Thought hex, but no improvement

Hi all

Ive got a planted 75gallon, 2 inches flourite sub, driftwood, unplanted at the moment, temp 30'C, ph 6.8, ammonia/nitrites both 0, nitrates kept around 10ppm, hardness 180ppm on a primo1 meter, all wc's with RO water and RO right to taste, wc's 35% daily, clear water, no wierd smells, and an AC500 double sponged for filtration. Just about nails everything on Brewmasters list

Ive had three discus together in there since dec. 2 marlboro reds and a green pigeon (about 3" each). Couple months ago i had a cyano bloom, got that under control, then got caught up in life away from the discus and couldnt give them as much attention as i should have and the cyano kicked up again. Tore down the tank 2 weeks ago, cleaned it up replaced the sand substrate with flourite and brought everybody back from a couple holding tanks while i did the cleanup.

Discus went on a hunger strike when they were moved into a 20 gallon during the cleanup, everyone else (rams, tetras, loaches) that moved into another tank continued eating without a problem. All fish were returned to the 75 gallon, 2 of the discus regained their normal appetite, one of the marlboros didnt. Total was 3 days in the holding tanks with seeded filters and daily 50% WC'S and 1tblsp salt/10 gals.

the one that wouldnt eat started showed what looked like hex to me, wouldnt eat, finicky, hiding 90% of the time, white/clear slimy feces. I moved him into a 10 gallon dosing with 2tblsp salt/10 gals, raised the temp up to 32'C over 24 hours, but showed no improvement after 3 days.

then followed some treatment methods up on the forum here for metro treatments, i think it was Smokey's specificly, cant remember now. 500mg of hex-a-mit metro per 10 gals, 34'C, redosed every 8 hours, with a 50% wc before every treatment. Did that for 3 days, and he's spent the last 2 days in clean water with 2tbls of salt/10 gals with the temp at 34'C.

Towards the end of day 2 and day 3 of the treatments he pooped out ALOT of transparent poop, not milky or white. Some solid, some very stringy and slimy. Since going to water/salt with no metro he's quit pooping all the clear stuff and has settled down.

Now he's starting to worry me again, he hasnt eaten at any time in the last 7-10 days since this all started, still very finicky and shy after the metro treatments, and today started clamping his doral and right pec fins. Eyes are clear and red, hasnt lost body coloration.

Im starting to think i might have misdiagnosed him in the first place, or maybe something secondary coming out after the metro treatments?

My first infection/disease ive had to worry about in my tanks, getting me a bit worried, dont want to lose one of my first babies.

[Carol_Roberts]

You can easily get rid of cyano bacteria with erythromycin capsules. Use per package directions. It may take 2 doses.

Some discus won't eat until they are back with their friends. Is he still dark and hiding? Have your tried any live foods?

erythromycin is a bit of a PITA to get a hold of up here. Plus i got the warm fuzzies when i almost exterminated it just by watching my nutrients more closely, it was just when i got tied up with other things that it got out of hand again. I had wanted to change the substrate to something more plant friendly for a time before the out break anyway.

wanted to avoid any meds in the tank as well, also helped me figure out how nutrients helped reduce the cyano growth.

He's not dark at all, colors and eyes are still vibrant. Just wont eat, hiding, and very finicky. Dont have access to live foods at the moment, and wasnt gonna put him back in with the rest of the discus as long as his health is iffy.

[ronrca]

Had the same sort of feces a week ago with some of my red turks! I fed them using medicated food that I got from angelsplus.com for 1 week. No white feces of any sort anymore. How much do you need and lets arrange something! Not eating anything though! Hmmmm! Did he start eating after his big BM? May have to treat him again to get him eating!

He'll make a run at the food but just kinda slips through like nothing is catching his eye.

Checked him this morning, still the same symptoms, finicky, shy, clamped fins (dorsal and pec), wont eat. Hasnt put out any new poop though.

[wildthing]

I hate having to use meds but everyone has to now & then.
The white stringy poo is not necesseraly hex. It could just as easily or perhaps more likely be Capilaria. When I am trying to symptomaticly differentiate between the 2, with hex they will generally get darker & face the back of the tank & show no interest at all in food, with Capilaria they will maintain normal color & approach food but just spit it out as they waste away.
The best treatment i have found for that is flubendazole. The Discus specific treatment for this parasite is 1/4 tsp per 20 gallons every other day, 10 treatments, with a minimum 25% w/c before each.
Levmisole also works specificly on Capilaria in Discus & Angels but I have found it to be harsh at full dose, making the fish very lethargic.
Fluke tabs are supposed to work but they kinda scare me ( Dylox based, organophosphate ....dangerous stuff) & I stopped using the a long time ago.
I don;t know where one would aquire the flubendazole in small quantities.
Always remove carbon & turn off UV before medicating.


htht

David Webber
http://wilddiscus.com

David, thanks for the suggestion, i have been leaning towards capilaria or some kind of worm after the metro treatments hadnt shown much good. He does still face the back of the tank though, however his color is unaffected, and he does make runs at the food, just doesnt eat.

By the way you describe the symptoms, sounds like capilaria.

ill look for some flubendazole, gotta make a run to the lfs tomorrow for food anyway. So its a 20 day treatment, dose every second day, ive been doing 3 x 60% wc's a day, does flubendazole have a short life like metro or is it better to let it sit in the tank for awhile and take it easy on the wc's? how many mg per 10 gals?

Edit...Just remembered Rons little compilation of meds/treatments/administering, great article ron thanks.

Would Prazi be effective again Capilaria?, as an alternative

[discus_nw]

no

[Carol_Roberts]

I've purchased flubendazole from www.jehmco.com

[wildthing]

flubendazole dose:
a quarter level teaspoon per 20 gallons every other day, 10 treatments, change at least 25% of the water before each treatment. Turn up airation.
This stuff at this dose is very gentle, discus can even spawn successfully in it. This is also useful against gill flukes.
A good way is to add the med & some warm water to a bottle & give it a good shake first , then add it to the tank as you add back your replacement water. This stuff dissolves better than prazi but still needs a little help.
You ,ay notice yuor tank get cloudy on the second day, this is normal. If you want you can use a diatom filter to get rid of that but it will go away anyway after the second or third w/c.
Much higher doses can be harsh but a little over is ok..
at the end of the treatment do a good water change & filter over carbon for a couple days, then toss the carbon.

hth
DW