Melafix? Tetracycline? Bad For Corries?

[Ruskull]

We just noticed that (3) of our (4) Australian Rainbowfish have a "cotton mouth" appearance and a quick online search says it's likely mouth fungus which is actually not a fungus but an external bacterial infection.  The male Australian, which is the largest one, has it the worst and it doesn't seem that bad yet.  All are still eating normally.

Good treatments include Melafix or Tetracycline by API.  I happen to have 2 packets of Tetracycline left over so I dosed the tank with those and according to the dosing instructions that's approx. a half dose for a 55 gallon tank.  We're headed out shortly to get Melafix since it's cheaper, and I was wondering if there were any adverse effects on Corries since we have 25 of them in that tank.

We don't have the available tank space to treat these fish separately and we want to treat the whole tank because this bacterial condition is highly contagious anyway.

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.............. 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Don't waste your money on the Melafix. Get real antibiotics. Different strains of columnaris range from deadly virulent to milder, but the milder strains are way less common.
 
I have found that there are times when it takes two rounds of antibiotics with a 50% dose increase for the second go around. It is often suggested to go briad spectrum with the antibiotics as secondary infection, typically with Aeromonas, Using Maracyn and Maracyn 2 in concert is safe and usually effective as it will hit both the columnaris and secondary infections as well.
 
Cories should be fine with antibiotics.

 

[KieranBoyne]

I agree with tta. Melafix and anything similar such as primafix has been a complete waste of money for me. It has done nothing to alleviate my fish suffering. I agree once again with tta when he says that you should get some proper antibiotics. And I think only pleco's or similar fish (scaleless) might have a problem with certain antibiotics. Hope this helped

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Plecos have scutes instead of scales. These are their armor.
 
I am not aware of scaleless fish having issues with antibiotics. Its is usually ich meds and the like, things that kill parasites, that cause issues.

 

[Ruskull]

Thanks guys!  Unfortunately I just came home with a huge 16 oz. bottle of Melafix............I guess I'll be returning it tomorrow.  The question is, what can I get in the LFS that qualifies as a good antibiotic?  Tetracycline is waaaaaay too expensive to dose a 55 gallon tank with and I'm not sure it's considered an antibiotic anyway.  I've also read that aq salt can be added but I know that's not good for Corries.
 
Can anyone recommend antibiotics by brand that may be available at Petsmart or Petco?  It would be nice to exchange this Melafix for a more appropriate remedy.............. 
 
I've never had to deal with this issue before and I believe it's likely because those particular fish are stressed and being somewhat dominated by the Turquoise & Bosemani Rainbows in the tank.  Another cause is supposed to be dirty water, but I can rule that out because the tank gets fairly frequent water changes.

 

[Ruskull]

Update:
 
While searching online I found out Seachem Metronidazole is supposed to be good for treatment & I already have that!  Whether or not I have enough to treat a 55 gallon is the problem but I probably do.  I'll begin dosing tomorrow since I already did a half dose of Teracycline.

Plecos have scutes instead of scales. These are their armor.
 
I am not aware of scaleless fish having issues with antibiotics. Its is usually ich meds and the like, things that kill parasites, that cause issues.

 
 
Wait, I just re read this post and Seachem Metro is good for killing parasites, specifically internal.  Now I'm confused again.................
Will the Corries be okay with the Metro?

 

[KieranBoyne]

Sorry for giving false info. I'll leave it to tta

 

[daizeUK]

Ruskull I am having the exact same problem with my rainbowfish right now (though I have threadfins).
 
I've learned that this is a very common problem among rainbowfish and this is now the third time I've seen it appear in the tank.
 
I tried treating with Melafix last time, the Melafix appeared to have no real effect but the cottonmouth cleared up after three weeks of treatment.  I suspect it cleared up on its own rather than anything to do with the Melafix.
 
This time I'm trying a course of Pimafix as I've heard conficting reports.  One report says it is useful, another says useless.  Unfortunately as I live in the UK I can't get antibiotics and my options are very limited, so I'm giving it a shot.
 
Sorry I can't answer your question on cories but I thought I'd let you know my experience as it sounds like we may have the same problem.

 

[Ruskull]

Ruskull I am having the exact same problem with my rainbowfish right now (though I have threadfins).
 
I've learned that this is a very common problem among rainbowfish and this is now the third time I've seen it appear in the tank.
 
I tried treating with Melafix last time, the Melafix appeared to have no real effect but the cottonmouth cleared up after three weeks of treatment.  I suspect it cleared up on its own rather than anything to do with the Melafix.
 
This time I'm trying a course of Pimafix as I've heard conficting reports.  One report says it is useful, another says useless.  Unfortunately as I live in the UK I can't get antibiotics and my options are very limited, so I'm giving it a shot.
 
Sorry I can't answer your question on cories but I thought I'd let you know my experience as it sounds like we may have the same problem.

 
 
Thanks daizeUK, sorry we share in despair!
 
I swear, I haven't had any Ich, Parasitic, Bacterial or otherwise in at least 2-3 years!  Rainbows are a bit aggressive towards each other and stress probably caused our issues.  Too many different kinds and not enough of each kind in my case.  If I could start over I'd stick to larger groups of Bosemani & Turquoise.
 
The only warning sign was the largest Australian (a male) did seem to gasp leading up to it, while all other Rainbows were normal.  We agitate the water with an air stone as well as the spray bar pointing slightly upwards to ripple the surface.  I would think the water has plenty of oxygen content based on that and we do weekly water changes of 15-25% every week.  The canister was cleaned 2 weeks ago and with sand substrate and 25 Corries the bottom is clean of any fish waste that could be the cause of any bacterial issues.  

 

[Ruskull]

Sorry for giving false info. I'll leave it to tta

 
 
It's all good, thanks for the help.

 

[Ruskull]

Upon further inspection it appears there is still some white on their mouths and those particular fish seem to be gasping a bit.  Luckily there's no real serious damage to their snouts yet and it does appear that the half dose def. helped since there's less of it on each of the infected fish.

This morning I returned the Melafix and replaced with more T.C. Tetracycline.  The package instructions don't ca;ll for a long treatment period of 7 or 8 days though, instead they say treat the tank 2 days in a row and then do a 25% water change and then treat 2 more days, then do a final 25% water change.

My question is, since I already did a half dose yesterday, what should I do now?  I was thinking a regular dose today, a 25% water change tomorrow, and then a full dose for the next 2 days and then the final 25% water change.

 

[Ruskull]

Update:
 
So I finished the last of 4 Tetracycline treatments and I've noticed a great improvement as of last night.  Now I'm waiting for the tank lights to come on so I can see if there's any signs of the cotton mouth left.  Regardless we'll do a large water change tomorrow night and if necessary I'll try a different treatment.  I already purchased API Triple Sulfa, which is supposed to be a good treatment for Cotton Mouth.  I can always return the unopened package if I don't need it or it's not not recommended.
 
Does anyone have any experience with this Triple Sulfa?

 

[KieranBoyne]

Update:
 
So I finished the last of 4 Tetracycline treatments and I've noticed a great improvement as of last night.  Now I'm waiting for the tank lights to come on so I can see if there's any signs of the cotton mouth left.  Regardless we'll do a large water change tomorrow night and if necessary I'll try a different treatment.  I already purchased API Triple Sulfa, which is supposed to be a good treatment for Cotton Mouth.  I can always return the unopened package if I don't need it or it's not not recommended.
 
Does anyone have any experience with this Triple Sulfa?

Yay!! At least we have some good news now huh?? So... Is there any signs of anything going wrong??? Please let them be healthy...

 

[Ruskull]

Yes, they look a lot better but I'm still worried that the bad bacteria might not be fully eradicated.  We'll see after a couple of water changes and a few days..........
 
Thanks for your help and encouragement.

Here's a quick video of how they looked last Sunday night, notice the poorly female Australian all the way to the left.  Her lips are much better now but there's still some fluff left:
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU26m7PgULk
 
I'll see if I can post an updated video in a bit....................

 

[KieranBoyne]

Thanks for the update. At least they are improving significantly. I'd say that you should continue doing what youre doing and it should be ok eventually.