2 Sick Fish........ Please HELP!

[irodri25]

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?
Since I got them he has not been eating. That was about 3 days ago

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).
Both are very dark and don't want to eat one of them does come out and hang out with my other two Discus but he does not eat.


3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.

My first suspicion was internal parasites so I medicated with general cure which has metro and prazi and one of them pooped out a tapeworm but Idk if it actually came out I just saw it hanging from the anus I KNOW it was tapeworm because it was white and stringy and made up of many segments.

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
My tank is 55 gallons and I have 4 Discus and a few cories I also have a peacock eel. The tank is about 7 months old


5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
I do a 75% waterchange about twice a week

6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
Tank has been running for 7 months, it is not bare bottom it is a densely planted tank with sand, floramax, and laterite as the substrate the substrate is about 2 inches.

7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I do no age my water

8. 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 ____84_

- ph ___7__

- ammonia reading ___0_

- nitrite reading ___0_

- nitrate reading __10__

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.

- well water ____

- municipal water ___100%_

- RO water ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
No just the 2 new discus

10. 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.

[lipadj46]

Keep up with the general cure if you saw tapes. Where did you get these fish?

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[irodri25]

Keep up with the general cure if you saw tapes. Where did you get these fish?

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

Yes I did see tapeworm and I just did a 75% water change and the both the dark discus had tapeworms one actually pooped it out and i removed it from the tank and the other which I didnt see a tapeworm is now starting to poop it out also. When they come out are they dead or still alive. I actually got both from 2 different locations, one from golden aquarium and the other from Old Town aquarium......

[irodri25]

The other 2 that I have are perfectly healthy and eating great and no worms so far

[lipadj46]

They r still alive. Next time buy from a sponsor here. You will need to retreat in a week after this treatment. Use Epsom salts to help them pass the worms. You can add it while treating

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[irodri25]

what do you mean retreat after treatment? and also I dose my planted tank with magnesium sulfate, isn't that epsom salts if I'm not mistaken?

[irodri25]

and yes I am going to purchase from a sponsor, how long before they will start eating again and how long for all the worms to come out? Also I have a planted tank and the only reason I was able to remove the tapeworm was because it was stuck on a plant. If one fell to the bottom and my corys ingest it will they be infected?

[Chicago Discus]

I am local breeder-importer from Chicago and I'm also a sponsor on the Forum. I'm not sure where you are from in Chicago but if you would like to come check us out just let me know.....Josie

[lipadj46]

what do you mean retreat after treatment? and also I dose my planted tank with magnesium sulfate, isn't that epsom salts if I'm not mistaken?

yes how much do you dose though?


and yes I am going to purchase from a sponsor, how long before they will start eating again and how long for all the worms to come out? Also I have a planted tank and the only reason I was able to remove the tapeworm was because it was stuck on a plant. If one fell to the bottom and my corys ingest it will they be infected?

Yes the worms are only paralyzed from the prazi and need to be vacuumed out or they can reinfect. This round of prazi should be 3 days followed by another 3 days after a 7 day resting period.

[irodri25]

Hello Josie I was thinking of going to look at your discus since you are closest to me but I want to get this whole parasite issue out of the way

[irodri25]

yes how much do you dose though?
I dose 1/8 of a TSP every other day should I start dosing more and what exactly does the epsom salt do?


Yes the worms are only paralyzed from the prazi and need to be vacuumed out or they can reinfect. This round of prazi should be 3 days followed by another 3 days after a 7 day resting period.
Is there any way to kill them?
and so you mean dose with the general cure for three days and then wait seven days and dose for another three days?

[irodri25]

sorry my answer to the epsom salts is within the quote :)

[lipadj46]

Epsom salts is a laxative and you should dose something like 1 tsp for 5 gal or so to help them clear the worms then vacuum them up. The general has prazi and should be dosed for about three days. Then continue the Epsom salts for a few days to make sure the worms have been expelled. Then dose general cure after a week for another three days to make sure the cycle is broken. Good luck let us know if you have any more questions

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[irodri25]

I'm just wondering because the directions say dose once and wait 48 hours and then dose again and then repeat

[irodri25]

Another question is will alot of epsom salt hurt my plants?

[lipadj46]

Another question is will alot of epsom salt hurt my plants?

Probably some like vals and crypts

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[Chicago Discus]

Hello Josie I was thinking of going to look at your discus since you are closest to me but I want to get this whole parasite issue out of the way

Absolutely understand I wouldnt have it any other way....Looking forward to meeting you.....if you need any help give me a call.....Josie

[irodri25]

aww thanks another thing I also noticed today is my discus are now getting white patches on their bodies. Could it be because of the meds is it normal?

[Chicago Discus]

aww thanks another thing I also noticed today is my discus are now getting white patches on their bodies. Could it be because of the meds is it normal?

Not normal to get white patches when medicating. What are you using?

[irodri25]

I am using general cure.. they didn't have the white patches before and it is only the new ones that have worms. I did a 75% water change yesterday but white patches have been showing up on their skin IDK what it could be they are all eating now since I medicated. The only thing I have done different is medicating and raising the temp to 90

[irodri25]

the patches are not fuzzy doesnt look like fungus it looks like the scales are discolored

[Chicago Discus]

I need a photo, Did you call the pet store?

[irodri25]

I will post some now

[irodri25]

I did not call them yet, should I?http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee397/dark_angel_itsel/IMG_000001251.jpg (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/dark_angel_itsel/media/IMG_000001251.jpg.html)

in this photo you can see both of my sick discus

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee397/dark_angel_itsel/IMG_000001241.jpg (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/dark_angel_itsel/media/IMG_000001241.jpg.html)

In this picture you can see the spots very well I'm depressed now did I do something wrong?

[irodri25]

They have stated eating which I suppose is a good sign but the spots don't look good and they still hide alot

[Chicago Discus]

Ok , they don't look great. I would call the people you purchased them from and get some recommendation on what to do. If they were mine I would stop using general cure ( I really don't like that stuff) and move them into a hospital tank on there own. I would do 80-90% water changes daily with no medication and observe. Also it's very important to age your water here in Chicago we get a very large PH-gas swing which will stress the discus out and cause problems. They really need to get out of that tank or they will get worst IMO. The only way to save them is to get them in a bare bottom tank and start aging your water. The two sources did not mix well .........Josie

[irodri25]

ok i have a ten gallon I can use as a hospital tank but if they do get better will they be able to go back in the tank

[irodri25]

Moved to the ten gallon instant change colors got brighter and more interested in food. Bars are showing because of stress but other than that they seem a little better I will try to age my water as best I can because its hard to move buckets from middle floor to the attic. I cannot keep them up in the attic because the floor could possibly fall
Didn't know raising discus would be this hard! Idk what might be wrong with my water I tested it and everything was fine!!! Everything else like the cories and the eel seem fine......

[Chicago Discus]

Sounds like something in your main tank I'm glad they are looking better....Josie

[irodri25]

I love my tank the way it is and I would not want to change it to BB EVER. I worked hard to make it look the way it does.............

[Chicago Discus]

I love my tank the way it is and I would not want to change it to BB EVER. I worked hard to make it look the way it does.............

I agree, you just need to figure out what in the tank is causing the issue

[irodri25]

thanks alot josie I'm going to do a big water change in my main tank tomorrow and clean everything real good throughout the week and see how it goes

[irodri25]

Meanwhile I will keep doing water changes in my 10 gallon with aged water and see if that makes them better should I add any salt or anything to help the Discus out

[Chicago Discus]

Meanwhile I will keep doing water changes in my 10 gallon with aged water and see if that makes them better should I add any salt or anything to help the Discus out

IMO no just observe....Josie

[irodri25]

ok I will keep you updated

[irodri25]

Update : I am doing a big water change right now almost all the water was taken out I rescaped my tank and took alot of the plants out and am trying something cleaner and with more space for the discus to swim. I did clean alot of my filter media so I am going to wait awhile before I add the discus back in. I did notice that my substrate was really dirty because once i sifted the substrate around all the nasty came out. I am thinking that is what was affecting my Discus. All four have been doing real well in the 10 gallon with aged water. They are all eating and the white spots have started fading. Colors are really good. Have not seen any poop. Will post another update on new tank setup :)