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I have a young discus that recently became a bit shy, wasn't eating much, and today I noticed white stringy feces. I was able to capture the feces with a baster and check them under a microscope and confirmed the presence of Capillaria eggs. I have a really good book for diagnosing fish diseases that was published in 1989 but I think some of the treatments are a bit outdated.
What is the best treatment?
Fish with worms usually eats and acts well but still losees its weight and slowly wasting away . Non eating and shy discus with white feces sounds rather like Hex to me .
Could you please send us the photo of your microscopic exam just for the reference of this thread ?
The usual treatment for roundworms is Levamisole at 2mg per liter(I.e 2 PPM ) dosage for 24 hours period. You repeat that treatment 2 more times every 7th day to break the life cycle of the worms .
Here is a link of scientific article on roundworms from University of Florida . You might want to read it thoroughly first , especially the diagnosis part , before you start treating for Capilaria :
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FA091
Attachment 113151Thanks Filip, here's a picture. What do you think?
Definitely nematode eggs. I would use levamisole as Filip suggested. I get mine from angelsplus. You can have both a Hex flagellate infestation and worms. I think one makes fish more likely to have a problem with the other. Since you have a microscope, you can check for flagellates by doing a wet slide of a poop. Catch it with a net before it hits the bottom of the tank. Look for small oval or pear-shaped critters swimming around with a jerky motion. One or two is not a problem... if you see lots of them then treat with metronidazole.
Thanks for the confirmation Dan. I didn't see any flagellates when I made the wet slide last night but I will take a few more samples to be sure.
Filip and Dan, I received the Levamisole from Angels Plus today. It looks like I caught this early, the fish is still in good shape and has a better appetite since I put it in it's own tank. Can't thank you enough for the treatment recommendation and where to get it.
It sounds like the fish was wormy in the main tank and you moved it for treatment. Generally this is a good method but with worms there is a good chance worms are continuing through their life cycle in the main tank. I would check the other fish and think about treating the other tank as well.
Interesting, yes the fish was in the main tank when I noticed the symptoms. My plan was to treat the infected fish in a sick tank and keep an eye on the others but it sounds like you are suggesting that I might want to treat all of the fish to be sure.
I typically avoid treatments unless I am sure that a fish is sick but I get what you are saying about the likelihood of Capillaria eggs in the main tank. You have obviously dealt with Nematode infestations since you've purchased Lavamisole in the past, do you think it's risky to wait and see if the main tank shows symptoms before treating and how much does Lavamisole stress Discus?
After the last worm episode I decided to deworm with Levamasole any time I bring in new fish whether they show symptoms or not. I also think its possible to have one fish that is just weak, that gets sick when the others are able to cope with low numbers of worms. Maybe someone can give another opinion, but I would treat everything since we know the sick discus was shedding worm eggs into the main tank.
I have never seen serious side-effects from levamisole. I do 90% or better WC after 24 hours and keep the tank floor clean afterwards because the drug doesn't snuff out the eggs, which is why the treatment needs to be repeated after some time has elapsed (7-14 days). Its important to use the right dosage. 1/4 tsp per 100 gallons works out to 2.6 ppm. If you use a scale this is equivalent to 100 mg per 10 gallons. I have read of problems with higher doses.