Does anyone know what this is?

[Paul_ds1985]

Hi all,

I've noticed some white gunk/worm/something? from my discus gill over the past few days, I thought at first it was a bit of food now this white stuff is spreading? You can see the progression of it when viewing my photos and videos:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Hn?usp=sharing

The discus has been eating the last few days, but as of today it's not eating and the white stuff looks like its covering a bigger area.

FYI I just fed the discus which is why your seeing stuff floating about in the video

Many thanks for your feedback!

Paul Sullivan

[Paul_ds1985]

Looking at it again it looks "fleshy"

[Shan_Evolved]

Can you upload pics to the forum instead of an external link?

[danotaylor]

Link doesn't work unless a request is sent...

[Paul_ds1985]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Hn?usp=sharing

Please use this link

[Paul_ds1985]

In addition I've had one discus die of hole in the head and another it was excreting mucus and died yesterday

[danotaylor]

Paul the forward section of the gill plate does not open into fishes gills. It looks to be some sort of infected matter oozing from behind the forward gill plate. Please tell us about your nitrate levels before water change, and how much & often you change water.
For now do a 75% water change and add salt @ 4 tbsp/10gallons. I recommend daily 50% water changes over the next week replacing the salt with each water change. Clean water and a little salt should clear it up.

[bluelagoon]

Looks like a virus. Probably, lymphocytis. It is caused be unsanitary conditions.

[Paul_ds1985]

I started to notice a problems about a month ago with my red turquoise which had pits in it's forehead, that died a few weeks later of HITH. Then my Kolbalt blue had an open sore, which luckily I've been able to treat in quarantine and it's ok, I'm not sure if that was caused by my clown loaches (I saw them nibbling at the sore) or caused by water quality? Santarem was excreting mucus on and off but was still eating, then recently it stopped eating and died a few days back. Now the issue with the German Wonder.
I'm gutted I've lost 2 discus in a short space of time and two are now not great
I was feeding 4 times per day, 50% water changes weekly. My tank volume is 118 gallons, stocked with 12 discus. I've added additional pictures into the folder area.

Does it sound like water quality is the issue?

[fljones3]

It does sound like a water quality issue. It can creep up on you.
I would be doing around 40% every other day minimal with your feeding schedule and stocking.
Perhaps you can fill out a disease questionnaire form. You will get plenty of help to set things in better shape!

I was feeding 4 times per day, 50% water changes weekly. My tank volume is 118 gallons, stocked with 12 discus. I've added additional pictures into the folder area.

Does it sound like water quality is the issue?

[Paul_ds1985]

Thanks fljones. What should I do with the current Discus with the strange white stuff on its forward section of Gil plate? I just did a 70% water change and the German Wonder is still not eating. Should I quarantine it and treat it with something?

[fljones3]

Fill out the questionnaire first for it will depend on the diagnosis whether you have to treat the whole tank or just that fish.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...lease-complete

[Paul_ds1985]

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?
About a month ago, I noticed red turquoise discus had pits in his head. I woke up one morning and it had a huge growth (cyst like thing), and it’s skin looked like it was rotting away. Put it in quarantine but was to late, it passed. At around the same time, another discus (Santarem) was turning dark and excreting excess slime, but not all the time. Few weeks ago I noticed a big sore on my kobalt, which I managed to treat, but now he’s got a big scar (this could of been caused by clown loaches as I caught them nipping at it). More recently, my German wonder has a “fleshy” looking thing near it’s gill, it is not using that gill to breathe anymore.


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).
Discus 1 (red turquoise) - pitted forehead, but was eating right up till it got the cist on forehead. Died two weeks ago
Discus 2 (Santarem) - Was turning dark for a number of weeks and excreting slime but was eating. More recently, stop eating more dark and sat in the corner. Died Monday just gone
Discus 3 (Kobalt) - Had no symptoms at all, noticed it had a small sore on his side 3 weeks ago, I put it down to being attacked as I saw clowns nibbling on it. But got much bigger and sore over a few days, moved to a hospital tank and thankfully has recovered
Discus 4 (German Wonder) - Not eating, stress bars, one of its gills not working, white fleshy substance on the front part, noticed this on Monday just gone. Breathing rapidly from it’s working gill


3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
Discus 1 (red turquoise) - Moved to quarantine tank, attempted to resolve with API General cure and salt, but I started treatment far to late and it died. Dosages as per recomendation on packet
Discus 2 (Santarem) No medication, was turning dark with excess slime on occasions, decided to monitor and recently died
Discus 3 (Kobalt) - Noticed the sore was getting bigger, moved to quarantine and treated with salt, API General Cure and Interpret anti internal bacteria. Moved back into main tank and is doing fine. Dosages as per recommendation on packet
Discus 4 (German wonder) - No medication so far, still in main tank



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
118 gallons, 9 months old (various adult sizes), I had 13, now down to 11


5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
40/50% weekly


6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
Very shallow sand substrate (half inch at the deepest point), tank has been running 7 months


7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I don’t age my water, straight out the tap through a HMA filter


8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
Mixture of Prime and fluvial water conditioner.


9. 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 30c_____

- ph 8.0_____

- ammonia reading _0___

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading ___20_

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 ___0_

- municipal water __0__

- RO water __0__
- Tap water - 100%


10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
Not within the last month since fish got sick, added brissle nose and clown loaches early March.


11. 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.
Beef heart mix (STENDKER-Good Heart 3x per day
Discus Bio gold - 1 (sometimes twice) per day
Algae wafers and protein wafers for brittle noses and clown loaches



12. 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.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Hn?usp=sharing

[bluelagoon]

One of the turqs gill looks like a cauliflower like lesion; appears to look like a virus from what I can see. The blue cobalt looks like a bacterial infection.

[dspeers]

Paul, did you opt to go with the NACL and increased water changes? Seems a prudent first step. Also your nitrates are 20, what is the timing of your test relative to your weekly water changes?
As an aside have you tested your tap water for nitrates?