bad blackworms, fish stopped eating

[jaydaman]

hi, i think i fed my discus some bad blackworms from a lfs. when i brought the worms home i rinsed them real well, but while feeding them to my fish i noticed they were a little slimey and there was an oily looking film on top of the water i my worm container even after rinsing for several minutes. the very next day the fish stopped eating. i'm guessing it's some kind of bacterial infection. what precautions should i take? how can i cure them before things get worse?

[brewmaster15]

Hi Jay,
At this point it may not be serious. If the fish start passing white or whitish brown feces, have a swollen look or dark appearance..I would guess its bacterial and treat with Kanamyacin or erythromycin+metronidazole.

Drop me an IM if you need more help.

thanks,
al

[jaydaman]

thanks brew, i'll keep a close eye on them for the next couple days and see how they do. so far they show no other symptoms besides lack of appetite. they did eat some color bits today though, so maybe they are improving already. i'll try some frozen bloodworms later and see if they eat better. thanks, jason p

[fshngal]

Jason,

When the worms are slimy to your touch, re-rinse them several times. Slime is the development of bacteria on the worms.

Another thing to try is rinsing them with methylene blue treated water. Cary suggested 1 drop per gallon.

Hope this helps some,
Fshngal

[discus_nw]

Sorry for your problem. That's why I stick to my motto.... :-\

[jaydaman]

bad news, they're still not eating! when i feed them they rush to the top like they're starving, but then just watch the bloodworms or color bits float by like they're not even interested. if they don't eat better by tomorrow i'm going to have to do something. any suggestions would be great. thanks, jason p :'(

[Carol_Roberts]

Firt line of defense is always extra water changes, clean tank and 1 or 2 tablespoons salt per 10 gallons.

[SSTurner]

Whats the tank temp? Steve

[chinoz]

crap im having the same problem with one of my fish..i think its mostly cbw. arrgggg should i go ahead with the Hexamit?

??? ??? ???

[Carol_Roberts]

Try water changes for a couple of days if no improvement then try metro if the fish has white stringy feces, is dark in color and staying in the back of hte tank.

[CARY_GLdiscus]

TNT,
Please Don't Bash the Blkworm just yet! Heee.Hee.hee..


Your Discus have been sick since You bought them from J + H
:

[alex_m]

IMO i would watch them for a few days if they don't eat i would treat with metro and heat.

I would stop feeding blackworms at all.

alex

[fcdiscus]

No way CBW should be blamed. maybe the rinser- but not the CBWs. I think a dose of metro is necessary on those fish. JMO, Frank

[jaydaman]

hi all, thanks for all the replies. their still not eating much, and a couple are hideing up in the corners. so i'm going to start a metro treatment tonight. to answer some of your questions, i do daily 50% wc's, i keep my tanks at 84-86*F, i don't think i'll give up on blackworms yet, but i won't buy any more from a lfs. the worms i bought that are in question were dirty and obviously hadn't been rinsed for several days and it took me several minutes of rinsing to get them to look clean. i'll order blackworms from the banner on this site when i do use them again. i think i might try carol's beefheart/salad shooter idea. that might be a better way for me to go for now. thanks, jason p

[discus_nw]

TNT,

Go ahead. Bash those nasty blackworms.