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One of my 5 cories has a white spot on its head. I realize this could be caused by ich, but the spot seems relatively large and there is only one of them. I have never seen ich on a fish personally, but I have heard it described as many small spots. None of my other cories or my platy or ottos have exibited signs. It could also be an injury, but I can't tell. My ottos are very peaceful and I have never seen them latch on to a fish before, so I doubt that's it. I have never seen any agression between the fish in my tank. The cory is eating and acting perfectly normally.
Does anyone know what this is?

If the spot is fuzzy at all, it could be columnaris (commonly known as mouth fungus). A picture would help in identification, if you can get one. This is actually common on Corydoras catfish and I have been able to successfully get rid of it on my fish, though it is still a threat. If you really do have columnaris, it could be brought on by poor water quality. In that case, I would suggest just a few extra water changes over the next several days, and perhaps some Melafix to help.

Maybe look at some picture of columnaris through Google, and see if that looks like what your fish has? I don't want to jump to conclusions, and I'm sure other folks have better advice than I do as well. In the meantime, would you be able to post your water parameters for us?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I just changed the water yesterday, before the spot was there, so I don't see any reason why the water would be the problem in this case. The only thing is that I've been having trouble with green algae lately, so the water's a bit cloudy, but clean otherwise.

Would you be able to post your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels just to be sure? I'd hate to miss anything that could jeopardize your fish's health.

Also, have you looked at pictures or descriptions of columnaris to see if that is what your fish has?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Well, I'm pretty sure it's columnaris, because nothing else comes close to the symptoms. Now the question is, how do I treat it? The first fish that had it died, and now two other cories seem to be affected. I know that since they are scaleless, I need to be careful with treatment. Any suggestions? By the way I will post my water parameters soon.

Last edited by little fish at 08-Jan-2006 11:10

I have never used medication against columnaris, though my fish only ever got minor cases. More frequent water changes (at least three or four a week) would be helpful, and possibly some kind of antibacterial remedy. Most of these would need to be used at half dose.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."