Help; One fish not eating

[JimmyB]

I have everything up and running, cycled, going great. Water conditions are stable, water changes on track. I brought home the 4 new discus and things are overall looking good except for this one fish. The largest fish is a Turq about 4" in diameter, the other 3 are about 3" diameter. The Turq looks fine, he swims around and explores. I notice that he is certainly the most shy fish out of the group. The others are eager eaters. I have been feeding bloodworms, brine shrimp, a little beefheart, and some flake. The other fish eat it all. But the larger Turq has not eaten for 4 days that I have seen, the food sinks right past his face. He is looking thin, but other wise very healthy. I see both gills working, there is no darkness on his sides, his eyes are clear. The second day i did notice what looked like clear/white feces, not stringy, but more like a stubby cotton ball. The fish all came from the same breeder, excellent condition, all in good health. Not sure what to do about this one fish, except changing water and trying to entice him with good food.:confused:

[Carol_Roberts]

If he doesn't start to eat in a couple of days I would treat him with metronidazole (in a hospital tank of 20 gallons if you have one) You don't have to use a cycled filter as you will be doing daily 50% water changes. Tank temp must be 92+ for metro to work effectively. REad how to use at www.discsunada.org "Help My Discus Is Sick"

[RyanH]

As Carol said, it's likely hexamita. This flagellate is a bit unique as far as disease-causing organisms go in that it lives in the gut of all Discus. Once in a while, for whatever reason (usually stress), the hex flagellate will begin to increase in number and overwhelm the fish.

For these reasons, you won't see "outbreaks" of hex in your tank. Rather, you'll typically see only one individual fish get afflicted at a given time.

[JimmyB]

I am a little unclear on the directions for doing this treatment. I have the fish in my hospital tank, so when I change 50% of the water, do I add back in 50% of the original treatment (i.e. metronidazole?)? I don't add another full dose, do I. If I do, then the dosage ratchets up to 50% more than the original amount on the first day. For example, it says on the package to add a capfull for every 10 gallons, so if I change 5 gallons of water, do I add back half a capful to keep the amount of Metro stable? The product I bought is from Hikari, and it does not mention the Hexamita. It mentions that it is for Hole in the Head and Lateral line disease, as well as helping with the slime coat.

[JimmyL]

Follow Carol's precription with Metro. 250mg/10 gallon. The properties of Metro has a half life of 8 hours. That means 50% of medication become ineffective after 8 hours. Unless you are a rocket scientist to figure out the right amount. It's hard to calculate the accurate dose like calculating the distance travelled of the fry to an oppoisite direction inside a speedy train. What you can use is double the dose initially for 500mg and 1/2 will be gone in 8 hours. and the other 1/2 will dissipate in 16 hours. Still leave you some in the remaining 8 hours. 50% W/C or 100% W/C the next day. Not usually necessary if you don't feed them for the first 3 days. Repeat the full dose 500mg/10 gallon. You will sleep well and don't have to worry about how to medicate. HTH Don't forget to raise the temp. above 90 degree to increase metabolism to help medicaiton cross the blood brain barrier.
Jimmy

[JimmyL]

In addition. You can add some salt min. of 1 tablespoon per 10m gallon to increase osmotic pressure to improve and balance fluid exchange.
Jimmy

[JimmyB]

Got it. Thanks for the advice. Is it possible for other fish to get the same problem from the affected fish? I saw a white blob on the screen of my intake filter and I don't know if other fish might have picked at it. If so, would they ingest something that might trigger the same problem? I keep up with water changes, I don't know if I need to double them to try to get every last bit of waste from the affected fish.

[JimmyL]

Try to get rid of all white poo. It's loaded with egg sac and if ingested by other discus. Eggs will develope into worms and the cycle will never end. It is advisable to isolate any fish with the same symptoms until they are all clear. The fact is almost all discus has worms regardless of what you do. One point that the AMERICAN BREEDER had pointed out that not to disturb the worms and let them share the food with the fish and they will both live happily everafter. He is very correct. So keep your fish happy by not changing anything or trying something new. The fish don't mind having the same menu everyday. Transfering fish is very stressful to them. Keep the parameters stable is the key.
Jimmy

[JimmyB]

I have had the fish in the Hospital tank for almost 48 hours now. He/she was looking a bit more colorful this morning. I did a 50% water change last night and re-dosed the Metro. I droped in a few blood worms that sank right past his face and he did not bite.:( I fed the other fish in the main tank and noticed this one littler guy that had some stringy clear/white dragging behind him. He did not eat last night or this morning. I am considering adding him to the hospital tank too. There is another discus his same size and color that seems to be nudging him and coaxing him along, it doesn't look aggressive at all, almost seems to be a friendly behavior. The other one comes along side and gives him a nudge or a push. The affected fish swims around but just won't take a bite of food. Several days ago he was eating fine. I don't know if that fish picked at the sick Turqs waste that I found on the filter intake. I'm changing 25% of the water in the main tank almost every day to make sure there is no waste that others might find and pick at.

[Carol_Roberts]

All discus carry flagellets to some extent. Yes, you can put the sick one in the hospital tank . . . . but what temp is he in now? maybe too much of a jump to go from 82 to 92 degrees . . . .

[JimmyB]

He was in about 84-85 degrees. I netted him into a bucket and slowly got him up to temp of the hospital tank, now the Turk has company. As I vacuumed out the hopstial tank for my nightly 50% water change, I noticed several of the puffy white balls of waste, they are kind of like small puffs from a Q-tip. The turk is not eating, so I hope this means he is just getting the flaggellets out of his system. Today, this evening will mark the end of the 4rth day. I would guess this fish has not eaten anything that I have seen for 14 days. He is darker in color, although the areas of turquoise are very brilliant among that darkness. Maybe it was just from waking up in the morning. The second fish having the problem is a bit of a mystery, since he was eating fine for a couple weeks and showed no signs of stress. I keep the water changes going and check frequently for Nitrites, ammonia, and pH, temperature.

[Carol_Roberts]

Good job of acclimating him to higher temp. Continue course of metro for full 5 days and leave temp elevated for 7 more days. If still passing white fluffy balls of poop you may need to try an internal antibiotic . . . Kanacyn or minocycline (Maracyn II)