Euthanasia

[mlee0332]

I have a guppy that is sick with columnaris. He's already become disoriented. He'll swim upside down, and side ways and wobble. He'll plunge into the gravel bed, and then sit there. Should I euthanize him? or see what's going on tomorrow?

This strand of it must be pretty rough b/c he only had a spot at 12:00 noon, and now it has covered the entire side of his face. (12hrs later). He is now struggling to keep his belly from floating up...

 

[snowyangel]

Columnaris is very serious and very contagious. It killed over 20 of my breeding guppies from my breeding tanks in about 2 weeks. You should euthanise it( i use clove oil), since it seems too far gone now to save.

 

[mlee0332]

how should I prevent it from spreading? Boil everything................. again?

 

[snowyangel]

I first had to euthanise every fish that showed signs of it because i found no medical cure nor did clean water help and the disease would usually kill them within 24hrs anyway. Next i put all healthy guppies into a bucket and then i cleaned out the tank from top to bottom, cleaned the stones, filter media, everything with boiling hot water, let them all dry out. I also threw out any live plants(some diseases can live and be spread by plants). Then i started the tank back up again from a preciously cycled tank, added the guppies, and kept the temperature to no higher then 74F since higher temps make this virus multiply VERY quickly so don't try killing it the ich disease way. If i saw any signs again, that guppy was euthanised before the parasite could move on.
I haven't had the virus come back since. Just dont forget to clean your syphon and nets if you're sharing them between tanks.

 

[Fiori]

When you euthanise using clove oil, how much do you use?

 

[snowyangel]

Depends how many fish at a time, size of the fish, and how ill they are. A little definitely goes along way so you don't need much. I usually mix a small out of tank water with the clove oil(absorb the end of cue tip or maybe more) then just put the guppy in it. Remember the guppy will first enter a deep sleep when it will not be moving but still breathing. Please watch to see if the gills are still moving before discarding the body.

 

[mlee0332]

Could I just treat them with antibacterial? None of them show signs of it.

B/c I just boiled everything about 2 days ago. Or should I do it again?