White Spots on Fins of Discus

[DiscusMark]

Can you please take a look at the attached picture and let me know what you think? I introduced new 3-inch discus (from Discus Hans) to my 55 gallon tank yesterday. The discus appear to be doing well--moving around the tank, curious, eating, bright colors. A bit jumpy, but I assume that's normal for new discus. I noticed what appear to be small white spots on the fins of the one in the picture, though, and am wondering if it is something to be concerned about. The water parameters should be fine: ph 7.4, low nitrates, no ammonia, no nitrite. Temp is at 85. I do have rummynose and cories in the tank. I noticed similar spots on one rummynose today.

Do these spots look like a problem (ich, etc) to you? Does it look like something I should immediately treat for? If so, with what? Is it possibly something that is to be expected of newly introduced fish, and worth waiting a bit before treatment?

Any input will be appreciated--thanks in advance for your consideration.

Here's the questionnaire:

Please complete this 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?

I noticed what appear to be small white spots on the fins of one the one Discus, as well as on one rummynose.

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).

Just the white spots.

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

None yet. Just raised temp to 87-88.

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.

55 gallons - 8 rummynose, 6 cories, 3 amano shrimp, (in tank 2 months), 7 3-in discus (added yesterday)

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

Every 2-3 days, but will now be increasing since the Discus have arrived.


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

2 months, pool filter sand. Discus newly introduced yesterday.


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

Yes. High Ph out of tap (8.8), but goes into tank at 7.4 after aging.


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 __85___

- ph __7.4___

- ammonia reading _0___

- nitrite reading _0___

- nitrate reading __5-10__

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.

- well water ____

- municipal water __x__

- RO water ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.

Tank has 3 amano shrimp, a few swords, one anubias. These were added 2 months ago, when tank was established.

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.

Fish just introduced yesterday. Have eaten beefheart mix and tetra color granules.

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.

image1.jpg

[jmf3460]

Mark what a beautiful little fish. First off you need to slowly lower your temperature back down to 82 degrees. There is no reason to raise the temperature. I also feel that you need to be increasing your water change regimen significantly. With 3" discus, you are dealing with juvenile fish. And they need large daily water changes. All your other fish will also love the fresh water daily but your plants may not so keep an eye on them and you may have to add root tabs for the swords and some ferts to the water column for the anubias. I would push for the largest amount of water you can change possibly, every single day. You will be amazed at how quickly these white spots go away once you start doing that. They appear to be nothing more than a pimple which is an indicator that your water is not as clean as it should be. These little white dots are very common and are simply a visual clue that you need to change more water. Sometimes when I go on vacation and skip several days of water changes, my fish will get one or two, but after a huge water change when I return home they are gone like the wind.

Can you manage daily 75% water changes? That's roughly 40 gallons of water.

[DiscusMark]

Thanks! I've got grand plans for water changes, so should be good there. Hans also replied and let me know that it could also have to do with the fish rubbing its fins on the wood, since they're skittish when new and have never been around wood before. It's a relief to know that one of these two things is the likely culprit.

The fish is eating great, so that's a good sign.

[DiscusMark]

Update: the same fish is now dark in color (not all the time, but more often than not) and often appears weak, almost floating in place (head up) rather than swimming (as in the attached photo). His fins tend to be more clamped than the others, but not severely--and not at all times. He continues to eat, schools with the other fish, and lightens his color and swims normally from time to time. He tends to darken and appear listless when the discus in the tank stay in one place. When they swim across the tank, he sticks with them, lightens up, and appears healthy. But then when they stay in place again, he tends to go back to being dark/listless. The other fish show no similar issues, and are not bullying him, as far as I've noticed. Any thoughts?IMG_9070.jpg