Discus with white cottony growth and white stringly feces - Please Help!!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Tanja, give the QT a chance to age a bit and the water to warm. Be aware that the QT is an uncycled tank and will require large daily water changes to control ammonia and nitrites. Are you ready for this?
Pat

[Tanja]

YES!!! My only concern is the ammonia from the break-up of chloramines from my tap... I know prime detoxifies it but can it still irritate their gills or damage their fins even more?

[jeep]

You could do a salt dip, but I would do a 3-5 day treatment. Just don't go with that heavy of a concentration for more than a week or so because it can damage internal organs over time.

[jeep]

YES!!! My only concern is the ammonia from the break-up of chloramines from my tap... I know prime detoxifies it but can it still irritate their gills or damage their fins even more?

Not that I'm aware of. You should be fine using prime

[Tanja]

Sounds good. The 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon is okay to keep them in for 3-5 days though?

[jeep]

You should be fine with that

[Tanja]

Thank you Brian! I was going to finish the fungus treatment in the main tank since it seems to be helping while I let the quarantine tank cycle a little bit. Is this a bad idea?

[jeep]

How much longer do you have with the fungus treatment? I was going to possibly suggest Furan 2 but not right away if they are already being treated with a different med. This could be harmful as well.

[Tanja]

The last dose is today and then it says to wait for 48 hrs and do a water change. I guess at that 48 hr mark I could transition them to quarantine? Or is it putting them at too much risk? One of them has gotten a sunken belly from whatever parasite is in him causing the white feces...

[jeep]

Tanja, I'm not a fan of using meds without knowing the exact issue and exact med to use, and I even resist more to starting or stopping meds prematurely, but I think in your case these fish need fresh water and salt ASAP. I don't think the fungal med you are using will be of benefit anyway because it's not treating the primary issue, only the secondary. I also would not begin another med since they've been exposed to other recently and there is a risk of organ damage by using additional meds so soon. I would begin your salt treatment and water change treatment rather than wait another 2 days. And, after reading up on some previous posts, your discus can easily handle the salt treatment for up to 10 days. If after 3 or 4 days of fresh water and salt, you don't see some sort of improvement, I would consider picking up some Furan 2. This may give the organs time to rest, and the osmotic pressure of the salt may help clean out their system as well.

Here's another thread from recent history you may be interested in... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...110-devastated

[Tanja]

Thank you so much Brian, I'm moving them to the quarantine tank now. The tap ammonia came down to 0 just storing it over night w/ stability, so I think this will be good.

Is there a reason you recommend furan 2 over metronidazole? I currently have metro in my drawer... but if you think it's too much then I won't use it. Thank you, I'm on my way to the salt treatment now!

[jeep]

Furan 2 is more for external issues like bacteria and protozoa. You want lower temps because bacteria likes heat. Metro is better for internal issues like Hex and works best against hex with a temp of 93.. I believe you can use the two at the same time but your fish have had quite a bit of meds lately so I would hesitate using both. Your main goal is to take care of the external issues now, and if they come out of this with hex then you could use high heat and metro.

I think you have a good chance at beating this with just the salt, but like I said, if you don't see even a slight improvement within 3-4 days, then you can consider using the Furan 2.

[Tanja]

Sounds good thank you!

[Tanja]

So they've all undergone the salt treatment for two days now and I haven't seen any white feces. This morning one of them was having difficulty staying upright; I don't see any external signs of illness on him, just very pale and doesn't want to stay upright. Should I stop the salt treatment on him? Some of them still have damage on their fins and one has some kind of bronze color on the scales... This really worries me.

Tanja

[jeep]

Try a 50% water change without replacing the salt. At this level, I doubt salt is the issue but this will confirm that. Let us know if there are any changes after this.