Main Tank / Hospital Tank

[nzafi]

I have setup a 40g hospital tank to treat my aimara. His main tank is a 180g. Do I need to do something to the main tank to make sure whatever disease is in there is gone? If this treatment is successful I would for the treatment to work and then he goes back to his main tank and just gets sick again.

Treatment I am using is furan-2 and kanaplex.

 

[Drstrangelove]

That depends on what disease it is. If you know what the disease is, post it, so people can answer.

 

[nzafi]

Its a long story but here is the thread with most of the info.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/what-is-this.687035/

It looked like my aimara developed HITH which is very uncommon and I believe it was due to voltage leakage which I fixed. I noticed other issues on his head that looked like the scales were being eaten away and then a white bump on his lip. After lots of research I think the likely candidate is columnaris. I first tried treating with prazipro, salt, increased water changes, but aside from original fin rot issues getting solved, the issue with his head continued.

I chose to go with kanaplex and furan-2 because it seemed to be the broadest spectrum that was safe and known to be effective. Hopefully this solves the issue. Treatment started late last night and will continue for 4 days.

 

[Drstrangelove]

After lots of research I think the likely candidate is columnaris.

That's caused by bacteria (Flavobacterium columnare) which can infect from both contact and water, so to answer your question:

Do I need to do something to the main tank to make sure whatever disease is in there is gone?

Yes, you do unless you prefer to wait to see if it infected other fish. Is waiting a good idea? I don't know since I haven't had to deal with this disease. I do know that this bacteria is a common problem in fish farms due to high density which enables the bacteria to easily infect other fish once it's established.

It can infect through both physical contact and water, so it's always possible none of the other fish were infected. I didn't see the lifespan of the bacteria that doesn't have a food source (i.e., fish.)

Here's some research info on it if you care to read:

https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/23323/9789513938673.pdf?sequence=1

 

[nzafi]

Drstrangelove thanks for the info. He's actually solitary. I just moved him from the 180g to 40g for easier treatment. Will keep him in the 40g for another week or so to determine if he needs a second round of treatment.

 

[duanes]

I agree with Drstrangelove, columnarus will remain after the infected fish is removed, and is very hard to get rid of. It can exist in a suspended state in damp mud for years (even frozen mud), and will rest in the gunk in filters, in substrate or wherever there is detritus, and can suddenly reappear.
I was given some Mayaheros beanii that were infected, after they died, i treated the quarantine tank with Hydrogen Peroxide a number of times to sanitize it.
If it hit one of my tanks again, I'd tear it all down, bleach everything in contact with the tank, and let all that stuff sit totally dry for months. And probably bleach it all again, before re-start-up.
I know this seems drastic, but its what I'd do.
And as an aside, columnar becomes most virulent at water temps above 82'F, so unless the fish was a species like Nandopsis haitiensus, Alcolapia alcalicus, discus, or some other hot water species, I'd never use temps at or above 82'F again.
The infection has very differing symptoms depending upon severity, and water temp.
Below is one of the beanii, with acute columnaris

 

[nzafi]

duanes thanks. I'm guessing it's columnaris but at this stage I'm trying to take what precautions I can. I'm moving house in 2.5 months so I was thinking of bleaching and sanitizing the tank that way.

How'd you handle your biomedia and make sure you didn't kill everything? That my struggle point right now. I was running 2 ac110s and 1 hmf. The one ac110 is in the 40g and the remaining 2 ac110s and hmf are on the infected 180. I can easily put the ac110 media in the 40g but the giant hmf sponge is shot I guess.

 

[duanes]

To be truthful I'd hate to do it, but I'd bleach the bio-media too, and do a bottled ammonia restart after moving.
When I used the hydrogen peroxide, I poured a couple quarts in "with fish" in the tank, because I figured they were goners anyway, or at the least end up as asymptomatic carriers.
And the few that actually survived the treatment were at a later time euthanized.
Again drastic, but necessary to not expose other uninfected species in other tanks.
Other aquarists might prefer to treat with antibiotics against gram-neg bacteria, and I'd say that is an equally reasonable course.
But for me, I do believe that the commercial hybrid cichlid fad, and its subsequent overuse of antibiotics to get sub standard yet "colorful FH type" with less than healthy immune systems fish to market, is producing super-bugs out of my realm of expertise to deal with.

 

[Drstrangelove]

It's a terrible situation to be in, but what Duanes said is spot on.

In one of my reports, it indicated that columnaris is not just a major problem in fish farms, but ranks as the number 2 killer of all catfish in catfish farms. It's certainly not something to let get started if it can be avoided.

It's even unclear if using antibiotics is a good idea since if it's used enough, and a resistant strain is found, it would possibly be a disaster.

 

[nzafi]

duanes and Drstrangelove my situation sucks but I'd really like to figure out the easiest way to sort things out. With a baby due soon and move at the same time I don't have a ton of time not to mention the wife is running out of patience.

Seeing my main tank is empty, instead of draining and cleaning it wouldn't it be easier to put a peroxide or bleach solution directly in the tank and let the filters moving everything about the tank and sterilize it? I could then drain and refill try tank a couple times to let it dilute whatever I put in the tank. Otherwise i drain it, dump everything into containers including media to bleach it, and wipe down the tank with a bleach solution.