml see if it helps

Bacterial infections usually appear as red areas on the body or fins and do not normally occur in clean aquariums or on healthy fish. The harmful bacteria gain entry into a fish through damaged tissue, which is normally caused by fighting or poor water quality.

Most bacterial infections in fish are introduced into the aquarium by diseased/ contaminated fish. Quarantining all new fish for at least 4 weeks is a good idea and prevents most unwanted diseases getting into your display aquarium.

Most bacterial infections in fish can be treated with a broad spectrum fish medication and Do Not require anti-biotics. Anti-biotics should only be used as a last resort for known bacterial infections that do not respond to normal fish medications. Improper use or mis-use of anti-biotics can lead to drug resistant bacteria that can harm or kill people, animals and fish. So anti-biotics should only be used if you know what the issue is and have tried other types of medications.

credits; @Colin_T

In Columnaris, anti-biotics are used quicker because the disease can be very contagious and fatal. There’s no time to try this or that first. I lost 11 fish from it, the entire tank within a week. It’s one disease that, in my opinion, must be treated aggressively and quickly.

Deanasue said:

In Columnaris, anti-biotics are used quicker because the disease can be very contagious and fatal. There’s no time to try this or that first. I lost 11 fish from it, the entire tank within a week. It’s one disease that, in my opinion, must be treated aggressively and quickly.

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Is this the same disease that I pm you back then? where my spashing tetra have cyst on the mouth and I did the surgery.

I am just getting over this. I was straight on to the salt in the tank and tri sulfa. Can be used together. I took all my media and active carbon out of my filters and used filter floss while running the treatment. Also turn the temp down to around 24 degrees as bacteria thrives in warm conditions. I ended up losing around 12 of my babies but was able to save majority of them. I am still running the salt in the tank just to help lower another possible outbreak again. Everyone is doing great

eSHa 2000 is just about the best we can get unless you go to a vet but not many vets know anything about fish.

Barry Tetra said:

Is this the same disease that I pm you back then? where my spashing tetra have cyst on the mouth and I did the surgery.

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No. It’s not the same.