AquaticSuppliers.com     Cafepress Store

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 17

Thread: Fin Rot or something else?

  1. #1
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Fin Rot or something else?

    Hey guys, i'm really new to fish keeping and have been thrown into this hobby. All of the fish here were originally in a 30L tank with a bunch of others due to the aquarium selling us way too many fish. I've now moved all of these guys here into their new home a couple months ago but still not sure what im doing wrong as all the water parameters are fine.

    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 about 6 days ago one of my discus is having fin issues, not too sure why or how this happened but nothing out of the ordinary has been happening.


    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).

    The wild discus has been eating and swimming fine seems as though there is some rotting or as if someone has taken a chunk out of some of his fins? and this seems to be getting worse as the days go by and I'm not too sure what's going on as there is almost no aggression in the tank unless it's feeding time and he isn't the smallest discus in the tank either. The smaller discus is completely fine and healthy so not too sure whats happening.


    My other discus have been itching every now and then but not constantly.

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

    Nothing

    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
    55 Gallon Tank: 1.5 months old.
    5x Juvi discus (3.5-7cm)
    1x Juvi Angel fish (5cm)
    2x scissor rasboras (fully grown)
    1x bloodfin tetra (fully grown)
    10x cardinal tetra (some seem to have fin rot but may be due to nipping?)
    2x electric blue ram (3cm)
    1x apistograma (2.5cm)
    4x SAE (2.5cm)
    3x oticulas catfish (2cm)

    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
    Two water changes a week, 50-60%

    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
    Tank has been running for nearly 2 months
    It has 4cm thick amazonia soil substrate and is planted


    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
    I do not age my water

    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 29 C

    - ph 6.6

    - ammonia reading 0

    - nitrite reading 0

    - nitrate reading 0.25 (was 10 but i cleaned out too much bacteria on my latest filter clean)

    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 (conditioned)

    - RO water 0


    9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
    I had a discus die recently, he was sick and i moved him into another tank and died within 2 hours. He was sitting top corner of tank for days and not eating, found him hiding scarcely in reeds and was badly damaged by other fish.


    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 my fish a small dose of black worm mixed in garlic guard once a day.
    I also feed some high nutrition krill bits mixed with high nutrition plant based food once a day.


    IMG_0584.jpg

  2. #2
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Posts
    16
    Real Name
    Imran

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Hi.... I am not an expert here but your tank seems overcrowded in my opinion. Also, is the cat fish getting along with discus well? (Just curious)
    If I were you, i'd move all the discus in to a bare bottom well established tank with daily water changes plus salt. This should do the trick in a week. If not, better you consult the experts here for medications. Also, better to grow out these discus in the bare bottom tank for few months before you introduce them back to your main tank.

  3. #3
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Hi Imran, I've not got the money to buy a new tank or a complete new setup which would take at least a month to get going when including the cycle of a tank. Is there anything else I can do or do I accept the fate that all my discus are going to die? If this is the case I'm not going to bother with discus again, they seem far to temperamental of a fish and require far too much work.
    The catfish are almost at full size and algae eaters and do not bother the discus at all (they are more afraid of them than anything).
    Why do daily water changes? don't fish like consistent water? and wouldn't daily changes cause more issues for the fish?

  4. #4
    Registered Member dagray's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Boardman, Oregon
    Posts
    963
    Real Name
    Dave

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mintekk View Post
    Hi Imran, I've not got the money to buy a new tank or a complete new setup which would take at least a month to get going when including the cycle of a tank. Is there anything else I can do or do I accept the fate that all my discus are going to die? If this is the case I'm not going to bother with discus again, they seem far to temperamental of a fish and require far too much work.
    The catfish are almost at full size and algae eaters and do not bother the discus at all (they are more afraid of them than anything).
    Why do daily water changes? don't fish like consistent water? and wouldn't daily changes cause more issues for the fish?
    daily water changes to deal with total dissolved solids from uneaten food that is rotting or plant material that is rotting. Rotting food and plant material create ammonia which is not good for your fish. If you have a problem in your tank doing water changes can help get rid of the problem (I am not quite sure how to communicate the science of this, but I do know it works).

    When I have had problems in the past with discus health following the advice given here has almost always helped get the fish healthy again.

    A cycled tank doesn't mean that the water is aged, but it means that there is a good nitrification cycle in your filters that is helping to keep ammonia and other elements like nitrite and nitrate down to levels that are healthy for your fish.

    If you put the work in that the folk here say you need for the discus you will find your other fish benefiting as they will also be healthier and grow bigger.
    God is the artist, he merely allows me to see and capture his work . http://davesphotography7055.zenfolio.com/ coupon code: angelfish
    some of my work accepted by Pentax (the camera bodies I use): http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidgray

  5. #5
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by dagray View Post
    daily water changes to deal with total dissolved solids from uneaten food that is rotting or plant material that is rotting. Rotting food and plant material create ammonia which is not good for your fish. If you have a problem in your tank doing water changes can help get rid of the problem (I am not quite sure how to communicate the science of this, but I do know it works).

    When I have had problems in the past with discus health following the advice given here has almost always helped get the fish healthy again.

    A cycled tank doesn't mean that the water is aged, but it means that there is a good nitrification cycle in your filters that is helping to keep ammonia and other elements like nitrite and nitrate down to levels that are healthy for your fish.

    If you put the work in that the folk here say you need for the discus you will find your other fish benefiting as they will also be healthier and grow bigger.

    Hey mate, I've been doing 75-80% water changes for the last four days and the fish are continually getting worse. I've also been putting in the double dose of stress coat + like recommended on the bottle and nothing seems to be working.
    There hasn't been ammonia in the tank for well over a month and a half which means no nitrite issues, and my nitrate is sitting at a good place.

    I'm a bit stressed as the fin rot has moved to other discus....which doesn't make sense since i've been putting in the work like suggested :/

  6. #6
    Registered Member Pices's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Port Charlotte, Florida
    Posts
    1,586
    Real Name
    Patty

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    What is the pH of your water out of the tap? You could be having a pH swing if it’s not the same as your tank pH of 6.6. I agree with Dave. Lots of clean fresh water cures most problems. You may need to age your water overnight. I used a brute trash bin with wheels) and add an air stone and heater. This will allow the ph swing to occur in the barrel so your fish don’t suffer. The air stone gasses off chlorine although you still use prime or another declorinater.
    Discus are a little more work, but it really depends on what you want. If you’re ok with not having big round discus, then find their happy spot where they and you can live without being too stressed out.
    Patty
    If the discus are happy, I’m happy

  7. #7
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Moselle, MS
    Posts
    13,060

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    If your remaining Discus are to survive you need to do a lot of things differently. You need another tank to put them in so they can they can recover. I know that you can't afford one, but that's the first thing your Discus need.

    I suggest you read around in the beginners section. There's a ton of valuable information there for first time Discus keepers.
    Mama Bear

  8. #8
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pices View Post
    What is the pH of your water out of the tap? You could be having a pH swing if it’s not the same as your tank pH of 6.6. I agree with Dave. Lots of clean fresh water cures most problems. You may need to age your water overnight. I used a brute trash bin with wheels) and add an air stone and heater. This will allow the ph swing to occur in the barrel so your fish don’t suffer. The air stone gasses off chlorine although you still use prime or another declorinater.
    Discus are a little more work, but it really depends on what you want. If you’re ok with not having big round discus, then find their happy spot where they and you can live without being too stressed out.
    Patty
    Ph is 7.2 out of tap but within a few hours it goes down to about 6.6.

    All the constant water changes has started a mini cycle in the tank with the nitrates at 0 and ammonia at 0.25 so it seems as though daily water changes are not the way to go, most of my fish seem to be sick now that ive done that. Going to use some medication and hope they survive.

  9. #9
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    If your remaining Discus are to survive you need to do a lot of things differently. You need another tank to put them in so they can they can recover. I know that you can't afford one, but that's the first thing your Discus need.

    I suggest you read around in the beginners section. There's a ton of valuable information there for first time Discus keepers.
    I have a small 30L barebottom tank which is housing some neon tetras, im going to euthanise them today, clean the tank and move the sick discus in there in a few days. I don't have anymore room for anymore fish tanks unfortunately, so if they die I guess that's the end of my discus journey sadly seems as though there's not much more I can do.

  10. #10
    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Halifax,Canada
    Posts
    2,497
    Real Name
    Mervin

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    I think most of your issues arise from too much tap water going into the tank at once.A few hours and your PH drops.It's better for it to drop in an aging vessel rather than the tank.Can you also see micro bubbles after a WC?Large WC's shouldn't make things "worse"if the water is good to go in the tank.

  11. #11
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,828

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    I would like to see more pics of your Discus and tank set up.. The one fish you posted isn't enough for me to gauge whats going on there. One thing I can tell you is its likely the Discus aren't getting enough food based on your occupant list and feeding description. That Fin erosion could be related to that. ..
    al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  12. #12

  13. #13

  14. #14
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    14

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    As a matter of fact yes, there is quite a lot of micro bubbles when i do a water change but I never thought that would be a bad thing. I might have to go out and buy a tub to store the water in overnight if it's causing the issue, is there any easy way to get the water from the tub into the tank? i've been running a hose from a tap which has made things really easy.

    It also looks like my blue diamond is going to die today, he's been all over the place either stuck to the filter, at bottom of tank or at the top and cant keep his buoyancy...which happened to a previous discus which died the same day a little while ago so I guess it's a little too late for him.

    The discus with spots and the larger one have no fin rot, but the one with spots hides most of the time behind timber and is usually tilted to one side a bit. The larger one seems to have no health issues at all from what I can tell but ive not kept discus for long so i may be wrong
    Last edited by Mintekk; 11-19-2018 at 09:57 PM.

  15. #15
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,828

    Default Re: Fin Rot or something else?

    I was afraid of this. This is why its important we have pictures.Theres no easy way to say this but all your discus are sick with one being ok but stunted. The culprit is possibly parasites but most likely just being in the wrong environment and not getting optimal care. Young discus are easily stunted and in your planted tank and the fish species you have coupled with your food and water change schedule it was not the right way to keep them. My goal in the disease forum is to help members with their fish problems but sometimes its just not possible. Your fish as they are now probably will waste away and die. Even if you changed everything to make it a focus on Discus they are too far gone to turn around except maybe one.

    My advice, as much as I hate to give it here is to cull the group and start overafter reading up on our beginners board. Theres an excellent guide there too by discuspaul thats a good read and a video link.

    Im sorry to have to tell you this but it would be best to euthanize these and if Discus are of interest do it in a fashion more specific for discus. At the least cull them all but the one.

    al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Cafepress