Agassizi swollen lips and tetras dying

[tat]

Hello,

I have a severe problem on my tank, and all help is appreciated.
This is my setup:

330Liters
PH=6.2
KH=2
GH=3
NO3=10
NO2=0
T=28ºC

I have 25 tetra cardinal, 1 male apistogramme agassizi firered, 4 discus, amano shrimps, 2 corydoras and 1 L200.


The problems started one month ago (maybe more), whem I started noticed some tetras getting sick.
I separated 6 of them, having lost already two.

Meanwhile 2 other tetras died on the main tank, and at least 2 or 3 show some sympthoms.
Even worse, the dicease seems to start spreading to other fish, as you can see on the apisto with swollen lips.

I am posting some photos to help doing the diagonose.

I appreciate all the help you can give me. Thanks alot!

 

[Mike Wise]

Do you quarantine your fish before adding to the community? It looks like you cardinal brought something nasty into the tank. Stress of some sort, whether environmental or interaction with other species, seems to have caused the disease to flair up. I can't recommend a medication that will help. It looks like one of those internal diseases that doesn't respond to medication. The best I can suggest is move the tetras and apisto to a hospital tank, let nature take its course - and hope that it hasn't infected your discus, too.

 

[tat]

Hi Mike,

Usually I quarantine them, anyway all these fish are on my hands for (at least) 3 months.

After some web-browsing, I am suspecting this could be Columnaris.

What is your opinion?

Thanks

 

[gerald]

I dont know what it is, but to me it does NOT look like Columnaris (Flexibacter). Those huge growths on the tetras might be bacterial, or a virus like Lymphocystis (which doesn't usually kill fish, at least not quickly) or maybe a microsporidean, something like Glugea. The Apisto might have the same or a different problem - looks bacterial to me. Kanamycin might be worth a try, but really its just a wild guess.

 

[Mike Wise]

Usually after 3 months you don't see this happen. Something must have put a major stress on the tank/fish. I have no idea which disease you have. Gerald's guess is as good as (better than) any I could give. When in doubt - and I REALLY want to try to save the fish - I use a bare hospital tank, treat with a mix of Kanamycin, Naladixic Acid, and Metronidozole with water changes between treatments - and, yes I do, pray.

 

[tat]

Hello,

I have lost 10 tetras, and one Leopard Discus.
Everyone else looks fine, except the poor apistogramma.
He is a strong fish, he has the swollen mouth sympthoms for almost 2 months.
But things are now turning really bad, he spent most of the time on the bottom, and he is not eating anymore.

I think it's time to move him to QT.

What treatment do you suggest me?

I remind you, how he looks:

 

[tat]

One more pic:

 

[tat]

Hello,

Anyone can give any help?
This seems to be a bacterial infection, but I am not sure. There is anything I can try?

Thanks!

 

[gerald]

Have you tried Mike's suggestion of Kanamycin, Naladixic Acid, and Metronidazole (post #5 above)? If that doesn't work, I doubt anything else will. If it's a Mycobacterium infection, whick looks like a strong possibility (it often affects just one or a few fish at a time, and progresses slowly over several months) then there is no reliably effective treatment known.