Unknown Illness

[Ruark]

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 bought a pair of discus just over two weeks ago, they were reluctant feeders preferring live bloodworm but did spawn within 3 days and raised the fry until they were free swimming for 2 days and then ate them overnight. One of them developed a large white spot on its head that has developed into what appear to be worms, it looks like it has dreadlocks. They are getting ready to spawn again but this clearly is not right. They have had Methylene Blue and I have moved onto a white spot treatment but this isn't a symptom that I have seen in 20 years of keeping fish


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). Slight whitening of fins, spots on head developing into little worm like critters


3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment. Methlyene Blue Standard dosage 5 days, disease progressed, just started with whitespot treatment (Formaldehide and Malachite Green Oxalate)



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish. 200 Litre tank used for spawning, the discus pair are the only fish in the tank


5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often). 50% Daily


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


7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing. No


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 _____ 28C

- ph _____ 6.4

- ammonia reading ____0

- nitrite reading ____0

- nitrate reading ____<6

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 ____

- RO water ____ Tap water with dechlorinator as per the previous owner


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.

Live and frozen blood worm, frozen beef heart mix, discus pellets, twice a day

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.

IMG_20181222_202550.jpg

Thanks in advance for any help

[danotaylor]

Disclaimer; hobbyist for 37 yrs but new to discus 4 months ago.
You said the tank has been running 2 weeks. What filtration is on the tank? You have nitrates. How did you cycle the filter?
It actually looks like discus pimples. 1 of my fish had them recently. They are sign of poor water quality. Large water changes, backed off feeding a little and added 1 tbsp salt per 10 gallons and they were gone in 2 days.
I'm sure other more experienced people will chime in...

[jeep]

Disclaimer; hobbyist for 37 yrs but new to discus 4 months ago.
You said the tank has been running 2 weeks. What filtration is on the tank? You have nitrates. How did you cycle the filter?
It actually looks like discus pimples. 1 of my fish had them recently. They are sign of poor water quality. Large water changes, backed off feeding a little and added 1 tbsp salt per 10 gallons and they were gone in 2 days.
I'm sure other more experienced people will chime in...

Great advise but 1 tbs per 10 is actually pretty mild. I'd bump it to 3-4 tbs per 10. 50% WC seems to be the norm but ageing the water is important as well, under most circumstances...

[Ruark]

Great advise but 1 tbs per 10 is actually pretty mild. I'd bump it to 3-4 tbs per 10. 50% WC seems to be the norm but ageing the water is important as well, under most circumstances...

Hi thanks for your advice

I was originally using matured water from my display tank for the water changes so I will revert to that. The nitrates reading was the lowest that my current testing kit shows (should probably upgrade this)

I will use the salt and see how I get on with them

Thanks

Ruark

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Ruark, please use fresh water for water changes for your discus. Dirty water from an existing tank may have led the problems with the discus.
Pat

[bluelagoon]

In the photo it looks like anchor worms on the right and over the eye lids.Google anchor worms.