Blech....

[strawberryblonde]

So, I've been dealing with intermittent illnesses in my main tank since last July when I accidentally cross contaminated the tank with a scrub brush from my asian discus grow out tank.

First my Stendkers had what I call Discus Flu. A virus of some sort that had them all bunched in a corner at the back of the tank under the filter outlet. They shed slime for a week, but eventually they all kicked that one and recovered.

From that point on, whenever there's a major stress event, one or two of them get sick. And stress events seem to happen! LOL

Prior to July, my Stendkers rolled with the punches. They tolerated the day my canister filter blew up and knocked out the power. They sat for 6 hours with no air, no filters and in cold water and the second they had everything back in the tank they went right back to business as usual. They were totally fine the day my heater conked out and the temps dropped. They never minded a bit when I moved them from tank to tank or put them in buckets in order to redecorate their home. They are tough little son of a guns and grew like crazy.

But these days even the smallest thing will send them into illnesses that baffle me and challenge my ability to treat them.

I lost my breeding pair of Stendkers when they laid eggs for the first time in their breeding tank. One day they were sitting on wrigglers, the next day they were dead.

I just lost my Cobalt the same way, but to a different ailment. On friday she laid eggs. On Sunday I was giggling over the wrigglers and the war that erupted in the tank, along with the gallons of water they all sloshed on my floors while I was cooking Easter dinner. On Monday she was dashing and whirling and on Wednesday morning she was dead.

It seems that the water wars on Easter sunday were a huge stress on two of my other Stendkers and I'm about at my wits end in researching diseases and figuring out how to treat them.

Oh sorry, this is me whining and ranting in case you hadn't figured that out yet. LOL

There, got it off my chest and now I'm gonna go check on my fish. I just added Formalin and Malachite Green to the tank in a low dose so I need to keep an eye on it tonight to make sure they don't get stressed out over it. So long as they tolerate it well, I'll up the dose after WC tomorrow and maybe, just maybe, my fish will start to look a bit healthier this week.

I NEED them to look healthy again, I really do!

[the20tonknuckler]

Sorry to here that. I feel your loss.

[strawberryblonde]

Thanks Mike. Sorry you had to read my whining session. I'm just feeling sick over the whole illness thing knowing that I caused it by exposing them to the asian pathogens in the first place.

Thankfully 3 of my Stendkers are still huge and robust, and males, so they won't be laying eggs anytime soon!

[Second Hand Pat]

Aw Toni, I so feel for you but you know that. Have you checked the U of F articles. There is a thread in my homesteader with links. I will bump it for you.
Hugs,
Pat

[chaoslite]

OMG Toni! That is some crazy madness going on there. I am really sorry about the fish. You just go ahead and rant, I would too.

Mishka

[strawberryblonde]

Thanks Mishka,

I tell ya, I'm just so frustrated that I could sit down and cry, right in the middle of my office. <sigh>

These guys have pristine water and super foods to eat, so I know I'm doing all I can do to help them stay strong and have healthy immune systems. But till I've weeded out all the nasties that were introduced to the tank it's an uphill battle.

Hey hey Pat, you've been holding my hand through all of this and even crossed some of your parts that never should be crossed while we were trying to treat the Cobalt, so yep, I know you're behind me all the way. I couldn't do this without knowing people like you are there to offer advice and kind words.

I'll go check out your thread and read some more. Wanna bet that Tim is gonna decide that he "needs" to drive to Boise tomorrow if I start talking Bodomonas again? LOL

[Kal-El]

So sorry to hear about your lost and the trouble you have. This is why I don't mix Asian and German fish. I hope you'll be able to bounce back from this

[strawberryblonde]

I've learned that lesson the hard way Kal! I was fairly new to discus and pretty naive when I accepted my shipment of Asians. Totally my fault, huh?

But there's some good news today so I'm feeling mighty encouraged. I honestly didn't hold out much hope for sudden improvement in the 2 discus that I thought needed the Formalin/MG treatment. These two have had rounds of every possible treatment I could think of with no change in appearance. Now mind you, they still are active and eat well, so whatever is bugging them isn't killing them, it's just harassing them.

I put the Formalin mixture in last night during WC and only put in a 3/4 dose, then checked every hour for signs of stress. At the four hour point no one was in distress so I went out to check one more time and then to turn out the lights in the room. I leaned in and to my shock, my RT had his red and blue striations showing! That's the first time he's been light enough to actually see his patterns in over 6 months!! =)

I told myself to just calm down and that he'd probably be right back to his usual black old self this morning but nope, he is out and about and showing off a slight bit of color. He's not normal by any means, but surely does look a heck of a lot better than he did yesterday morning. Woot!!! I say again... woot! LOL

The FlachenSS has had odd patchy spots on his sides and was washed out to a pale orange color for over a month. As of this afternoon he is turning a lovely shade of ocean blue again and the patches are shrinking right in front of my eyes.

I added in the rest of the dose this morning and will continue dosing every 24 hours till they are either completely healed or till I'm sure they aren't going to show more improvement.

After that it will be time to tackle the weird thing on my other Stendker that I think is fungal in nature, but might be yet another bacterial issue. For that one they get either another round of Acriflavine or a round of Sulfamethoxazole. It will depend on how they're looking and acting after this treatment as well as what my gut tells me is the right med to use.

[Kal-El]

Although I've mix Asian and German fish in the past with no issue. I've just read too many bad things about it including your bad news which continues to validate why I don't keep Asian and German in the same tank anymore. Someone with your dedication and determination will rebound from this. The positive side is that it's making you a better experience discus keeper. Also, you are one of the few in this forum I know that can grow monster size discus. If you can do that this experience is just a small road block for you that you'll overcome very easily. Looking forward to seeing many more monster size discus from you. (Good to see some of your discus are turning around)

[chaoslite]

Toni,

I am so glad things are turning around for you!! Such a relief when you see your fish turn the corner after an illness. My fingers are crossed for you too.

Mishka

[strawberryblonde]

Yup yup, it felt really good to see my RT looking brighter today and less like the elusive Black Discus. LOL

I'm only targeting 2 of my discus with this treatment since their symptoms fit. Next up is treating the remaining 2... once this round is done and they've all had a good rest with some clean water.

Just swished past the tank and couldn't resist turning on the light in the kitchen so I could sneak around the corner and peer in at my RT. He's STILL looking lighter in color and has stripes of red and blue...woot!

[strawberryblonde]

Seeing more improvement in my RT and the FlachenSS tonight. The Formalin/Malachite Green was exactly what they both needed. All of them are eating well and I got brave and upped the temps to 83 again. No adverse reactions to the warmth so far.

My RT is finally red and blue again! Still a dark colored red and blue, but at this point, I'll take it! LOL

Can't wait to move on to the other 2 who are the least ill, but definitely need meds.

[lipadj46]

Have you considered using flubendazole? Its great for body and gill flukes.

[MaiaDee]

Wonderful news! I hope the improvement continues.

[strawberryblonde]

Have you considered using flubendazole? Its great for body and gill flukes.

Yup yup, that was my first treatment when they presented with breathing issues. Gills and breathing are all fine now thank goodness. =)