PDA

View Full Version : Discus got sick after adding a new couple of juveniles



abelsalazar
04-12-2019, 05:37 PM
Hello guys, I've got my discus sick after adding two juveniles without propper QT (I now understand the need of it).


1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?

This is the timeline of the problem:

- I had 3 3~ inch discus and 2 2~ inch discus for about two months.
- One of the small discus wasnt growing, barely eating and starting pooping white, so i moved it to a BB QT tank and started metronidazol treatment.
- Bought two small discus I think they are a little bit smaller than 2inch. They seemed healthy, not clamped fins, eating vigorously and pooping normaly. (see picture 1 and 2)
- Put the new discus in the main tank without propper QT.
- The day after, two of the 3 inch discus got clamped fins and went hide in the top back corner of the tank. (started doing daily WC for about 20-30%)
- 5 days have passed both of the weirdly behaving discus showed fin rot and one of them showed white scales in one side (see pictures 3 - 5)
- day 6th (today), moved both discus to the BB QT tank and added API Melafix along with some food with kanoplex.

Blue turq is still going after the food normally, the pigeon is not eating as it was before all this and some times tailstanding or going on its side.
Note: Only other change besides adding the fishes was giving them a couple of dried frozen bloodworms for the first time. (they seem to poop worms once right after eating them and stop feeding those. althought that might be normal as i had never feed that before)


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).

Clamped fins, some hiding, some headstanding, some rotting fins. (All can be seen in the pictures)

3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
API Melafix along with some food with kanoplex. Just did it today, no results just yet.



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
80 gallon tank.
3 3~inch discus
4 2~inch discus
10 tetra serpae
4 cardinal tetras
3 corydoras
2 small albino plecos
1 algae eater

Aquarium has been running for almost 3 months, newest fish are the two discus after about 2 months of not changing anything.

5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
20% twice a week


6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
3 months
Its a planted aquarium, it has some parts with sand others with substrate 2-3 inch deep.


7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
No, I havent noticed ph swing.


8. Parameters and water source;

Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.


- temp 31c at the moment. Heaters are set on 29 but its been hot in the city.

- ph 7.8

- ammonia reading 0

- nitrite reading 0

- nitrate reading 10

What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

- well water ____

- municipal water 100%

- RO water ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
two juvenile discus that seemed healthy.


10. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can.
Granulated food mixed with flakes one or twice a day. Lately lowered it to once a day since sand seemed to be getting dirty really fast and snails started to reproduce a lot.


11. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.
123415123416123417123418123419123420123421

LizStreithorst
04-12-2019, 05:57 PM
First off, small Discus really don't belong in a planted tank unless you're really an expert so move them to a BB tank
Secondly, 20% twice weekly is not enough. It would be if the Discus were alone in a tank that size in a BB.
Thirdly, your water is way to hot for the disease that is the primary problem you're seeing.

Have you ever actually checked your water for a change in pH by putting water in a 5 gallon bucket with a bubbler for 12 and checking it's pH and comparing it with the pH of the water in your tank 12 hrs later? You need to do that before you know whether or not you can use water straight from the tap. This is way more important than folks realize.

What I would do is move all the Discus to a BB and treat with Furan II according to label directions. When the fin rot and darkness goes away watch them for a week and make sure that they're all eating and have normal poop.

At this point the external infection is the emergency. If your fish have hex or worms it can be dealt with after your fish recover. The one that lays on it's side might die.

abelsalazar
04-12-2019, 06:19 PM
What WC regime would you recomend for a planted tank?

I did test the ph straight from the tap and on my tank, right before a WC. It appears to be the same.

LizStreithorst
04-12-2019, 06:28 PM
Able, I don't recommend a planted tank at all for Discus that are still growing. I know one guy who grew out Discus in a planted tank. He is an expert. He used to be Admin here. He was successful but it took so much work that he said he'd never do it again.

To test for a pH swing fill a 5 gallon with water. Put an air stone in it for 12 hrs and test it against the water in your tank.