1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?
Several days ago a lump with a small white head appeared on one of my discus. I've seen "pimples" before and usually do a gentle scrap to remove them. Always healed right up before. However, I've never seen one with a lump before. I did the usual scrap and put him back. However, it's starting to look worrisome to me. It's been two days since the scrape and they usually heal by then. In fact it looks wider and redder now!
Here's a video showing the little guy in action. He's still lively, but I worry that could change. If I'm to do something about this beyond water changes, I should do it while he's still got some energy reserves!
https://youtu.be/N8ysG3Z0zZo
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).
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
Scraped off head. Doing more watcher changes (1 every day instead of one on M/W/F). Fish is still in the main tank. I added 1 tablespoon of salt per 10 gallons to the water yesterday. Temperature is normal, and he's still in the main tank.
I wanted advice before throwing him into a hospital tank or doing medications.
If greater water changes can solve this without the stress of medications,
I'm all for it. However, I do have unopened boxes of Kanaplex, Metroplex, Prazipro, Paraguard, and API general cure on hand. I just want a concensus if any of that would even be useful, and if so, which is one is the most likely magic bullet.
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
165 gallons, 8 months old, 13 5-7 inch discus. 12 corycats, 2 bristlenose pleco, 15 cardinal tetras, 8 pristella tetras, 12 nerite snails.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
Previous to this, 50% M/W/F. Now 50% every day while he's sick.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
About 7-8 months. It's got black Ecocomplete Substrate that is 1.5 inches deep. (Used to be deeper. Was a planted tank, but I'm transitioning it. All plants removed, and every week I scoop out a small amount of substrate with a ladle after doing a vaccuum of the top 1/2 inch of substrate. Possibility I stirred up some nasties?
Also possibly related: I was running two cannister filters on the 165. One was a fluval FX5, the other was an aquatop with a UV sterilizer. The one with the sterilizer backed water up into the motor a week ago, so I removed it while I order replacement seals.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I do not. During the winter I did because there was a PH swing, but during the summer it's not been necessary.
8. Parameters and water source;
- temp 81.8-82.2 F
- ph 6.5
- ammonia reading 0
- nitrite reading 0
- nitrate reading 10-20
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 0%
- municipal water 100%
- RO water 0%
9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
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.
I feed the 13 discus 5 cubes of freeze dried blackworms every day, as well as an additional 3 cubes of Hans Frozen Beefheart on days when I'm going ot do a water change. (So they get 5 cubes of blackworms every day, and 3 additional cubes of beefheart on M/W/F)