Ich & Columnaris

[Brette]

After the columnaris outbreak in my tank I ended up taking it apart and cleaning everything with water and vinegar because the water was really bad (I had decomposing dead fish overnight and the water stank and looked awful). I even baked the driftwood in the oven at 300 degrees for a half hour to get rid of any bacteria in it.

Do the pros here recommend doing this when you have a bacterial infection? I only took the whole thing apart because as I said, the water was finished because of the decomposing bodies. Is it useful to dismantle and clean everything even if the water is alright after having cured the columnaris with an antibiotic like maracyn? Or is doing a a total clean up after a bacterial infection a good thing?

 

[omega59]

you are correct, there are 'receding white lines' on the fins and fluff on parts of the body. i believe this is Columnaris. perhaps the first treatment i did 2 weeks ago i should of done a 2nd dosage, this time i will make sure of it cus i got 2 boxes of them medications.

Brette, i don't believe it was necessary to do a total tank downage like that, perhaps a water change is good yes. but if your fish have the disease still then re-adding them will just make it come again in your water. it is best to use medications im my oponion. There are always going to be diseases in fish whenever there is something new fish added or poor water, or they are stressed.

 

[Colin_T]

If a fish dies in a tank it is a good idea to do daily partial water changes (30-50%, more if you lose lots of fish) and complete gravel cleans every day for a week. This helps remove the pathogens in the water, dilute any ammonia or nitrite, and remove most of the gunk in the gravel. It is also a good idea to clean the filter.
Most fish diseases are brought about by poor environmental factors, dirty gravel, unclean filters, and lack of water changes. Clean gravel, filter and water means there is less nasty stuff in the tank with the fish and they will have fewer problems.

 

[omega59]

how often do you clean the filter out, i as told to never touch the spondge filter in there at all.

 

[Colin_T]

I like to do power, box & sponge filters about once a month, (and undergravel filters once a week when I do a water change). They are usually pretty clean after a month but I like them to have as little gunk in them as possible. The filter is the heart of the tank and all the water passes through it several times an hour. If there is lots of gunk in the water, then the water is going to be full of whatever is living in the gunk, usually disease organisms. A clean filter means the water will pick up less pathogens as it gets filtered, thus reducing the number of organisms in the tank water.
Imagine having your air passed through a toilet block before you breathe it. All the horrible smells and potential bugs that are in there would be contaminating the air you breathe. Aquarium filters trap all the fish poo, (gunk) and hold it in sponges. Then the tank water that the fish breathe and live in, gets passed through all the poo before it is returned to the tank. The fish are basically living in water that is filtered through their own waste. Ergo the cleaner the filter, the cleaner the water.
*NB* the filter materials should only be washed out in a bucket of tank water and not washed under tap water.

 

[omega59]

oh okay, i sometimes (every 6 months or so) squeeze the spondge in the dirty tank water. i notice sometimes the spondge is very grey and slimy with gunk. but each time i have squeezed the spondge in the water i noticed teh tank does end up doing a small cycle.. i guess it is normal

some news update tho, i am on day 3 and my male mollie has no more white stuff on him at all, he seems much better thanks god! but i will keep doing the dossages.

thanks all!

 

[Colin_T]

if you have a mini cycle after cleaning the filters then it means the filter was seriously blocked up and not working efficiently. Then when you clean the filter most of the good bacteria get washed out with the gunk and you are left with a clean filter with insufficient numbers fo bacteria to keep the water clean. If you clean the filter more often you should have less problems with mini cycles.
Once the filter sponges, etc are clean put them in the tank until the filter case & motor are ready to go back together. Then reassemble the filter and get it running.

 

[omega59]

i have purchaed an extra spondge actually. old one goes at the bottum new one at the top or middle, when i clean the old spondge the new one should be more cleaner and bacteria in there. it should be okay. so i just rotate basically.

 

[Colin_T]

Carbon (black granulated stuff) can be replaced every month but there is no need to replace sponges unless they are falling apart. Just squeeze them out and put them back in.