Post
by Diana » Sun May 17, 2009 10:07 am
When I see white areas on a fish I am concerned about Columnaris, a bacteria infection. This can start anywhere on the fish. If these bacteria attack the fins it is called Fin Rot. On the body of the fish it has several names:
Saddle Disease (seems to show up first in the dorsal area)
Columnaris (Latin name of the bacteria, Flavobacteria columnaris)
Mouth 'Fungus' (It is not a fungus)
If this is what is going on, here are some treatment hints:
This bacteria grows and spreads faster at warmer temperatures. Keep the tank under 76*F (You would anyway, Dojos are cool water fish)
This bacteria seems to pop up when water conditions are not quite right. Especially check nitrate, but even if all the levels seem OK, a water change to remove the organic debris in the gravel can really help.
Most antibiotics can help, check the label for one of the common names of this disease.
There seem to be several forms of this bacteria, some seem to move REALLY fast, from first symptom to dead fish in about 24 hours.
I have not seen the first one you mention: More yellow showing but still has some spots.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!