Parasites?

[invertMASA]

I have feed my baby discus baby brine shrimp, But have not feed them live ones for over a month or maybe to. I am seeing lost of little what look like baby brine shrimp all over my glass. I cant get a picture of them sadly, They are just too small. Reason I am bring this up is cause I have been losing discus :(. I just want to make sure they are not a parasite or anything. I struggled to keep brine shrimp alive for more then a few days, That's why I think its odd they are re spawning in my tank.

I have been losing like 1 a month or so. They appear just fine, but will dash around alot and slam into things. Then they will start to swim on their side and upside down as if they really have no control any more.

I have been using some sulfaplex just to cover my bases till I figure out what is going on, and para guard. And also a little salt.

They are in a 45 gallon breeder tank, keep at around 86 degrees. Ph is about a 6.8, And using a Eheim classic filter.

Any info would be great!

Thanks

[invertMASA]

I do 30-50% water changes daily, once in awhile It will go a day for maybe 2 days with out one. Forgot to put that in there.

[MD.David]

Hi Kevin,
Let's see if we can help you with this.
1st can you tell us your water change regiment?
Do you change the water daily, weekly, monthly?
What percentage of your water do you change when you do?
Do you wipe inside your tank with a sponge to clean the inner glass?
What type of substrate in tank? Sand, gravel bare bottom?
What type of food are you feeding now? How often?
How often to you vacuum the tank?

Please answer the above questions so I can make some recommendations to attempt to correct your issue.



I have feed my baby discus baby brine shrimp, But have not feed them live ones for over a month or maybe to. I am seeing lost of little what look like baby brine shrimp all over my glass. I cant get a picture of them sadly, They are just too small. Reason I am bring this up is cause I have been losing discus :(. I just want to make sure they are not a parasite or anything. I struggled to keep brine shrimp alive for more then a few days, That's why I think its odd they are re spawning in my tank.

I have been losing like 1 a month or so. They appear just fine, but will dash around alot and slam into things. Then they will start to swim on their side and upside down as if they really have no control any more.

I have been using some sulfaplex just to cover my bases till I figure out what is going on, and para guard. And also a little salt.

They are in a 45 gallon breeder tank, keep at around 86 degrees. Ph is about a 6.8, And using a Eheim classic filter.

Any info would be great!

Thanks

[nc0gnet0]

If the little critters are hopping around like little flees, then they are copepods.
If the are squiggling around like little worms, then they are planaria.

In either case, water quality is the culprit. clean your filters in tap water, wipe the tank down and increase your water changes.

[invertMASA]

I do 25-50% a day. Once in awhile it will go a day or 2 with out one. But not very often. I do not wipe down the glass but I should probably do that. They are in a bare bottom tank. And I feed them frozen brine shrimp, and cobalt discus lakes, and blood worms. And when I do my water changes I vacuum all the fish waste and left over food as well.

I have also been reading about GBD. I use a python to do my water changes, and starting to think that might be part of my problem. Think im going to buy a huge tub or bucket and age my water for 24 hours.

[invertMASA]

Just googled Copepod, and they look just like them. Are they bad?

[nc0gnet0]

Just googled Copepod, and they look just like them. Are they bad?

Typically no, not unless you have very young fry (less than 1 week old), but they are indeed an indicator something is amiss with your water quality.

[invertMASA]

Nah they are not that young, Got them when they were about the size of a dime, and that was over a month ago. Some look like they are not growing at all, while others and growing super fast!

[MD.David]

Copepods are a sure sign of poor water quality, just as Rick suggested and possibly over feeding as well.
Failing to wipe down the glass will allow all types of pathogens to possibly thrive.
I would suggest you wipe done the glass and bottom then change 95% of the water, I would do this twice a day for three days to get it all cleaned up then I would change 90% daily.
Re: the wild swimming into things is either from protozoan or micro bacterium (aka TB) and possibly both.
I would suggest treating with seachem Copramine after every water change for 5 days and see if that helps.
I would treat 5ml as your tank is a 45g, retreat after every water change.
Unless Rick (a very experience SD member) makes a different suggestion, then I would follow those instructions over mine.
But I have experienced the "whirly swimming" your describing, and the copper made a night and day difference for me.
Also, do more research on growing Baby Brine Shimp to feed your discus fry, with out getting into a crash course on Brine Shimp you will hatch everyday to feed your fry.

Best of luck mate!

[MD.David]

The ones that are not growing have had their health compromised and this is the reason they are not growing.


Nah they are not that young, Got them when they were about the size of a dime, and that was over a month ago. Some look like they are not growing at all, while others and growing super fast!

[MD.David]

May I make a recommendation on the food:
I would feed "Australian Freeze Dried Black Worms", you can get them in cube form, cut them smaller and stick them to the glass,this will help with cleanliness as well. Your cobalt flakes are ok, I would add some immune booster flake to the mix.
I would stop feeding the "frozen brine Shrimp", minimal nutritional value comparison to the AFDBW.
Also I would loose the blood worms as well, depending on the manufacture you may be introducing possible parasites.
All you really need is a good flake food with mix immune booster and AFDBW, coupled with very clean sterile water and your discus will thrive and grow beautifully.

And I feed them frozen brine shrimp, and cobalt discus lakes, and blood worms.

[SNap0283]

At that size you need +75% daily water changes if you want maximum and even growth between them all

[invertMASA]

Thank you guys so much for all this info! I have some seachem Copramine on its way. Should be here Friday. Tomorrow i'm going to scrub the tank real good, and do that 95% water change. Going to see if my local fish store has Australian Freeze Dried Black Worms. Do you know if BB pet stores carry them?

[Tshethar]

You can get the freeze dried blackworms (FDBW) quickly shipped out from the owner of this forum here: http://aquaticsuppliers.com/Freeze-dried-foods_c2.htm

[invertMASA]

Awesome, Thank you very much. Good to know I will be supporting an awesome site.

[invertMASA]

Giving an update here. Fish are doing really well, and can already tell they are growing faster as well. Aging my water for a day, and aerating the water while its aging. Scrubbing all the glass right before starting the 50% water change. And dosing with Copramine. They have stopped dashing and seem to be much much happier! Just wanted to thank you all!

[rickztahone]

Giving an update here. Fish are doing really well, and can already tell they are growing faster as well. Aging my water for a day, and aerating the water while its aging. Scrubbing all the glass right before starting the 50% water change. And dosing with Copramine. They have stopped dashing and seem to be much much happier! Just wanted to thank you all!

I'm glad the discus are doing better.