Columnaris Or Something Else?

[N0body Of The Goat]

Noticed a grey/green patch on my male ~7cm TL Hypoptopoma spp. catfish this morning near its dorsal fin...



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The tank had a ~95% water change yesterday afternoon, after discovering an ammonia spike of 0.25mg/l (baffled as tank has the internal Juwel 1000lph filter and Eheim 2078, both almost 2 years mature). Gave the internal filter sponges a good rinsing before refilling tank, found a mass of Malaysian Trumpet Snails in there, which have been moved to the 5x2x2

Tank (240l) also contains 1 African Butterfly Fish; 1 Golden Wonder Killifish; 1 Humphead Glassfish; 1 Cheatostoma milesi (added 7 days ago); 4 Holplo Catfish; 4 Pyjama Synodontis; ~20 Rabbit Snails; numerous Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

I'm hopeless at diagnosis, but I think it may be Columnaris. The patch is not raised, it just like a discoloured area.

What would you say it is and what treatment course, please?

 

[afremont]

Noticed a grey/green patch on my male ~7cm TL Hypoptopoma spp. catfish this morning near its dorsal fin...

The tank had a ~95% water change yesterday afternoon, after discovering an ammonia spike of 0.25mg/l (baffled as tank has the internal Juwel 1000lph filter and Eheim 2078, both almost 2 years mature). Gave the internal filter sponges a good rinsing before refilling tank, found a mass of Malaysian Trumpet Snails in there, which have been moved to the 5x2x2

Tank (240l) also contains 1 African Butterfly Fish; 1 Golden Wonder Killifish; 1 Humphead Glassfish; 1 Cheatostoma milesi (added 7 days ago); 4 Holplo Catfish; 4 Pyjama Synodontis; ~20 Rabbit Snails; numerous Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

I'm hopeless at diagnosis, but I think it may be Columnaris. The patch is not raised, it just like a discoloured area.

What would you say it is and what treatment course, please?

Was it there yesterday? Does the fish act like it's bothered by it, is it flashing or rubbing against things? Is it changing or growing?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

No sign of anything there yesterday, it has been acting a little out of character in teh last 24 hours, "hooking" onto the powerhead electric cable in the mid to high water with its fins (rather than hooking to the bogwood or plants). No flashing or rubbing, just a patch that is a very different colour. At 7cm it is probably close to fully grown, but these "giant oto" type fish are not the easiest to get a definite ID (there are >10 Hypoptopoma spp. for a start before even looking at other genus given this common name).

 

[Squidward]

I find the Plec family seem quite suseptable to skin parasites.
I would treat with Esha 2000.

 

[beanz8]

My female Betta got Columnaris, its characteristics are:

*frayed and ragged fins - they get see through spots on their fins
*appearance of ulcerations on the skin, and subsequent epidermal loss, identifiable as white or cloudy fungus-like patches (see my photos)
*Mucus often also accumulates on the gills, head and dorsal regions.
*Gills will change colour, either becoming light or dark brown, and may also manifest necrosis.
*Fish will breathe rapidly and laboriously as a sign of gill damage.
*Inappetance and lethargy are common, as are mortalities – especially in young fish.


I dont think its what your Plec has but Check out my post : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/386939-help/page__p__3251341#entry3251341

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Thanks for the recent input, I decided to start dosing a broad spectrum medication (Myxazin) yesterday at full strength along with adding 0.5g/l of Coarse Sea Salt, I will add a similar dose today of both.

The catfish still has this greyish/green patch, but something worth mentioning is that my Humphead Glassfish did have a ~5mm circular patch of her flank over the weekend that looked ulcerated, but since adding meds and salt it looks much healthier (white with no redness). At the time I thought she had bashed into a bit of tank furniture, perhaps startled in the middle of the night by my Pyjama Synodontis or Hoplo Ctafish groups, but maybe she had rapidly moved to the ulcerated patch phase?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I doubt its columnaris-

Mouth Fungus
Symptoms: White cottony patches around the mouth. Mouth Fungus is so called because it looks like a fungus attack of the mouth. It is actually caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. It shows up first as a gray or white line around the lips and later as short tufts sprouting from the mouth like fungus. The toxins produced and the inability to eat will be fatal unless treated at an early stage. This bacteria is often accompanied by a second infection of an Aeromonas bacteria.
Penicillin at 10,000 units per liter is a very effective treatment. Treat with a second dose in two days. Or use chloromycetin, 10 to 20 mg per liter, with a second dose in two days. Other antibiotics can also be effective. Kanacyn (kanamycin) will treat both bacteria at once. Maracyn (erythromycin) is effective against C. columnaris, and using Maracyn 2 (minocycline) in conjuntion with it will treat the Aeromonas bacteria as well.

From http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm

I doubt it is anything parasitic either. Usually you can either see extrnal parasites with the naked eye or with a good magnifying glass. if anything, it might be something protozoan like costia or chilodonella. However, I would look for more sysmptoms before treating in order to be sure. Plecos (which include otos) often get blotchy patches which are totally unconnected to any illness. Check out this pic of two L260s I took before they were shipped out the next day. That was taken in early 2006. As far as i know they are both still alive today. Both age and stress can cause such patches. Protozoan problems are medicated differently than bacterial or parasitic problems.