Anything Special I Need To Do For Treatment?

[Captain Retardo]

I just recently had a Columnaris outbreak in my tank, luckily I caught it early, and it is the least aggresive and deadly strain. (I feel really bad too becuase the most probably reason why my fish got it is becuase I fed them too generously and didn't do the best job vacuuming the sand )

Anyway: Tommorow I am going to the LFS for meds, and need to know what precautions I should take, especially since I have Cories and Kuhli Loaches in my tank.

Edit- Maybe should of put this in the Chit Chat or Emergencies section....

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Captain Retardo

You fish may or may not have columnaris. It could be another strain of bacterial infection entirely and it's difficult to know for sure. Since you live in the US, and can get broad spectrum antibiotics, that's the medicine of choice. Tetracycline or Furan 2 are good ones that are easily obtained. They are both fine with corys, but I'm not sure about the loaches.

Just as important is to eliminate the cause of the disease. There are always potentially harmful bacteria in a tank, but under ordinary circumstances the fishs' immune systems can protect them from disease. It's only when this fails that the fish get sick. Overfeeding, which can result in poor water quality if food is left uneaten, is one of the causes of this, but don't overlook other things such as temperature fluctuations (especially fast warm ups) low oxygen content in the water, overcrowding or high nitrates or nitrites.

Whichever medicine you choose, please be sure to do good water changes before treating the fish, and during the course of treatment. It also helps if you keep the temperature no higher than 75 degrees F. and increase the amount of oxygen by adding an airstone if necessary. This will make the environment less hospitable for the harmful bacteria and slow their reproduction.

Since bacteria can mutate and become immune to treatment with your medicine, be sure to complete the full course as recommended on the label, and repeat it if necessary until the fish are completely cured.

I hope your fish get well quickly.