Sick Corys with spiny growths

[Ghostie]

So I a have some sick corys. I have had them for over a year. Several weeks ago the female started having strange spiny growths on her belly but they have now spread the the rest of her body. They are about 2mm long. I left it alone and changed the water. Today I noticed the spiny growths were spreading to some of the other corys. Some are starting to exhibit white patches too, They are all still eating, but starting to look pretty ragged. The strange thing is there have been no changes to the set-up at all recently. Overview of my tank set-up below. I bought some Furan-2 but have not used it yet. I tried to get a good picture

Any ideas?

Water parameters
a) Temperature range:78 degrees
b) pH: 6.8
c) GH: 1
d) KH: 2
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, levels: usually very low
f) I change the water once a month or so

2. Tank set up
a) 20 Gallons
c) Filtration: eheim ecco
d) Decorations: lots of anubias and moss
e) Other tank mates: siamese algae eater
f) How long has it been set-up? over 2 years at current location, no new fish added for a year

3. Symptoms / Problem description
Strange spiny growths, white patches.

4. Action taken: no actions yet

5. Medications used: None yet

[Coriequest]

There are many people here that know more than I. Please jump in! You need to add fresh clean water weekly, at least 20-30 percent of your tank matching tank parameters as best as you can. I like aged water from the Tap and I always use Prime. Vacuum the bottom and really get into the corners each time you change out the water. Most fish that suffer from bacterial infections are gram negative bacteria. Mardel medications can be used all together safely, not all can be. Read the labels. You don't have any time to wait to treat this illness based on previous readings and experience. You can learn more by reading the Internet and visiting Fishyfarmacy's website. Good luck. This is very sad.

[Ghostie]

Thanks for looking. I added some furan-2 this morning. I will be be separating the sick corys in to a hospital tank so I doesn't spread the the rest.

[Ghostie]

After looking around a bit it think it may be columnaris. Anyone have any success in treating it? I added Furan-2 which is a broad spectrum antibiotic and will have to get some Kanamyacin too. I found a page with good info too. Looks like it is often found where there is low mineral content. The Siamese algae-eater is kind of a jerk to the corys too, so he will have to go. Should I set up a hospital tank and transfer the ill fish or with that just stress them out more?

[Coriequest]

I transferred mine because most meds are in doses for ten gallons and I had a ten gallon tank for QT, the other fish never caught it but i didn't add fish to that tank for a year to be safe. Columnaris was my suspicion. I lost an Otto with it and a panda. My other panda was asymptomatic but since I only had two I treated both so they could be together with the the Mardel products. They were always cuddling up together so both in contact with bacteria. I keep kanamide on hand now. I haven't used the one you have. Columnaris requires vaccuming well in the corners and water changes. Good luck. After the one was treated and healthy he got eight new panda friends. He was so happy once more. Hard thing to lose fish for me.

PS you can soak the food with fresh garlic juice too...

[Ghostie]

Yes it is hard! I get so attached to them. I found a local place wth kanmyacin an methalyne blue. I will give them a try. Fingers crossed!

[mummymonkey]

I've seen this a few times. A big water change sees it off. I would get rid of the algae eater and start changing water weekly rather than monthly. Also if you are feeding white/Grindal worms then cut that back a bit. I wouldn't put any medication in the tank.

[Ghostie]

I already added kanamyacin and furan-2. I think I will have to remove three of the due to some columanris looking stuff on the fins and treat them seperately to the main aquarium so it doesn't spread. What do you guys think?

[Coriequest]

If I recall correctly Kanamycin isn't supposed to be used with other meds at the same time, at least thats what mine said...I waited thinking my Oto had scraped his back. It started out as a small white spot. He died. I don't see how it will improve without medication but mine might have died either way. I only medicate in a QT tank. Rigorous vacuuming and 40 percent waterchanges once a week in the main tank did correct the issue there, no more columnaris. I guess it depends on who you speak with. I medicate. This is based on what I have learned from people with more experience than I have. You could consult with fishyfarmacy; they are very helpful.

[Ghostie]

I was following the information on treating the columnaris from this page: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html
My aquarium has some of the things that make it easy for it to spread. The water in NYC is very soft and the water is well oxygenated. I lowered the temp of the aquarium to 76 since it spreads at higher temperatures. I did a big water change of 50% yesterday and will do a 25% tomorrow. Also I added crushed oyster shells to the filter to keep mineral content up.
So far it looks like the symptoms of the less affected fish may be going away. The female is still pretty ragged and I may try to do a dip in methylene blue(also in the above link.) I have not separated the affected fish into a hospital tank yet. Everyone is swimming actively and eating.

[Coriequest]

I think if you keep up the water changes your tank will get well. I hope your lovely fish do too. I hate bad bacteria. Keep us posted. Crossing my fingers for you.

[Ghostie]

I have continued with 25% water changes every other day and am almost done with the antibiotics. They sick corysare looking much better, even the large female that I wasn't sure was going to make it. So it is probably a combination of all the factors and aquarium parameter changes(raising calcium etc.) So hopefully the improvements will continue.

[Coriequest]

How are they...crossing my fingers!

[Ghostie]

They are all better! All survived! The water changes got the water back where it was supposed to be and the antibiotics helped stave off the columnaris infection. I think several my water test no longer giving correct readings(due to being several years old,) so I have to get some fresh ones. I also have to be more vigilant about regular water changes! Thanks for checking up on them!

[Mogl]

Hey and sorry to bump this thread but this is what some of my corrys look like at the moment, so is it really columnaris then? because it looks far off what most pictures are like when you search for more information about columnaris, mine look just the same, spiny white growth on the side a few mm long, they seem to come and go with a few weeks in between (havn't noted the actual time) but it seems cyclic. Adding a URL to someone with the same kind of problem but abit further developed. And if it's columnaris how does one treat it the best and what's the reason for outbreaks?

http://www.fishforums.net/threads/pleas ... ot.284910/

and here's a picture from the page incase people don't fancy opening it



and finally here's what mine look like altho i didn't manage to get a picture as good as the previous that other's have posted