Please help

[wild4discus]

While I agree with your suspicions with their discus, it takes less time to fill out the questionnaire and verify the issue for proper treatment than to QT and potentially follow the wrong treatment process.

I understand your point and was recommending what I would do in this situation. I don't think leaving this discus in the tank is a good idea until the problem is verified. If it is something contagious, it could spread to the other fish. QTing at least helps protect the other fish if they have't already contracted it and just not showing any symptoms yet. There is no harm in QTing this fish. Better to be safe than sorry. As far as use of meds for prophylaxis, many of us will have differing opinions.

[krislewis3]

This BD has been with her tank mates for close to two years!! If I need to medicate her, wouldn't I need to medicate the entire tank?

[OC Discus]

Kris,

The most knowledgeable members are holding back their advice until you complete the questionnaire. Is it just a matter of pride to not fill it out?

[krislewis3]

Disease Questionnaire - please complete
Please complete thus questionnaire if your fish are sick (copy and paste). The more details you can provide, the better we are able to diagnose and help you treat your sick fish.

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

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

Stopped eating 10 days ago
I recently added frozen beef hart to the tank

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).

Somewhat listless

3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.

Epson salt, 1 teaspoon per gallon, twice in 24 hours



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish
60 gallon...5 adult discus, 4 rams, 2 bn pleco, 2 Cory cats



5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).

Daily 50%

6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?

Tank running for 2 years, thin sand substrate


7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.

I don't age, and no 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 __86___

- ph ___7__

- ammonia reading ___0_

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading __5__

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 __yes__

- RO water ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently

Added one Bolivian ram 2 months ago after qt 4 weeks



10. 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.
Last edited by Second Hand Pat; 05-09-2013 at 03:44 PM. Reason: Added a little Toni/Pat magic

See photo at the beginning of the thread

[krislewis3]

Kris,

The most knowledgeable members are holding back their advice until you complete the questionnaire. Is it just a matter of pride to not fill it out?

It's more a matter of laziness..... LOL

btw, tell me about that beautiful yellow discus in your avatar !!!!

[PP_GBR]

10 days not eating + Epsom salt treatment and still not eating. Enough justification for Metro treatment. LOL

[OC Discus]

Kris, the avatar is not my fish. I have a solid yellow and got into a discussion where someone asked if anyone had ever seen a jumbo solid yellow. I found the pic online and liked it so much I use it. I think someone would have to use color enhancer to grow one out like that.

I hope your problem resolves soon.

Can you post a clearer close up of the bd. The stringy poop and the spots on the forehead. IME BD show marks, pores, and Hole in the Head more clearly than other strains.

It's more a matter of laziness..... LOL

btw, tell me about that beautiful yellow discus in your avatar !!!!

[krislewis3]

Can you post a clearer close up of the bd. The stringy poop and the spots on the forehead. IME BD show marks, pores, and Hole in the Head more clearly than other strains.

The stringy stuff looked exactly like the photo....barley visible, wispy, thread like! There are no other symptoms, no marks at all. She does seem a little listless, and at times she avoids the rest of the fish, especially during feeding!! Her color is good, her fins are up. And of course, even though she is my smallest discus, I've always liked her the best!! She has such a sweet disposition....I would hate to lose her!!!! (Do you guys think the addition of frieze beef hart could have caused the problem?)

[krislewis3]

10 days not eating + Epsom salt treatment and still not eating. Enough justification for Metro treatment. LOL

Are you thinking I should metro the entire tank?

[OC Discus]

Kris, you may have already posted, but what foods are you using and how long has the group been together in the tank? Looks like some spots on the face in the pic to me. HLLE does call for metro, but I'm no expert on medications.

You referred to the poop in past tense. Are you no longer seeing it? How many times did you see it?

[krislewis3]

Never saw poop...I guess because she's not eating. I only saw that stringy thing that one time, which is when I photo graft it. There are no spots at all on her, and she is normal except for the hunger strike! She has been with her tank mates for 2 years, with the exception of the one ram, which has been in the tank for 2 months, after a 4 week qt.

[OC Discus]

What are you feeding? Have you tried foods like frozen beef heart, blood worm, brine shrimp? These spread out all over the tank and are hard to resist.

If that was not poop, it could be a worm or a string of bacteria.

[OC Discus]

Some of us are just thinking out loud with you until someone who actually knows steps up. IME frozen beef heart can contain a lot of fat that is pooped out in a white gel like form. If you are not seeing anymore of it, maybe trying to entice the fish to eat some new food or favorite food. If the fish is acting normal other wise, has good color, fins erect, there may be no cause for alarm.

Could another fish be intimidating the bd? Try rearranging things a bit and see if it helps.

I saw your post from yesterday, and I don't think it's the same thing. The stringy slime comming from my bd is just like it looks in the photo, very thin, and wispy, and hard to see. It's interesting that about 1 month ago, I added 'frozen' beef hart to their normal diet of fd black worms, tetra bits, beef hart flake from kens fish, fd brine shrimp, and brine shrimp flake!

[DeMarco]

The problem with your fish is intestinal flagellates. We can debate the issue forever or go ahead and try and save her....choice is yours.
Some call it Hexamita, but in truth Hexamita is only one type of flagellate, and this can be it, or a different type. Not that it matters.
You need to treat the tank with metro. Increase temperature to 31°C & dose Metro at 7mg per litre of water. I prefer a 24-36hr cycle after which I change 50% of the water and redose the Metro.
In all honesty though - If its been like this for 2 weeks Im not too positive.
I find Metro to be less and less effective against this issue and fish that are severely infected rarely recover.
Holding thumbs for you though.

Rgds

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

[dirtyplants]

I do not recommend throwing meds into the tank either unless you have a game plan. Pictures are not telling. QT him, add some immune foods and garlic for appetite. I had a fish who basically eat nothing from me for almost a month, it has been 4 months since and he is just beginning to get some heft back. He went into mating mode and just guarded the spawning site. Kept all the fish away and refused to eat.


QT him and see if you can get it to eat. If no signs of external parasites, you might consider bacteria infection, hard to determine if worms without poop.