The first thing to check with sick fish

[Eddie]

Save your money and toss out the discus buffer, its useless. The big thing is water stability and there is no need for chemicals. Your nitrates are pretty high, you'll want to bring those down A LOT. Big water changes, daily, with stable water parameters.

[Ashley]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they star

I have five Discus, but I have had two longer than the others. At first these two seemed fine, but their coloring turned darker and they would hide and not eat. The larger of these two would have white patches on his body, clamp his fins, breath harshly, and dart. After removing him to my fathers 55 gallon tank with his little companion to my 10 gallon tank. They both seemed better and it took them a few weeks to lighten their coloring from a murky purple to showing off a few patterns and start eating. A few months later after it seemed that these two recovered I bought three more Discus and put them in the same tank. At the moment it seems that the two I have had the longest keep switching their coloring from showing patterns to a murky purple, but they are aggressive when it comes to eating. One of the newer Discus that I just obtained is showing the same signs as the other did. He`s hiding out in the back and I`m not sure if eats when I`m not around.

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)

Turning dark, not eating, clamped fins, darting, and semi- harsh breathing


3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.

General Cure; 2 dosses lasts to 4 days and fifth day a 25% water change

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish

10 gallon, six months old, three 2-inch Discus, one 3-inch Discus, one 4-inch Discus and 2 very small angel fish and bristlenose plectosumus

5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water

I do either a 25% -40% water change two times a week, been running for about six months, Has gravel, and no.


6 Parameters and water source;

- temp ____82-84_

- ph _____6.4

- ammonia reading __8.0__

- municipal water __yes__

7. Any new fish/plants added recently
No

[Eddie]

Ashley add this as a new thread in the disease section.