Tank size = 4' X 1.8' X 1.8'
Filtration = 2.5' X 2.5 X 1.5 Sump
Decoration = Bog wood
Flora = As of now thought of adding Crypts and Anubias and S.Sabulata
CO2 = No
Substrate = Sand + Sand Gravel + Laterite
Fertilization = K2SO4 & KNO3 dosing along with micro
24th Feb 2014 : Took pic of tank..No sign of any stress among fishes. They are roaming around and accepting food happily.
25th Feb 2014 : In the morning saw 5 Cardinals stuck at outflow pipe of sump. All dead and became pale. Thought fishes were trapped in overflow during night and were unable to recover due to strong current.
Same day my friend Saumya told me he has outbreak of Columnaris in his tank and he’s treating his fishes with some medicine. I felt worried as we both purchased fishes from same source.
26th Feb 2014 : More dead fishes . Consulted Saumya and concluded that my fishes are affected by columnaris as well.
Symptoms of Columnaris in Cardinals : It’s v tough to conclude that your fishes are infected by columnaris . It’s my friend Saumya who figured it out. I am not an expert , hence I might not be able to tell you the exact symptoms. But, I’ll document my observations which I think in terms will help you understand the symptoms.
Symptom 1 : In a school of healthy cardinals u’ll find few fishes have become pale. U’ll also notice their gills are visible & displaying blood red color. Those few fishes will be roaming near surface and their movement will be a bit odd .Their gill movement will be frequent and they will surface for air quite often. The group will accept food and will not show any sign of stress. This behavior will make you think ur fishes are fine till u find dead fishes.
Symptom 2 : Fins will become torn / ragged and white spots will be visible over body. Now in my case I didn’t notice ragged fin but definitely the fish will become pale and white spots will be there.
Columnaris symptoms which u normally find in net will not be visible in Tetras or u might not able to notice them properly due to their small size. U might be thinking the fishes are dying due to stress or other reasons.
27th Feb 2014 : I confirmed that my fishes are suffering from Columnaris .But, didn’t get a chance to start treatment. I had a reception to attend .Being a family person priority of fish treatment was overruled by the importance of attendance in reception. Lost more fishes .
28th Feb 2014 : Took half day off from office , returned home and started treatment .
PFA an useful link and a well documented article on Columnaris which I referred other than my friend’s suggestions.
http://www.myaquariumclub.com/columnari ... -1689.html
I am not repeating the facts mentioned in the article. But, I must say you should at least once go through it. It’s well informed , well documented and most outstandingly it’s written based on on experience.
As per my friend’s suggestion and above mentioned link PFB the treatment methodologies I choose.
Tetracyclines minocycline: (Hostacycline 500) : I charged 3 capsules (1500 mg) in the main tank. I should have separated the fishes and treat them separately. But, these bacteria can live upto 3 months without host. So, I had to treat the whole tank. So, thought of not to separate the fishes. But, again I still feel treating the fishes separately is a better option as u can monitor them properly. Columnaris bacteria are known to build resistance against Tetracyclines minocycline . Hence it’s best to treat infected fishes with Kanamycin . But, I decided to go with tetracyclines minocycline first and keep Kanamycin as my back up. In case I fail to treat them then I’ll be using Kanamycin.
I broke the capsule & poured the medicine in a cup of water. I mixed the medicine well and poured it in main tank. Strong water flow carried it all over the tank. Provided extra aeration . Within 1 minuite I noticed lots of yellow colored foam accumulating in the first compartment of sump . Tank water became yellow. Initially fishes will not like it and will be in shock. They will be running here and there. But, afterwards they’ll acclimatize. I decided to go for 80% water change in next day.
1st March 2014 : Completed 75 % water change and in the evening again charged 3 capsules (1500 mg). I’ll be changing water once again on next day. It’s v imp to continue the treatment for some time as this notorious bacteria are known to build resistance against antibiotic. Hence I’ll be continuing the same procedure at least thrice to ensure total cure.
2nd March 2014 : Water change & charged 3 capsules for the last time......From 28th Feb to till date no casualties (touch wood )......
Tomorrow will be doing a large water change .....lets c....
9th March 2014 : Till today no casualty (touch wood) ....Hence i can declare my attempt as SUCCESS......but due to antibiotic all my beneficial bacteria are dead hence i am doing frequent water change to keep NH3, NO2 parameter low in tank................
I must admit, most of the fishes i lost is due to my negligence .I could have started treating them sooner.
CONCLUSION :
1. Columnaris in small fishes like Cardinals r very hard to detect. In most of the cases u might not find torn fins. Hence always look for below furnished symptoms.
a) Fishes r roaming near surface and then dying due to suffocation .
b) Fishes r becoming pale, close inspection might reveal torn fins.
2. Even in case of minimum fish death u have to treat the whole lot along with the whole tank as this bact is contagious can live for months without host.
3. I treated the whole tank with Tetracyclines (Hostacycline 500) : Near about 22 mg per gallon.
4. During treatment high aeration is MUST....lots of foam will be accumulated in surface which one needs to remove manually.
5. I treated my lot continuously three days. Charged (Hostacycline 500) at night , provided high aeration and in the morning 70-80 % water change. I did same three
times. I'll suggest to continue this treatment as long as u find ur fishes r doing fine and no casualty .