Can you put him in a hospital tank? I would start metro @ .05g/gallon. l see a little hole in its head, was that there already?
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?
I have 6 discus (4") from a local breeder here in Thailand. They have been in my 60 gallon bare bottom tank for just over 2 weeks. Only 3 of the fish are eating vigorously however I have already had eggs laid twice and tended to by two fish who are currently not that interested in food. One fish however which is the biggest of the 6 has not eaten at all. He is producing white/translucent tube like feces. He seemed very confident when they first arrived and seems to have lost his position as top dog of the shoal after considerable in-fighting during the first few days as hierarchy was re-established. When food goes into the tank (pork heart & discus granules) he hides at the back of the tank & is very shy. Shows no interest in food. I have contacted the breeder who has advised me that not eating is common due to stress of moving etc.
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).
Not eating & white/translucent tubular feces. he is generally very shy, tends to rest in the same position near the filter inlet. He looks very healthy.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
None
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
60 gallons, 6 4" discus, 18 Cardinal tetras (all healthy)
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
large daily water changes (60-90%)
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
3 weeks, bare bottom
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
No. Shower head & then de-chlorinated as per breeder's advice
8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
Thai de-chlorinator
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 __86___
- ph __7___
- ammonia reading __0 - 0.25_
- nitrite reading _0_
- nitrate reading __0.25_
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.
Tap water in Bangkok. 86 degrees from the tap.
10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
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.
Pork heart, Discus granules - 2-3 times per day
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.
Discus.jpg
Here is the feces. It is long, tubular, jelly like and under bright light looks to be almost completely translucent and not white at all.
Feces.jpg
Last edited by Hardgraf; 12-05-2019 at 06:47 AM.
Can you put him in a hospital tank? I would start metro @ .05g/gallon. l see a little hole in its head, was that there already?
No hole in the head that's just lighting/detritus floating in the water column
I agree with Armando. The first step in this scenario is to raise temp to 93 and treat with pure Metro for 10-14 days. It's not an emergency and recovery takes a few weeks.
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/...mitiasis.shtml
Ok thanks guys. Got some medical Flagyl 400mg tablets from the pharmacy today. I did a 90% water change this morning after feeding. I am slowly raising the temperature to 93 Fahrenheit & will start dosing the Flagyl mixed into pork heart & some dissolved & added to the water.
Is adding salt recommended?
Will report back soon!
Salt helps, you can add it, just not for prolonged periods. 1TBS / 10 gallons should be fine in your case. Good luck and keep us posted.
Remember to run the metro for 10-14 days.
Is Flagyl 100% metro? I used to know back when I worked at a veterinary hospital but I don't remember anymore.
Mama Bear
Hope so.
Mama Bear
Flagyl tabs have fillers, but each 400mg tab will have that amount of metro in it. Just be sure to crush and dissolve completely. It's is hard to know how much each fish ingests if you're feeding them due to some getting more than others, and the ones with the worst case of hex tend to be shy and not feed as heavily...they're the ones that need it most
Yes, the fillers do not entirely dissolve. Ultimately you are left with some white residue in the bottom of the tank. In my case 3 fish are not eating so I am turning off the filter & pouring the Metro solution on top of their heads then leaving the filter turned off for 10 mins or so. It's been one day of treatment & so far no more white feces but they're still shy & not eating. Plan to dose daily for 6 days.
Yes this is pure metronidazole - Flagyl 400
Flagyl is the brand name. Mostly used by women with urinary tract infections. Called flagyl because of the type of pathagen it kills.. Flagellates.. I administered a lot of this when I was a nurse. Retired now.
Just as long as the milligrams are right for the right amount of water. It comes in different strengths. 400mg is one strength. How did the vet say to dose it?
It's not from a vet. I bought it at the pharmacy over the counter. The tablets are 400mg metronidazole. I am dosing around 250-300mg per 10 gallons.
I have dosed again before bed this evening as the fish are dark, skittish & not looking great. This is 2nd day of treatment, hopefully tomorrow see some improvement