White feces under microscope - round worm?

[Jandiscus]

Thanks in advance for taking a look at my 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?

2 out of 7 discus are not eating, expelling white feces. The first one started 4 weeks ago, the second one about a week ago. All other fish are eating normally.

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).

White feces. Maybe a little less active but still lively. I started this tank in March of this year, did a fish in cycle, had 3 angelfish in the tank bought at a lfs prior to adding the discus which come from a reputable breeder. The angelfish have since been removed (late April).


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

5 weeks of Prazipro; 12 days of metro, currently treating with tetracycline (on day 4). After I added tetracycline the first day, I noticed a significant amount of white feces on the bottom of the aquarium. Much more so then before. The fish have not worsened over the duration of the treatments.


Tank/Water

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

65gal, newly bought tank & equipment, seven 3-3.5" discus


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

95% daily, disinfecting my arms, hands and hoses with isopropanol every time before I do wc's or perform any other activity around the tank.


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

Since March, bare bottom for about a month, prior to that 1 artificial piece of driftwood (resin) and a few potted amazon swords


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

24 hour aging of tap water & blending 50:50 with r/o water. ph is stable at 7.3 for the blend

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

- ph 7.3

- ammonia reading 0

- nitrite reading 0

- nitrate reading 0.1mg/l

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 50%

- RO water 50%


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

No

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.

4-5 times a day: FDBW, beefheart, tetra color bits, frozen Hikari artemia, sometimes Hikari frozen redworms as a treat

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 finally bought a microscope and was able to take 2 videos of what I found. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

https://youtu.be/Kaj8GqpovX0

https://youtu.be/xohDiIn2CTU

[jmf3460]

you need to get some Metro, you can get it from angelsplus http://www.angelsplus.com/MedsAntibiotic.htm pretty quickly and easily. He ships same day usually. follow the instructions on the jar once you get it. You can also dose twice the amount on the bottle with no ill effects I have read.

[Jandiscus]

Thanks Jacklyn! I did treat with metro, although as part of API's General Cure combo with praziquantel. Is the suggestion to retreat at 500mg/10 gal?

Thanks for your help. I do have Metro from Angelplus.

JC

[jmf3460]

Yes, I would treat just the metro for 10 days and raise your tank temp a few degrees if you can (if not or you'd rather not, no big deal) Many people here treat for 10 days then rest for a few with a giant water change, then do the whole thing over again.

[Jandiscus]

Ok, thanks again! Did you have a chance to look at the videos? Is the little bug a flagellate?

[jmf3460]

oh I forgot to mention, both your videos are "unavailable" it says when you click the link

[Jandiscus]

Thanks for letting me know. I forgot to publish them. Please try again. Thanks Jacklyn!!!!

[jmf3460]

now they show Jan. So the second video looks like a nematode (worm) that is targeted by the metro medication. The first video with the bug, I do not know for sure so I'm not going to comment. Hopefully Al will come along and recognize it. It may just be a detritus bug thingy that is a natural part of an aquarium but harmful.

I still recommend metro for 10 days

[Jandiscus]

Jacklyn,

thank you so much for your kind help and support. Much appreciated!!

[Jandiscus]

I just took a fresh sample of feces which I believe is loaded with Hexamita eggs. I'll upload a picture. They are oval shaped with flat ends on both sides.

[Jandiscus]

Her is the picture. Please let me know, if you agree with my assessment that these are hexamita eggs.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best,

JC