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[Sabrina]

My little guy Tangerine has broke out in white pimples on his head over night, they were not there yesterday!
I have had him 1 and a half months, in that time he has shown no illness at all. I put 5 new discus into his tank 1 week ago.
The night before last I cleaned the HOB filter in this tank and lost cycle.
Tank readings are:
PH 6.8
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate 20-40
He is still very active and eating normally this morning, but has approx 6 pimples of the front of his head.
At this stage I do not have a hospital tank to remove him too, but might be able to get one by the end of the day.
Has he caught something off the new discus? At this stage the other 5 discus are showing no signs of these pimples. Is it hole in the head? I have never had a discus with this before..
Any advice on what to do next?
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[geo57]

First thing Sabrina is your ammonia and nitrite readings are high, they should be 0. Nitrates you can tolerate to about 10ppm but your Ammonia and nitrite are toxic. Water changes til they drop to 0 would be high on my list. Possible that HOB filter can't handle the load from the 5 new discus just yet or maybe ever. A small cannister pump like a Rena might be a better solution, with the HOB also.

[Sabrina]

Hi George,
thank you for the fast reply, after further inspection of Tangerine his twitching his head from side to side, the poor baby must be in pain?
I am desperately trying to get hold of a hospital tank right now to remove him too today.
Should I do a water change on the tank right now? How large does it need to be?

[sanjay21]

Looks like hole in the head(HITH). Those pimples will slowly form a hole, don't panic its easily curable. Like George said make sure your water parameters are right. This is usually caused due to bad water quality or not enough water changes.

Treatment:
In a hospital tank with temp slowly increasing to 88F to 90F and dose with Metronidazole. Every brand has a different dosage instructions so please check with that. Do daily big water changes(since you mentioned you will be setting up a hospital tank). The way I treat my fish for HITH is by adding Metronidazole every 8hrs. If the fish is still eating its best to mix the medicine along with the food, safe on other fish as well. Treatment with medicine can take upto 7 days and I usually leave the heat on for an additional 7 days.

[Sabrina]

Hello Sanjay,
Thank you also for fast reply. Could these pimple also be a cause from stress?
I have just rang local pet store to try and find a cheap canister filter for this tank as I think the bioload with the 6 discus is far to great at the moment. At this stage I cant get hold of a hospital tank, what is more important, getting a new filter ASAP or buying a hospital tank today? Please let me know

[sanjay21]

If you can't get hold of a hospital tank then I would atleast up the temp in the tank its in. Most importantly big water changes everyday. Increase the temp slowly to 88F. Monitor the fish for 3 days to see if its pimples are going down.

Sometimes with just heated water and more water changes HITH can be treated (early stage) without adding Metronidazole.

[geo57]

So sorry Sabrina, but he is still eating. Try treatment and don't stress, remember they feel your emotion so stay calm. It is early so you should be able to save him, you might want to treat the entire tank, he is the weakest so he will show it first. treating the tank might prevent the other 5 newbies from coming down with it also.

[Sabrina]

Ok thank you very much Sanjay! I will do as instructed for the moment and see what else I can do later today.

[sanjay21]

Ok thank you very much Sanjay! I will do as instructed for the moment and see what else I can do later today.

Good luck and don't worry you will be able to cure it easy.

[Sabrina]

Hello,
I lent money off my friend and raced down to the local pet store here and brought the only tank they had that came with a heater & filter included in the package, its only a 20 liter (5 gallons) tank, very small! But its all they had
I have dosed it with prime and fluval cycle (allows instant addition of fish) I do not have spare seeded filter media, I'm letting it run for an hour before I add the sick fish to it. Lucky Tangerine is only small, the tank is tiny! I also brought a bottle of API Pimafix,
It treats fungal infections on the body and fins and also internal and external bacterial infections! Wish me luck guys!!
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[Sabrina]

Well Tangerine is still kicking on this morning in the hospital tank, his not happy in there, I think he thinks his being punished. The temp is at 32c, I just fed him and he had a bite but now doesn't seem interested in the rest of his food. The pimples are still there, I will does again with the Pimafix later this morning after a small water change to remove all his poop, he has pooped a lot. I hope he will be ok, poor little fella.

[geo57]

Best of luck Sabrina, I'm pulling for the little guy.

[Sabrina]

I just woke up form a nap to find Tangerine was dead

[sanjay21]

Sorry, to hear that

[Sabrina]

Thank you Sanjay, its sad, I cant believe it took him so fast. I hope it wasn't the medicine I was giving him, I noticed I had dosed too much of it, it was 5mill to every 40 liters, I gave him 5mill but the tank was only 20 liters :'(