Pro's/Con's to treating entire tank with metro

[Acerrato]

Hi Everyone - I have 2 Snakeskin's who haven't eaten (today is day 6)... One of them had CLEAR stringy poo (not white, not segmented) that I noticed only one time. I'm going to go ahead with a metro treatment and increasing heat to 92F..

They're 4 1/2" and I've had them for about 2 1/2 weeks.

My question is - What are the pro's/con's to treating the entire tank (125g - 15 fish including the Snakeskins) vs. putting the 2 in a QT tank and treating them? I don't mind doing either or but I'm worried that removing the Snakeskins will stress them even more..

Water parameters:
pH 6.8-7
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 5ppm

I know everyone does this differently, so after hearing from you guys, I'm going to make a judgement call.. Thank you!

[seanyuki]

Treating the whole 125 gallons is expensive and waste of medications.should not be treating healthy discus with medications they may have a resistance to that medication in the future.

[CliffsDiscus]

I agree with Francis, best to place in hospital
tank or leave your 125 tank half filled.

Cliff

[Acerrato]

Thank you both - they're both in QT... and they're not happy about it.. I transferred them into a specimen container after scooping them up with a large net and then transferred to QT tank...

[Willie]

Since they're in a quarantine tank, I'd recommend you crank the temperature up to 93F and add 1 tablespoon salt/gal. Table salt would work. You'll see the fish immediately become more comfortable. You can do the metro treatment in that condition. Just be careful to transition them out of the salt and high temperature gradually.

[Acerrato]

Thank you Willie! I have Morton Iodized Salt - same thing as your suggesting?

[seanyuki]

Thank you Willie! I have Morton Iodized Salt - same thing as your suggesting?

ANY salt so long as there are no anti-clog additives. Iodised salt is safe, cooking salt is cheaper.

[danotaylor]

I use this salt, 99.8 pure sodium chloride, it's $8 for 40# from home depot...
shopping.jpeg

[14Discus]

QT is indeed the way to go. Had u had Ich, then you’d have to treat the whole tank. Also....not to be a pain, but be sure you have a bubbler or sponge filter so as to maximize oxygen which can drop off some with high temps and meds.

[bluelagoon]

Treating the whole 125 gallons is expensive and waste of medications.should not be treating healthy discus with medications they may have a resistance to that medication in the future.

In reading your post. First you are correct. But most discus that are on the market come from discus farms. Being crowded, like our chickens and pigs they are put in antibiotics a lot during their lives, before we even get them. There are videos on the you tube of this..I believe that's what makes our domestic discus so susceptible to so many bacterial issues. I say this because I noticed this while I had wilds and domestics and the wilds had never had bacterial issues.

[captainandy]

I would like to offer an alternative opinion. I would treat the whole tank. Suffering from a communicable disease. And, the least little bit of stress can set off an explosion of the disease. In addition, it is not as expensive as you might think. Dosing of metronidazole in humans is either every 8 hours or every 12 hours. Metronidazole has been shown to be stable in water for up to 92 days. Therefore, in my opinion you really do not have to dose every 8 hours. If you doubt what I am saying just Google it. Also this antibiotic is less caustic to the bio filters than many other antibiotics.

[Acerrato]

Thanks everyone - they're in QT and they're doing alright.... I do have a sponge filter in the tank providing bubbles! I'm currently dosing once every 24hrs after a 50% WC..

[Willie]

Amanda;

Typical treatment regimen is 5 - 6 days of what you've described. The causative agent are intestinal worms that causes inflammation, thereby reducing appetite. After the treatment cleans it out, the intestine still needs time to heal and the inflammation needs to be reduced. It's not uncommon for discus to not eat for 3 - 4 days after the end of the metro treatment. So you'll have to be patient on this. In my experience though, metronidazole always works.

Good luck, Willie

[seanyuki]

Other cons with metronidazole is its solubility in water is very poor, in aquarium settings it has been suggested that it can precipitate out of solution within 6-8 hours, and it can become rather expensive when treating large systems.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...ucleus.523470/

[Iminit]

Did you try feeding them in the qt at the 93 temp?