Is this columnaris?

[ElissaBee]

Doing weekly tank maintenance this morning I noticed my baby Norman's Lampeye swimming normally but appeared to have food stuck in its mouth. Posted this pic to another group and the only response I got was that this is a parasite. Either columnaris or lamphocystis. I removed the fish and put him in a paraguard bath but he was struggling and died within a few minutes. None of the other inhabitants appear to be infected. This Lampeye was born in this tank and there have been no new additions in months. I do weekly water changes and I'm very attentive to the tank. Only recent change was I moved a powerhead to increase water circulation because I saw the beginnings of staghorn algae. Water parameters PH 7.4, dg&kh 14, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all good. This tank is almost a year old and heavily planted. I also have 11 cpds, 1 guppy, 3 Norman's lampeyes (now), mystery snail and a small colony of neo caridina.

 

[Byron]

I am not much when it comes to disease, but having dealt with columnaris, I can say that what is pictured on the fish here is certainly not columnaris. Other members are much more knowledgeable in this area, and undoubtedly they will be able to advise.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Dosent look like columnaris to me either.

Use some tweezers and gently try tugging on it, is it hard?

 

[Colin_T]

It's not Columnaris or Lymphocystis. It's not a parasite either and you probably poisoned the fish when you tried to treat it.

It just looks like a fish with a fish food pellet in its mouth. If you feed pellets to small fish they can sometimes choke on them. You are better off using crushed up flake food or live food like brineshrimp.

 

[JuiceBox52]

It does look like a food pellet

 

[ElissaBee]

It's not Columnaris or Lymphocystis. It's not a parasite either and you probably poisoned the fish when you tried to treat it.

It just looks like a fish with a fish food pellet in its mouth. If you feed pellets to small fish they can sometimes choke on them. You are better off using crushed up flake food or live food like brineshrimp.

I don't feed pellets. Just crushed flakes and fluval bug bites. It really looks like one of the bug bites to me. I did try to take it out with tweezers but this is a baby fish and super tiny. I'm sorry to have lost the fish but I'm glad it doesn't look like columnaris to anyone here.

 

[Retired Viking]

Sorry about your fish, but like you said glad it's not columnaris-that can wipe out a whole tank of fish in no time.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Oh boy yeah it can. I lost 27 out of my 30 fish from it

 

[ElissaBee]

Sorry about your fish, but like you said glad it's not columnaris-that can wipe out a whole tank of fish in no time.

Thanks. Wish I'd come here first. The folks on the Facebook group I'm in have good intentions but not as knowledgeable as this group. Lesson learned.

 

[Retired Viking]

We all learn as we go, @Byron and @Colin_T are some of the more knowledgeable members that I have learned from even after many years of fish and reptile keeping