Skin missing, fluffy white

[Triciagl]

I noticed a few days ago that there seemed to be like an ulcer or missing flesh on one of my discus. I thought maybe it injured itself on the driftwood. Kept an eye on it and did not get better in the following two days. I added kanamycin at 15 scoops. It seems to be getting bigger and a fluffy white stuff over the sore. I don’t know what to do. I have done two treatments so far. The second yesterday.
They’ve been doing so good since I got them better from the capillare infestation. It seems it’s always something 😪
975E407D-8145-4DCD-B3F5-2C6DF070C4AE.jpeg

Water:

pH 8.2
Temp 82
Nitrites and ammonia 0
Nitrates 80
I do a 50% once a week
I age the water

[alron2]

You need to go to a daily 50% water change. Your nitrate needs to be down around 5 to 10 range. Looks to me like a bacteria infection. More water changes will help greatly. Ron

[danotaylor]

Agree with Ron re the nitrates. The white fuzz could also be fungal so I would dose salt with each water change as well; 3-5 TBSP per 10 gal until it clears up. Salt will help bacterial of fungal infestations

[jeep]

Nitrates 80
I do a 50% once a week
I age the water

I agree with Alron and Danny. Nitrates need to be <5!!! Increase water changes with aged water to 80%+ for a few days then to at least 50% daily until this goes away. Salt as Danny recommends! I would even bump salt to 1 TBS per gallon for the first 3 days!! This is a bacterial infection that could turn very serious and infect the whole tank if not treated!!!

In order to avoid this in the future, always perform water changes to keep nitrates to <5!!

[brewmaster15]

That looks like a heater burn that got infected.. It could also be from a pleco if you have them in the tank...The white is fungus attacking dead tissue. Like the others said... your nitrates are way to high....that 50% weekly water change should really be increased alot, especially now. How big is that tank and whats in it?

al

[Triciagl]

Thanks you all for the advice. My nitrates come out of the tap higher than you are suggesting me to keep them at also my heater is in my sump. I will definitely try the salt though.

[Triciagl]

That looks like a heater burn that got infected.. It could also be from a pleco if you have them in the tank...The white is fungus attacking dead tissue. Like the others said... your nitrates are way to high....that 50% weekly water change should really be increased alot, especially now. How big is that tank and whats in it?

al

Al I have 7 discus, 3 albino pleco, and 2 corycats in a 72 gallon

[brewmaster15]

Thanks you all for the advice. My nitrates come out of the tap higher than you are suggesting me to keep them at also my heater is in my sump. I will definitely try the salt though.

The lower the nitrates the better, but at least with water changes you should be able to keep them in the 10-20 ppm range. If you have high nitrates in your water, its not fit to drink and you should look into whole house filtration.

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and...ing-water-regu

[Triciagl]

The lower the nitrates the better, but at least with water changes you should be able to keep them in the 10-20 ppm range. If you have high nitrates in your water, its not fit to drink and you should look into whole house filtration.

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and...ing-water-regu

Maybe I’m reading the test wrong? I don’t think my city has unsafe drinking water.

[14Discus]

If I’m reading your last post correctly, you would be doing WCs w water that is high in nitrates. Putting water high in nitrates into the tank during a WC defeats your purpose. There are several things you can do to get those high nitrates down....which is a must.

Mix RO water w your tap in the aging container. Do keep an eye on the KH and GH factors of this mixed water.

Be careful w feeding and bioload in tank.

To add weapons to the nitrate reduction, you can try one or more of the following.
....If using a canister, put Biohome pellets in for anaerobic bacterial action.
....Resins like Total Nitrate can be added to HOBs, but will have be recharged frequently.
....make a refugium w a fast growing plant if you have a sump.
....buy dintrification canisters. These (housing anaerobic bacteria) have to be fed every so often
....make or buy an algae scrubber.

These options will add a punch to nitrate reduction in the water. Healing for your fish will be better w cleaner water. While your water may look clear, NO3 can be present in high amounts which will hinder fish health.

It may be obvious, but treating this fish with what was suggested would best be done in a hospital tank, not your main tank if possible (if you have a hospital tank). Good luck and keep us posted.

[jeep]

It may be obvious, but treating this fish with what was suggested would best be done in a hospital tank, not your main tank if possible (if you have a hospital tank).

Yes!!

[brewmaster15]

Maybe I’m reading the test wrong? I don’t think my city has unsafe drinking water.

what level are you getting Tricia? almost all USA municipalities publish whats in their water ...maybe check with yours?

al

[Triciagl]

what level are you getting Tricia? almost all USA municipalities publish whats in their water ...maybe check with yours?

al

I just tested my tapwater, it’s hard to read but I’d say it’s between zero and five. And I Mistakenly said 80 for the tank it’s actually 40

[brewmaster15]

I just tested my tapwater, it’s hard to read but I’d say it’s between zero and five. And I Mistakenly said 80 for the tank it’s actually 40

When was your last water change?

[Triciagl]

When was your last water change?

I did it on Sunday. I have one aging barrel that I share between 3 tanks. So I do my 72 on sundays and my 40 and 29 on Wednesdays