Help needed for injured discus.

[Rod]

Hi all,

A friend sent me this pic of his injured discus tonight, he's not sure what caused it, too me it looks like a heater burn. Could anyone please offer suggestions about the treatment, already the discus is isolated in a q tank with 1 tablespoon of salt per 10 gallons. He says the fish is still eating but reduced amounts and is slightly darker in color than normal. All suggestions are welcome

Thanks

[jeep]

Ouch! Poor guy...

I would add more salt, probably 1TBS per gallon and maybe add Melefix as well.

That looks pretty deep and you want to stop any infection in it's tracks. Make sure he is in very clean water with daily or bi-daily water changes. Maybe someone else will advise an antibiotic.

It it a confirmed heater burn?

Also, if infection does set in youmay want to consider swabbing peroxide directly on the wound.

[Rod]

Hi jeep,

No, not a confirmed heater burn. The injury is about 24 hours old and is growing in size :'(

[brewmaster15]

Hi Rod,
I'd do as Brian and get an antibiotic in there now, That looks like a heater burn, and and a very bad one... equivalent to a human 3rd degree probably. The increase in size is in keeping with that kind of burn too, as the surrounding tissues that were damaged die off.
my suggestion... salt 1 tablespoon /1 gal
net fish and swab with peroxide. antibiotic to the water..

one of these...

Oxytetracyline (+ neomycin if possible)
minocycline(maracyn 2)
kanacyn (kanamyacin sulfate)

truthfully, a burn that bad, and the fish may not survivethe subsequent infection.

hth,
al

[jeep]

Hey Rod,

I know it's not yours, but can you find out more info about the fish? How old, how new, if it is new, how about the source? Are/were there any others in with this one and if so, are they all ok?

If this problem is growing at a substantial rate then some pretty radical attention will be required. If it is a wound, I know by experience that heavy salt and clean water will help a lot.

Good luck to you and your friend...

Brian

Sorry, didn't see Al's post while I was typing.

[jeep]

You may want to tell your friend not to use the suction cups provided with the heater. Many people just let them set on the bottom of the tank, although I do use 1 suction cup placed near one end (away from the heating element) so the heater can move a little. Discus can't get stuck that way or at least won't get stuck on the heating element...

[Jason]

I agree with Al, except I would use a something anti fungal as well, like maroxy.

I would even try a topical neomycin preperation, net the fish, oxidise the wound, and spead a little on.

[Rod]

Thanks everyone for your quick reply's and helpful suggestions. I'll pass on these comments to my friend and hopefully we can save this discus.

Jeep,

I acquired the discus for my friend around 4 months ago now along with another 9. All the other discus appear to be unaffected but i have him watching them closely for signs of an infection in them too. The fish is around 8 months old now and is an import from Penang.


I'll post an update soon, hopefully with good news.

Rod

[rickk]

Hello all

Thank you for your quick replies to Rods request.
Let me intoduce myself, My name is Rick and I live in Brisbane, Australia. My total experience with these fantastic fish is a total of 5 months (any fish for that matter)but once I had seen them I knew I just had to be involved with them. I started with just one 4ft tank and now have 14 of them with a total of 40 Discus. I work from home so I get to spend heaps of time with them.

I'm sad to say that the fish that Rod had posted for me has died this morning. This did seem to be a injury to me as it appeared overnight. My concern now is that there is another fish from the same tank that has a small red spot on it with a very small whiteish film on it in the same area as the fish that died, I have tried a photo but it is to small to be visiable.

A little back ground. (it has been a stressfull last 3 weeks)

I brought 3 weeks ago a total of 15 Red Melons and 10 White Swanns (Very Young) which had just been released from quarintine that day from Penang. Within 3 days all 25 fish had this slim all over them, despit my best efforts (disinfecting everything before moving to another tank and so on) and lots of help from many it was in the rest of my tanks within a week. I lost 7 of the white Swans and 1 adult female (my faviorte of course). The treatment I used was salt and a antibiotic . I have never had this slim before so I can only sumise it came from the new fish.

The tank though that the injured fish came from was infected the least and within a couple of days they were on the road to recovery.

Any advise would be great

Sorry this is so long but I thought that back ground was important

Thanks again

Rick

[April]

Hi Rick and welcome to simplydiscus.
sorry to hear about the fish. hope thats the end of the discus problems.
everyone has their ups and downs.
But think their worth every minute of it. they are fantastic fish.
Hope you post some more. and read also.
8) ;D

[Rod]

Hi again,

I went to ricks house this morning to look at the discus and i saw the 9 remaining seemingly healthy discus. On closer inspection one has this small sore starting to grow in a similar position to the discus posted above. The sore is maybe 1/4" round and protrudes in a lump from the fish, red in the middle ( like a crater) with white mucous around the edges ( dead flesh maybe ??). i'm guessing now that the original diagnosis of an injury is wrong, and something far more incidious is happening. Prob the closest thing i have seen to this is ulcer disease in goldfish, maybe an Aeromonas infection?? Ricks discus otherwise look in great condition, light body color, clear eyes, steady breathing and good appetite. We have lyncospectin and tetracyclines readily available, but can get other meds if required. Please help.

Rod

[paulmat]

I just lost a full grown male Jewel that had an identical burn on it's side,one hour before I saw him he was fine ,I came back and he was curled up with that burn on his side,he only lasted for a couple of hours though, a gorgeous fish.
I know how you feel Rick :'(
Sorry

Paul

[brewmaster15]

Hi guys,
My advise,

net the fish and drip peroxide on that sore. Do this once a day until it looks like its healing, Then treat the fish exactly as advised for the " burn."

The tetracycline you want is not tetracycline Hcl for this. Oxytetracycline is best choice. I'd treat the whole lot of fish. Odds are when that bacterial/viral probelm swept thru the tank your fish got weakened and another bacteria has taken hold at least on this fish, If the fish are eating... OxyT can be added to the food...

based on this publication....

http://aquanic.org/publicat/usda_rac/efs/srac/473fs.pdf
by Robert M. durboroh and Ruth Francis-Floyd


The dose is approximately 1.17 grams/ 1 pound of food

(they say 20 grams/17 pounds food)

and the fish must consume 3% of its weight daily in food, so that basically means feed exclusively. feed for at least 10 days.

hth,
al

ps... do you have access to PP?

[rickk]

Hello again

Thank you all for your help.

The second fish with the small red sore seems to be slightly better this morning it is still raised a little but with no white film around it.

I am treating the tank with the suggestions posted here and so far it seems to be working ( I will keep my fingers x)

I have also removed 1 suction cap from each of my heaters, I am concerned that the heaters are glass, has anybody had any trouble with the glass breaking from being knock.

Yes losing a fish is hard, losing 9 in the past 3 weeks is hartbreaking but as long as I can learn from the experience the better I will be and the better my freinds the fish will be for it.

Thank you again for all your help

Rick

[April]

Rick i have all my heaters just laying on the bottom of the tank. never broken one yet. jsut dont crash it around. i had one fish get stuck under once...and the suction cups dont last long so took it off out of being tired of trying to restick them.
glad that one is looking better.