discus scratching itself against objects

[crazy4discus]

i was looking at my babie discus and notice that some of them are scratching themselves against the sponge filters and heater what does this mean? and what can i do to make them stop scratching themselves?

[Carol_Roberts]

Are you doing daily water change of 25% or more?
Is there ammonia and/or nitrIte in the tank?

[crazy4discus]

im doing 50 percent w/c a day for them carol and no ammonia or nothing they just scratch themselves sometimes there not scratching no more but what does it mean when they do is it something i need to be worried about?

[Carol_Roberts]

If scratching a few times per day don't worry about it. IF same fish is scratching a few times per hour you may have a problem with parasites or bacterial infection.

[lkleung007]

Hi,

I agree with Carol. Watch them closely, see how often they are scratching...is it one or multiple Discus in the same tank. Watch their behavior during feeding time...is their appetite good, etc. And watch how the "infected discus" interact with the others in the tank. Also, inspect their slim coats, is it smooth looking or are there patches that are new. By watching them closely, you can really tell if they are sick or not.

HTH, Lester

[crazy4discus]

well i looked at there body and its clear nothing its on there body they its only like 2 or 3 of them that scratches themselves probaly i think 5-7 times a day they dont scratch constantly like every other hour they scratch themselves one time

[crazy4discus]

if they do have bacterial infections or parasites what should i use to remove that from the discus? can i just use it anyways just in case i dont want anything to happen to my discus what do you say i should do carol?

[Carol_Roberts]

I think your discus are fine. I bet I scratch myself 5 or 6 times a day - how about you? Water changes and slat are your first line of defense. Formalin is good to have on hand.

[crazy4discus]

ok thanks carol

[mugen920]

hi ..i have the same problem w/ one of my discus and i see there are some patches on it. the fish is scratching itself against the plants mostly.
when should i do about it ??

[mugen920]

1 thing i have also notice today is, the fin of the fish is wriggling
what should i do ?
???

[Carol_Roberts]

First line of defense is always a water change and salt at 1 or 2 tablespoons per 10 gallons.

Prior to the water change test for ammonia and nitrIte (if you have a test kit )

Is this a bare bottom tank? What all is in the tank? Have you added any new fish or pants? What kind of water changes do you normally do?

[mugen920]

it's not a bare tank, there are 3 other discus in there
and actually this is the newest fish
i usually do wc 2-3 per week w/ aroudn 30%
it's 60 G tank

[Carol_Roberts]

How new is he - could he have brought parasites with him? Odd that only one fish is scratching. Ammonia is zero? Tank is plenty big and water changes are adequate if no other fish but discus in tank and discus are small. How long has tank been set up?

[mugen920]

both ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ..
i'm not sure if he has parasites w/ him coz i dont see thishim doin that when he just came.
he got him 2 weeks ago
the tank has been set for around 2.5 months now

[Carol_Roberts]

Do daily water changes and salt for a couple of days and see if gets better or worse or if other discus start scratching.

[mugen920]

okok i'll do that .

[mugen920]

it will be a external parasites rite ??

[Carol_Roberts]

External irritant could be parasite, ammonia, or bacteria

[mugen920]

he is gettign worse so i put into a hospital tank and put some malachite green .....i dont wan it to spread to the other fish

[Carol_Roberts]

Try formalin at 1 cc or 1 ml per 10 gallons - can use with salt and M. green . . .add extra air and do not raise temp

[mugen920]

carol, also will METHYLENE BLUE works ??
i heard from my LFS , they told me to use PPM ?? but only if it's very serious........is it ture ?? where can i get ppm ??
thankz carol

Methylene Blue is great for clearing cloudy eyes and ich or skin infestations! Go ahead and use it at one drop per gallon (take out the carbons and sponge filters). But before adding the medicine, you should do a 50% water change. This will allow the medication to do healing at full strength.

Natural Tea Tree Oil at one drop per four gallons is also a fine (and natural) remedy. I use this once a week (to clean my internal tank walls -- good for cleaning off algae).

**Angie**

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't know what ppm is, unles it is pp - potasium permanganate. PP will burn off all external parasites, bacteria, slime coat, bacteria in tank, etc. It is potent stuff. Use carefully. I'd try formalin first.

I failed to mention that Malachite Green is also a natural remedy for dissolving external parasites. Give it time, if you used the MG.

I never used Formalin before. I was about to use it when I came across a posting that noted that it is a potent medication and is a carcinogen (cancer causing). Not that many other materials (natural and synthetic) aren't CA causing, but at least it's not as potent. So if you use Formalin, just be sure to use gloves to dispense and (it's a powder formula) use a mask so you don't accidentally inhale it. Just a word of caution.

**Angie**

[mugen920]

ya ppm = potassium permanganate
ok i'll try the formalin. do i have to do wc everyday when i added in the med. ?

[Carol_Roberts]

50% water change 8 hours after dosing the formalin. Use formalin every other day - if you see improvement you can treat for 14 days

[mugen920]

i'm just wondering can formalin, malachite green put in w/ other healthy fish ?

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, you can dose the tank, but if all the other fish in that tank are healthy then it probably is not an external parasite.

[mugen920]

ok then what will that be ?? the fish seem to have slimy coat
i did do wc for every other day

[mugen920]

what causes that ?? coz i did do wc at least 2-3 times per week and the thing is i don have many fish in my 60G tank
i have only four 3" discus there, is it becoz the fish is stress?? coz i do see they chase each other around and i duno what to do w/ them ?
i started on discus for around 3 months now and i seem to always run into this problem.
thank you

[Carol_Roberts]

You have four 3 inch discus in a 60 gallon tank. Three are perfectly healthy and one is slimy and scratches himself?

[mugen920]

yaya .and i would liek to know why ? is it becoz the fish is the weakest one and stressed out due to others chase him around .....??

[Carol_Roberts]

I don'g know. Put a divider in the tank with him on one side and see if he does better.

[spanner]

I have been using large amounts of formalin for a number of years to treat fish for external parasites on our fish farm and as a number of people have stated it is quite natsy stuff and should be treated with respect. here is the emergency overview from one of my safety data sheets.

"Warning! may cause allergic respiratory reaction.may cause allergic skin reaction. Cancer suspect agent. Possible risk of irreversible effects. causes eye and skin irritation. Causes digestive and respiratory tract irritation. Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. "

Please be careful when using formalin and DON'T get it anywhere near your eyes! :'(