BD losing scales

[rjs2115]

Disease Questionnaire - please complete
Please complete thus questionnaire if your fish are sick (copy and paste). The more details you can provide, the better we are able to diagnose and help you treat your sick fish.

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


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?
My blue diamond looks like he's losing scales or something. Several small grayish spots on his body. He's not acting any different. First noticed it 2 weeks ago. Spots have increased a decent amount.

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).
Other than the visible marks, he seems fine. Eating fine and everything.

3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
Nothing has been done to treat. Just more water changes.

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
90 gallon planted. Tank is about 6 months old. Discus are about all from Kenny's march order. The BD is about 4.5" and the other 5 discus are around the same size, 4-5"

5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
30-40% 4-5 days a week.

6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
6 months. I have 2" of quartz sand.

7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I do not. My out of tap is 7.8. In the tank it's 8.5

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 ___86__

- ph ___8.5__

- ammonia reading ___0_

- nitrite reading ___0_

- nitrate reading ___.5_

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 _x___

- municipal water ____

- RO water ____


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
20 rummy nose tetras about a month ago

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.

It's not letting me attach photos for some reason

[dirtyplants]

I am concerned about water changes once a week for a juvenile fish. I have found to my surprise that young fish do better with more water changes. Youngsters seem to be more delicate in the immune area. Second you should try aging your water. Eliminate all the stressors you can, more water changes and watch.

[pcsb23]

Sounds like a fairly lightly stocked tank. Whilst more water changes won't harm, I'm not entirely sure they are needed but I could be wrong ;)

Ideally seeing a pic will help. The site has a size limit for direct attachment so it is often better to use a hosting site such as flickr or photobucket (there are plenty of others). From these sites you just grab the BB code and paste it in.

Also if you can try and look down the flank of the fish and see if there is any haze or sheen, shining a torch often helps.

[rjs2115]

I am concerned about water changes once a week for a juvenile fish. I have found to my surprise that young fish do better with more water changes. Youngsters seem to be more delicate in the immune area. Second you should try aging your water. Eliminate all the stressors you can, more water changes and watch.

I do 4-5 water changes per week, at around 30-40%

[rjs2115]

I'll have to see about starting a photobucket account or something

[pcsb23]

I'll have to see about starting a photobucket account or somethingSeeing a decent pic of it will hopefully help us help you.

[rjs2115]

Ok here he is. Thanks!!

82458

[dirtyplants]

Ok you are good on the water changes, but the picture is difficult, the hard thing about pictures is that everyone has different screens with different cards, some cell phones, so the better the picture the better the advice.

[pcsb23]

Picture isn't great (sorry) but from what I can see it looks like physical damage, i.e. it has scraped itself on something - possibly wood? maybe spooked ...

Plenty of clean water usually sorts.

[rjs2115]

Sorry about the pic. Best I could get. Appreciate the tips. You guys don't think it's Ich though? It does look like the scales have been rubbed or torn off. I don't really see him run into the driftwood, but I guess it happens. He has them all over though...more each week. That's what bothers me.

[rjs2115]

Gonna try some more pics. Sorry again for the crap quality. Now I see my tiger turq has a large white-ish patch on his side.


824888248682487

[fredyx]

It seems physical damage for me as Paul says. Some good water changes and it will go by itself. I would not treat with meds unless the area shows signs of infection (bacterial or fungal).

[Rudustin]

I agree that it looks like physical damage and not anything else. The second set of pics were better. I have three blue diamonds. The largest one of them is quite a fighter and he spars with my big Blue Pigeon, who is eight inches and still growing, needless to say the solid blue color shows up battle scars rather well. I wouldn't medicate unless the cuts get infected and then I would quarantine and treat him separately. I think he'll be fine. Rufus

[Second Hand Pat]

Try removing the BN for a couple of days and see if the discus recover. If so rehome the BN.

[rjs2115]

I agree that it looks like physical damage and not anything else. The second set of pics were better. I have three blue diamonds. The largest one of them is quite a fighter and he spars with my big Blue Pigeon, who is eight inches and still growing, needless to say the solid blue color shows up battle scars rather well. I wouldn't medicate unless the cuts get infected and then I would quarantine and treat him separately. I think he'll be fine. Rufus

Thanks for the reply! The BD does fight with my white pigeon, all the time. So maybe that is the problem.

[rjs2115]

Try removing the BN for a couple of days and see if the discus recover. If so rehome the BN.

Oh, I didn't even consider the idea that the pleco could be the culprit. Do you think that is likely? I have never seen him on any of the discus. He seems pretty docile. He mainly lays on the bottom of the tank.

I actually sent some pics to Kenny and he called me right away. That guy is amazing! Customer service is second to none. He said that he's positive they are just battle wounds. Nothing to worry about and they will go away in a few weeks.

[Second Hand Pat]

Yes it is possible. It happen to my discus. So do as Kenny suggests but if things do not improve, rehome the BN and see if things clear up.

[rjs2115]

Thanks Pat! I'll see how things look as the weeks go on. I have more of Kenny's discus coming next week. Pumped!