El Flexibacter columnaris, is a disease characterized by rotting of the mouth and the appearance of small white dots (like cotton wool) around the body of the fish. In the same way, it can also appear as fraying of the fins and the tail of the animal.
Although it is very common to confuse this type of Infectious disease With an infection caused by fungi, it differs from this in that flexibacter columnaris appears due to contagion with another animal that suffers from the infection, while fungi usually grow in dead tissue.
But what are the causes of flexibacter columnaris? This disease can appear due to a bacterium that usually lives in aquariums. However, only those fish that are subjected to high levels of stress will be affected.
The bacteria that cause this disease can appear in your aquarium for the following reasons:
- An aquarium that is poorly and poorly maintained
- Aquariums that have a large quantity de peces or that are overcrowded
- Low oxygen levels in the water
- High levels of nitrites
- Food remains inside the tank that increase the chances of the appearance of bacteria.
To treat these types of diseases We must ensure that we maintain good hygiene in the place where our aquatic animals live. However, if an animal has already been infected and presents the symptoms mentioned above, the use of antibiotics is recommended, since being infected with this bacterium, their health is prone to other diseases such as aeromonas.
When administering antibiotics to your fish, I recommend using food impregnated with some compounds such as: oxytetracycline, tetracyclie or kanamycin. Be aware that this bacteria is resistant to some antibiotics such as ormethoprim and sulfadimethoxine.