Sick Tiger Barb

[Supalah17]

Tiger barb has some sort of growth on his tail. I can’t find an exact diagnosis while searching around and there are no fish vets near me that I know of. The growth appeared about 4-5 days ago and I’ve been treating the worst affected barbs with Furan 2, about to do the fourth dose today. The other barbs seem to have gotten better but this individual appears to be getting worse... A friend of mine insists it’s Columnaris (hopefully spelled that right) and recommended to Furan 2. Fish is currently in a 10g planted tank converted to a hospital tank recently. I recently got about 4 barbs to add to the main school from a friend of mine who claimed to have done a full weeks broad spectrum antibiotic before he gave them to me. It would appear that not all of them got this treatment. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time so I put them in my main tank, and now this...

Main tank: 0 ammonia; 0 nitrites; ~10 PPM Nitrates (shortly after adding ferts)

 

[tlindsey]

Tiger barb has some sort of growth on his tail. I can’t find an exact diagnosis while searching around and there are no fish vets near me that I know of. The growth appeared about 4-5 days ago and I’ve been treating the worst affected barbs with Furan 2, about to do the fourth dose today. The other barbs seem to have gotten better but this individual appears to be getting worse... A friend of mine insists it’s Columnaris (hopefully spelled that right) and recommended to Furan 2. Fish is currently in a 10g planted tank converted to a hospital tank recently. I recently got about 4 barbs to add to the main school from a friend of mine who claimed to have done a full weeks broad spectrum antibiotic before he gave them to me. It would appear that not all of them got this treatment. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time so I put them in my main tank, and now this...

Main tank: 0 ammonia; 0 nitrites; ~10 PPM Nitrates (shortly after adding ferts)

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It definitely looks like something bacterial but not sure if it's Columnaris. I suggest you seperate the tiger barb asap.
kno4te

 

[Supalah17]

It definitely looks like something bacterial but not sure if it's Columnaris. I suggest you seperate the tiger barb asap.
kno4te

Him and 4 others that had symptoms are already on their own, the other 4 are looking better, but I’m not sure I should put them back until I’m positive it won’t get back to the main tank and wipe out the other 25 of them. He is the only one that seems to have gotten worse. My hope is one of those “darkest before dawn” situations and that by tomorrow the white growth will be gone...

 

[tlindsey]

Him and 4 others that had symptoms are already on their own, the other 4 are looking better, but I’m not sure I should put them back until I’m positive it won’t get back to the main tank and wipe out the other 25 of them. He is the only one that seems to have gotten worse. My hope is one of those “darkest before dawn” situations and that by tomorrow the white growth will be gone...

You already have things under control. Hope the tiger barbs recover fully.

 

[kno4te]

Tiger barb has some sort of growth on his tail. I can’t find an exact diagnosis while searching around and there are no fish vets near me that I know of. The growth appeared about 4-5 days ago and I’ve been treating the worst affected barbs with Furan 2, about to do the fourth dose today. The other barbs seem to have gotten better but this individual appears to be getting worse... A friend of mine insists it’s Columnaris (hopefully spelled that right) and recommended to Furan 2. Fish is currently in a 10g planted tank converted to a hospital tank recently. I recently got about 4 barbs to add to the main school from a friend of mine who claimed to have done a full weeks broad spectrum antibiotic before he gave them to me. It would appear that not all of them got this treatment. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time so I put them in my main tank, and now this...

Main tank: 0 ammonia; 0 nitrites; ~10 PPM Nitrates (shortly after adding ferts)

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Looks like columnaris. Need furan2 and kanamycin together. Works well but I’d put the fish down. Sad to say but cheaper to replace with properly quarantined fish.

 

[Supalah17]

Looks like columnaris. Need furan2 and kanamycin together. Works well but I’d put the fish down. Sad to say but cheaper to replace with properly quarantined fish.

Not sure I have kanamycin, or that my LFS does that I’ve seen, on the last dose of Furan 2 as per the directions on the package. At this point I’ve already dropped the $$ on the Furan 2, so would I need to start it over again with the other stuff or would using the other meds afterwards still work? In case he doesn’t start improving by tomorrow I’ll probably end up giving him the final clove oil bath of good-byes...

 

[duanes]

I agree, looks like one of the columnaris manifestation types, or a similar bacterial infection, (although the pics are a bit blurry to know for sure).

What is the temp of your tank?
Columnaris is especially virulent and can spread at temps of 82'F and above.

 

[Supalah17]

I agree, looks like one of the columnaris manifestation types, or a similar bacterial infection, (although the pics are a bit blurry to know for sure).

What is the temp of your tank?
Columnaris is especially virulent and can spread at temps of 82'F and above.

Their main tank is kept at around 75’F, but the tank they came from (my friends tank) was kept closer to 80. The most heavily affected ba rn is actually looking a little better today after dose 4 of Furan 2, swimming more normally instead of the vertical way it had been yesterday. A small amount of the white growth seems to have come off as well, the Furan 2 package says to use 4 doses but I’m wondering if I should keep it up for another day or 2?

 

[Supalah17]

So I bought kanaplex from a LFS I didn’t know was around here; found 2 more fish from the main tank showing symptoms and I’ve decided to break open the piggie bank and go scorched earth on this. Treating the entire 125g planted tank with Furan 2 and Kanaplex. There are so many driftwood hides and plants, as well as so many small fish, that trying to check and quarantine each one would involve destroying a scape that’s taken a year to get fully established and grown out. I have heard Furan 2 is rough on plants, but I’d rather have some die off from that than spend an entire day or two emptying the entire tank and tearing it apart; or missing 1 dwarf Cory hidden under a crypt leaf that restarts the whole process.

I have cycled media in other tanks to help restart the filter after I’m done with the meds, as well as a large bottle of Searched stability and prime. Also going to throw some hornwort from my Tang tank in there to help keep up with the restarting cycle... on a side note, I can now be a living example of why you need to quarantine extensively NO MATTER THE SOURCE, friend, store, etc.

 

[kno4te]

So I bought kanaplex from a LFS I didn’t know was around here; found 2 more fish from the main tank showing symptoms and I’ve decided to break open the piggie bank and go scorched earth on this. Treating the entire 125g planted tank with Furan 2 and Kanaplex. There are so many driftwood hides and plants, as well as so many small fish, that trying to check and quarantine each one would involve destroying a scape that’s taken a year to get fully established and grown out. I have heard Furan 2 is rough on plants, but I’d rather have some die off from that than spend an entire day or two emptying the entire tank and tearing it apart; or missing 1 dwarf Cory hidden under a crypt leaf that restarts the whole process.

I have cycled media in other tanks to help restart the filter after I’m done with the meds, as well as a large bottle of Searched stability and prime. Also going to throw some hornwort from my Tang tank in there to help keep up with the restarting cycle... on a side note, I can now be a living example of why you need to quarantine extensively NO MATTER THE SOURCE, friend, store, etc.

Hard lesson but a learned lesson.