Betta

[Haych]

ok, i have been having some MAJOR issues with my tank, i had a spike of nitrite, nitrate and ammonia/ammonium.

For this, i am trying to rectify with daily water changes of around 20-30%, and today i added some salt.

this morning i noticed that my Betta shylo, had some "damage" to his side around his fin, yet i have just looked and his side is completely covered in what looks like a scab, and he is unable to move his fin, so he is struggling to swim too

i havent got EXACT readings of the tank levels, but they are well over the top which i am trying to rectify as i already lost 6 fish

pics of the damage;

its that bad, after i caught him in the net to take the pics, i had to push him gently back up to the top of the heater so he can sit near the surface

all fish seem miserable after the water changes i do, they seem to go and hide in the corner. i dont just add straight from the hose as i dont want to upset anyone more than necessary, i use warmed water in a clean bucket (no fairy used in it etc)

in all my years of keeping fish, i have NEVER hit a bad patch like this, i have always been able to deal with the typical problems (white spot, fungus etc), but the water spike and this "scab" is all new to me

i dont think he is going to make it through the night

 

[loraxchick]

i hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is typical columnaris presentation...starts as a "saddle" in the fish and can spread really fast and wipe out a whole tank.
do you have any meds? other than salt or melafix?
water change is a good idea..often...even if the fish dont like it. dilute the bacteria in the water column! can you lower your tank temp to 76? i know thats on the low end for bettas but lower temp will make the bacteria multiply more slowly. are your other fish affected? what sorts do you have?
prob the ammonia/nitrite spike weakened and or stressed the fish, which lowered their immune system and allowed the yuk to take hold. are they still eating? esp the betta. if so, soak his food in some garlic juice (get some chopped garlic or chop it yourself and roll his food around in it and let it sit for a few mins. before feeding the fish). it will help to stimulate appetite and increase immunity.

if you have a Qtank, i suggest moving him, trying the garlic trick and adding a bit of salt(which also makes the water less tolerable to besties). and get yourself a med for colomnaris.

hope they make it
CHEERS

 

[Haych]

thanks for that, i have NEVER come across it.

i dont have meds no, but will get some ASAP.

what exactly IS that condition? the strange thing is, one of my female guppies had it. I bought a new batch of female guppies where i got him from (same day) she was quite poorly as soon as i put her in, but it didnt occur to me, as she didnt look as bad as shylo.

i think i must have brought the infection back on their stock (obviously the spike didnt help)

what treatment is needed for that condition too?

i really appreciate this, thanks for your reply

i forgot to ask, would LARGER water changes be better? say 50%?

and can the disease live on ornaments etc?

i dont have a quarantine tank either, but i think everyone else is already exposed as i lost the other female guppy to what now seems to be the same thing

 

[Haych]

Shylo didnt make it, i think he drowned from not being able to get to the top

 

[Big_eyes]

Hi, sorry about your problem and even more so your loss.

I've just come out of pretty much the same problem. Fish showing signs of this columnaris business, I was lucky in that 50% daily water changes sorted the problem out - or so I hope. Don't want to talk to you like you're stupid but you're not overstocked are you? and your filters clean enough? haven't added a lot of fish in one go recently?

 

[Haych]

nope, i added four female guppies and shylo to an existing community (been up and running for ages) on wednesday, and 2 cories on saturday.

not overstocked as the filter i have is bigger than required. i have a tetratec ex1200 on a 180l tank

i did have to do a massive water change the other day as i moved the tank, but i dont think the stock from shirley aquatics were too bright, which is where i got the guppies and shylo from. he never seemed completely right from day one, i just assumed he was tired as he has been flashing the other male bettas.

i have lost 2 of the four female guppies, and a third doesnt look well, shylo, one of the new cories that couldnt cope with the spike and one of my original guppies (but he got sucked up the vac which i think stressed him too much),

i am keeping a close eye on them all though

 

[WILDER]

R.I.P.

 

[loraxchick]

sorry to hear that. keep an eye out on the rest of the fish. dont add salt to the tank with the cory(didnt realize you had a cory in there)...just keep doing waterchanges...say every third day around 30-40% for a week or two. feed good food too. a strong fish is a healthy fish and will be more likely to resist outbreaks of these sort of things.
sorry for your loss
cheers

 

[Haych]

thanks wilder and lorax.

with regards to the salt, i have had to as i do not want to lose anymore fish, i have now lost around 8.

i am salting, but not majorly, just enough to "medictae" slightly.

i am doing daily water changes for now, around 30%, but am going to do a little more, as it dont seem to be working.

I have done a water test, and ammonia/ammonium has lower slightly, as has nitRITES, but nitRATES has shot through the roof

 

[loraxchick]

my only advice is to keep up with those waterchanges until nitrites are 0...fish can tolerate a relatively high amount of nitrAte (up to over 100 ppm with no ill effects). the nitrites is a different story. water change water change...pain in the #14###, but needs to be done. also cut back on feeding to once every OTHER day until those nitrites drop and stay at 0..also, no more fish until 2 weeks after this happens..i think you are seeing a small spike in the cycle with the addition of new fish (more bioload) and the filter is catching up.
best of luck!

 

[Haych]

thanks lorax. apparently its cause i mixed up the sand in the move, released alot of ammonia etc.

i am keeping on the water changes, and everything is settling, except nitrate is still high, but am not concerned about that atm.

was just confused originally as some was going down and others up, but if its normal im happy

and no, i dont plan on new fish til these are happy. i may as well stick a tenner in there and let it go to mulch than kill more fish (i dont like murdering fish )