Boil around mouth - on 2 out of 10 discus

[abijitr]

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 a boil on one brilliant turq 2 days ago which has now opened and today on the red scribbled. Turq has it on one side while red scribbled has it on both sides. I noticed while feeding and other than these boils I do not notice anything unusual, in fact when I first noticed it on the the turq I thought it was a bruise from driftwood.


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).

I do not see any other symptoms so far. They both are active, playful and eating well as well. I am wondering if it is something contagious?

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

None


Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.

150G tank, 10 4-5" stendker discus and I have 4 cory cats, 1 bristle nose pleco, 2 red tail shark and 10 tetras. I also have snails and shrimp.

This set up is few years old, discus were added 4 months ago and has been quite stable from day 1.


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

50% every other day

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

Tank is 2 years old and the rest of the community has been there for 2 years as well - the community was built with different set of discus fish over the period of 2 years. I recently traveled overseas for 6 weeks so handed over the old discus to my buddy and added this new set upon my return.

I have pool filter sand and a small planted island with drift wood.


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 88 F

- ph ~7

- ammonia reading zero

- nitrite reading zero

- nitrate reading zero_

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.

- municipal water



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.

Hans flakes, Seachem nutridiet (started recently), Al's FDBW, Sera discus granules, hikari blood worms and b. shrimp


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.

attached - sorry, couldn't rotate the second pic - it's defaulting to lateral position

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Abi, I really have no clue on this but reading this http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/content/...iseases-fishes does suggest that the boil which opened on the first fish could have infected the second fish. If this is a possibility I would highly suggest isolating the two infected fish into a QT.
Pat

[Sturiosoma]

Try treating your entire tank with a iodine based salt.
Jeanne

[abijitr]

Thanks Pat! I have the QT set up ready and if there is any other sign, I will move them to QT + try metronidazole. Fingers crossed

[abijitr]

Started Furon 2 in a hospital tank, red scribbled is doing okay but Turq is lying flat. Not sure what else todo... wish me luck, please and any other suggestions are welcome

[jeep]

Has the infection changed at all in the past few days? Does it look like an infection, a growth or a parasite? It's hard to tell in the photos.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Abi, I tried to find some info for you resulting in the link above. I am glad you moved them to a QT. You could try an antibiotic like Kanamycin if the furan 2 has not effect.
Pat

[abijitr]

Thanks Jeep & Pat! Unfortunately, I lost the Turq , he was drop dead handsome and I am heart broken. May his soul RIP.

Upon inspecting his body, I found a cut like open wound which wasn’t visible while he was in the tank. He turned really dark yesterday early evening and couldn’t stay upright without support later in the evening and finally has given up sometime during the night. Not sure if the cut/wound was an injury or a parasite.

As of now, I am keeping a close watch on all other fish in the main tank and doing a major WC to play safe.

It’s a boil, I also found on Stendker website that the boil must be pinched gently so that a it opens, which I did for red scribbled using surgical pin and I think that helped too. For the Turq, the boil opened by itself before I moved him to QT and perhaps the infection was severe. P.S. Turq got it first at least 3-4 days prior to red scribbled.

[Second Hand Pat]

Sorry to hear Ali
Pat

[slicksta]

I just had an angle fish with a similar growth near it's anus.
I did a salt dip for 30 minutes/day @ 5Tblspn/gal +1/2 tspn methylene blue
The boil is gone and she's looking much better overall, though she is a bit skiddish and not eating much.
She's not 100, but she is definitely improving each day
This is totally experimental on my end and the first time I've ever done it.
If you don't see improvement from the current treatment and you decide to give it a try, keep an eye on the fish during the dip and if they turn over, return them to clean water immediately.
Good luck.

[Tuterosso]

i read, dont know where salt and methylen blue isnt good combination

[slicksta]

i read, dont know where salt and methylen blue isnt good combination

Well it definitely helped this particular fish. I can't be sure if it was the salt, the methylene blue or the combination.

I've also read that Elvis is alive and well in Atlantis... But I don't repeat it. lol :-D

[LizStreithorst]

I never responded to your thread because I had no clue. I've been watching what everyone suggested, though. This is another guess...If Stendker said to pop it you did the right thing. Those folks have seen more weird things than I ever will. My advice would be to maybe net the fish out, cut the boil wide open and spread some type of antibiotic ointment inside it. Try everything else before you do this surgery, please.

I've been on Simply forever and this is the first time someone didn't know exactly what the problem was and how to fix it. I wish you luck. I bet they could figure out the answer at the U of Florida but I'm sure it would cost a bundle. If you have it pop up on a third fish I'd at least give them a call. They're excellent when it comes to weird stuff.

[jeep]

My advice would be to maybe net the fish out, cut it wide open and spread some type of antibiotic ointment inside it..

I've been thinking about this approach and using iodine but I've never done this. Upon doing a little research, it does seem like an appropriate course of action. Net the fish, place it on a damp towel and swab. It won't like it, but neither would I...

But the same external issue in two fish? I'd really like to find out the cause...

[slicksta]

I've read that you can swab with hydrogen peroxide... But I've never done it or read of a someone actually doing it.