females sick

[FishEnthusiast]

Hi,

I posted a while back about my girls having columnaris. I lost 2 already and one is on deaths door. I searched high and low for tetracycline. Nobody had it. So I got Maracyn. I have been told I should use Maracyn II as well, but I just can't spend another $25 on medications. The one that is on deaths door has it all around her mouth. It seems to be clearing up a little bit, but she can't swim. I can't isolate her as I only have enough medication to treat the tank she is in. I also don't want to stress her out more than she already is. Is there ANYTHING else I can do? I don't want to lose her too .

 

[BettaMomma]

The only thing i can suggest is to add in extra stress coat, if you have it.

I'm sorry to hear that you've lost a couple of them.
Hopefully the third one will pull through.

If it gets to Monday and you still need some M2 or tetracycline, I'd be happy to overnight some to you.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Thank you for the offer. I have netted the sick girl and I have the net resting near the top of the water so she can get some air. The other fish are not showing signs YET. I am sure they will, I saw 2 get sick within hours. I don't have stresscoat, but I do have bettafix, melafix, salt, and lots of parasitic meds that will do me no good I know. Would bettafix suffice instead of stress coat? I may have some stress coat around, but I really highly doubt it. The first one that died had it around her belly, the second one had no signs except ratty fins and the one that is really sick now has it around her mouth. It almost seems to be eating away at her mouth. It does look better than it did this morning. When I put the Maracyn in, I made sure alot of it went on her or near her. What is the difference between Maracyn I and Maracyn II? I looked at Maracyn II when I got the Maracyn and it didn't say anything about treating columnaris. It says it treats gram negative bacteria whatever that means.

Thanks for the offer BM. How much would it be to ship from you to me? I am on the westcoast of Canada. Is it legal to ship meds across the border, even if it is for fish? I am at my wits end. I saved these girls from certain death and I can't even keep them alive . It looks like I may have been ripped off for the Maracyn as well. I paid $25 after tax for 24 tablets. I see the same thing online at Petsmart for $7.49. Granted that is american, but with the exchange rate the way it is, I could have gotten both for just about the same price

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I honestly don't know how she did it, but my girl that was on deaths door has made it through the night. She still looks very sick, her fins are clamped and her mouth is still grey and her eyes are a little sunken in. I think she might pull through this though because she actually looks better today. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[WILDER]

Good to hear that, are you doing salt baths on her as well, as columnaris hates salt.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I actually have salt in the tank. I am not doing salt baths though. I am afraid to pull her out of the tank, she is pretty stressed out with her illness. She is swimming, but most of the time she is resting. I am keeping a really close eye on her and if I can't see her I rearrange the tank until I do. I actually thought she was gone this morning, but she was hiding in a cave.

 

[WILDER]

Good luck hope she pulls through for you.

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm not sure how much it would be to ship internationally. I would do it though.

Maracyn versus Maracyn 2 - Maracyn is targeted specifically for certain bacterial and fungal infections. M2 is for bacterial also, but each med is targeted at different strains of bacteria.

Maracyn treats columnaris specifically. M2 treats stuff like dropsy and septicemia, and both of them treat things like finrot and popeye.

I successfully treated the columnaris in my girls with tetracycline (in one fish) and maracyn (in the other 2 fish)...

She's on maracyn right now?
I can do some research tomorrow and find out how much it would cost me to get some M2 out to you. I don't really care how much it costs - I get a big discount at work cuz I ship stuff out thru there, so it's no big deal really...

What size is the tank she's in?
Who else is in with her? Did you kick the temp down for her??

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Her tank is 20G. She is in there with 7 other girls. I got them all at the same time knowing they were sick. They didn't look right in the store. I got 10 at one time. The 20G is established. I rehomed most of the fish that were in there when I got the girls. There are 5 flame nosed tetras in there as well. I have been treating with Maracyn for 3 days now. I turned the temp down right away as soon as I diagnosed the columnaris. It is at 72 right now. I am going to try to take a pic of her, but the water is a little cloudy from the meds. One of her ventrals is completely gone. That is a new development from yesterday. I read somewhere that columnaris caused this. She is swimming near the top of the water right now. Every so often she darts across the top of the water with her mouth sticking out of the water. The other girls seem concerned about her, they will swim up and investigate, then they swim away. When she is resting on the bottom of the tank, there is one girl in particular that hangs around her, keeping all the other fish away. I am blown away at what a fighter she is. I have yet to see any signs of the disease on the other girls, but because two died and one is really afflicted, I opted to treat the whole tank.

 

[BettaMomma]

That's not a bad idea.
Keep an eye on her and let me know tomorrow morning if you want me to ship meds out. I have everything - maracyn, M2, tetracycline.

Hoping for the best for her.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

BM, you have got to be the sweetest person I have ever met! You do so much for the fish you have and yet you are still willing to help out more. I really don't want you to have to go to the trouble of sending meds cross border. I am going to go to Petsmart today (UGH) I never go there, but I think their M2 is the cheapest around. I really don't want to over medicate the tank. The Maracyn really seems to be working. I have enough to treat the tank for a total of 12 days. I am going to finish the first 5 day treatment and then I am going to do a big water change and possibly treat again.

Speaking of water changes, their water is disgusting. It says not to change it while I am treating, but could I maybe vaccuum the bottom, taking maybe 10% of the water? Or is it advisable just to wait? I don't want to negatively affect the meds, but I hate to see a dirty tank. I know most of the cloudiness is from the meds, but still, I don't like it.

 

[BettaMomma]

You can do partial water changes in between, that's not a big deal at all.
The reason you have to treat over several days is because each day when you dump the meds in, they are absorbed by the fish over that day with a certain dosage - however that particular med works - and then it's time to redose the next day. If you do a partial water change before you add the next day's dose, it should be fine.

Just make sure you stick to 10 - 20% change or less.

If you're using the Maracyn, you only have to treat for 5 days.
If you see that you need to re-treat (Which, in the case of NASTY columnaris) you might want to follow up with the second treatment, but stop after day 10. If you do more than that, you can overmedicate.
You might want to get M2 as a sort of backup med during round 2 of the maracyn if you want...

Just to make sure, you took the carbon out of your filter, correct?

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I actually don't use carbon in any of my tanks. I think it is a waste of money, so yes the carbon is out. I will do a partial water change tomorrow before I dump more meds in. It is water change day for my boys anyway. I won't retreat unless I think it is neccesary. I still can't believe she is holding on still. She didn't have a name before, but if she makes it, I am naming her cookie, cause she is one tough cookie. Thanks for your help. I will keep the M2 on hand incase I need it.

 

[BettaMomma]

Give her a message from all my boys and girls - tell her to hang in there
Good luck with her - if she's made it this far she IS one tough cookie!

Someone told me that StressCoat also helps them thru columnaris. If you have any, give them an extra squirt.
Good luck

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Hi,

I don't have stress coat, but I can go and get some. She really is one tough cookie. She is still alive this morning. She doesn't look too good, her colour is fading. She rests on the bottom most of the time. I do see her get air every once in a while. I thought she was a goner last night. I found her upright in the plants. I know she hasn't eaten since this happened. When should I worry about her starving? I am going to keep adding the meds. I have to do it for 2 more days until the 5 days are done. Thankfully the other girls don't seem to be affected. Everyone is eating, swimming and pooing normally. Thanks for your support. She needs it right now.