First Shipment, Need Med Advice

[Wendy1B]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish: Hi all, Yesterday I received my first shipment of Discus (I am new to Discus), and I drip acclimated them to my Quarantine tank for an hour after allowing the bags to float for 15 minutes for temp adjustment. I added a drop of prime to each of their shipment bags to neutralize the ammonia as the PH rose. My Quarantine set up has a sump, so they were in their bags surrounded by tank water during the acclimation to avoid any temperature drops. I opened the box in a dimly lit room & left them in the dark for the rest of the night because I didn't want to startle them with bright lights during adjustment to their new surroundings. After adjusting to the tank for about an hour, I notice one of the 5 starting to attempt to rub itself on the cave I set up for them to hide in. This morning, I turned the tank lights on, and after the initial reaction, they all 5 followed me through the glass to beg for food, and I noticed a 2nd one rubbing it's side as well. This one also had an empty feces casing coming out of it.


2. Symptoms: 2 still dark, 3 not eating, 2 flashing, 2 darting, 1 had a clear/white poop, 2 occasionally hiding, 4 with white on tips of fins looking a little fungus-ey.


3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results: I have not added any as I would like advice from people with Discus experience.


Tank/Water

4. Tank size: 55 gallons and age: 2 months old, fishless cycle. Numbers and sizes of fish: 5 altogether, 1 is about 4", 3 are 3", and one looks about 2" - 2&1/4". Disclaimer: I ordered all of the 3.5" so I'm not sure why I got such size variations.


5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often): I allowed my tank to cycle without water changes until Ammonia & Nitrites read zero. Then once the nitrates started to spike, I did 50% water changes every other day until nitrates read consistently at or below 10. I did a 75% Water change yesterday morning about 8 hours prior to acclimating the new fish.

6. How long has tank been running?: 2 months. Is it bare bottom? Yes. If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it? No substrate, only 3 clay pot caves for security.


7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing. Yes, I age my water 24 hours with a powerhead and heater set to 83 degrees, I mix half RO with half tap treated with Prime to dechlorinate. PH has not swung on me; I used to test it right after filling my aging bucket and after 24 hours. I stopped testing it a few weeks ago because it never changes.


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 _83 F__

- ph _6.8_

- ammonia reading 0__

- nitrite reading 0

- nitrate reading __10__

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.



- municipal water: 50%__

- RO water: 50% ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently. All five are new, and my first attempt at discus. I have never had a fish or invert in this Quarantine Tank. I started & kept the cycle by dosing Ammonia as directed.


10. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can. Well, I tried to feed frozen blood worms this morning as directed by breeder; only 2 fish ate. I also tried some pre-soaked pellets and some freeze-dried Spirulina Brine Shrimp (Hikari Brand), but these were both ignored by all. I siphoned out all the uneaten pieces.



11. 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. I'm sorry, I don't have a camera, so none of these. I have managed a Corporate chain Fish Department for 3 years, and a Saltwater & Reef Specialty store for a year and a half. I am not currently working in that field. I have seen a lot of fish health problems during my time at these stores, and the rubbing and flashing both look like an external parasite symptom to me. The shredded/fungus-ey looking fins look like shipping damage to me. The clear poop casing has me afraid there may be an internal parasite issue. However, I have never treated a Discus before, and I want to know which medications people with Discus experience would advise I start with, and if it is advisable to use Melafix for the fins along with an external or internal parasite med at the same time. Any input will be greatly appreciated!

[RogueDiscus]

Hi Wendy
Welcome to SimplyDiscus. Nice to see another NW person. Sorry you're having problems. It is not unusual for new arrivals to take time to acclimate to their new environment. Some may eat right away, others may take several days or a week, so that alone is not a problem yet. What you describe on the fins and the scraping could be some minor ammonia irritation from the shipping. Keep up with the daily water changes and it may go away on its own. Most folks here don't place much value on Melafix. Keeping up with water changes is the usual recommendation. The white poo is more troubling and could suggest an internal bug as you suggest, but again, before medicating, I would see how they react after a few days of water changes. I'm not a medication expert, but if the problem continues, you'll get advice for a common medication (Metro). I would encourage you to contact the supplier and see what they suggest also.

[Wendy1B]

Thank you, Steve. I will do the daily water changes and observe.