jberdine
03-01-2024, 01:04 PM
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?
I have a discus which has started hanging with its face pointing down, has some sort of sores or holes above its head, and shows some swelling about 1/3 of the way forward of its tail. It started resting with nose angled down a week ago, and I noticed the holes a few days later, and the swelling a day later.
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).
When not resting, the discus swims normally. It is a bit less active than usual I think, but not a dramatic change. It is still interested in food, but also maybe slightly less eager than usual. It is showing slightly darkened bars, no clamped gills, normal breathing.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
Worried that the holes could be due to flagellates, I dosed the tank with praziquantel 50% powder at 1g per 250liters the day before yesterday. Earlier today the discus passed at least one long white/translucent string of feces, so perhaps has worms.
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
Tank is 60 gallons and has just the one discus at this time. I got the discus 2 years 4 months ago, when it was about 3.5 inches long, and now it is around 6 inches long.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
I change 30% of the water once per week, and vacuum the substrate with each water change.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
I tore the tank down and set it back up 3 months ago, but the bio media, etc. has been running for several years. The tank has around 10 Amazon sword plants, in roughly 3 inches of Seachem Flourite on the bottom, over a slow undergravel filter. The tank also has a Oase Biotherm 850 canister filter with several grades of foam, eheim bio media, zeolite, carbon, GFO, ion resin, phosphate pad.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I only put water into a barrel with water conditioner and a circulation pump for an hour or so before adding it to the tank. No pH swing, once the water has been circulating in the barrel it measures very close to the tank.
8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
API Stress Coat
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 F_
- ph _7.9_
- ammonia reading _0_
- nitrite reading _0_
- nitrate reading _65_
- phosphate reading _1.5_
- ORP reading _165-175_
- TDS reading _350 ppm_
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 ____
I know the nitrate and phosphate readings are high, much much higher than I would like, but that is what the tap water is here (London UK). The nitrate and phosphate readings for water straight from the tap are if anything slightly higher.
10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
A couple weeks ago I added some new Amazon sword plants (which did bring some snails), but no other recent changes.
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.
Diet is mostly freeze dried blackworms and soft pellet artemia, with some assorted frozen daphnia/brine shrimp/bloodworm/etc. as infrequent treats.
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.
Here are 2 photos, one trying to show the holes and the other trying to show the discus from above to show the swelling.
https://user.fm/files/v2-66d007583afe4836a7a2f852bbe5f5a8/IMG_0206.jpeg
https://user.fm/files/v2-293a2e453abc5416970db515255b1b66/IMG_0207.jpeg
Any ideas on what the problem might be?
Thanks!
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 a discus which has started hanging with its face pointing down, has some sort of sores or holes above its head, and shows some swelling about 1/3 of the way forward of its tail. It started resting with nose angled down a week ago, and I noticed the holes a few days later, and the swelling a day later.
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).
When not resting, the discus swims normally. It is a bit less active than usual I think, but not a dramatic change. It is still interested in food, but also maybe slightly less eager than usual. It is showing slightly darkened bars, no clamped gills, normal breathing.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
Worried that the holes could be due to flagellates, I dosed the tank with praziquantel 50% powder at 1g per 250liters the day before yesterday. Earlier today the discus passed at least one long white/translucent string of feces, so perhaps has worms.
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
Tank is 60 gallons and has just the one discus at this time. I got the discus 2 years 4 months ago, when it was about 3.5 inches long, and now it is around 6 inches long.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
I change 30% of the water once per week, and vacuum the substrate with each water change.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
I tore the tank down and set it back up 3 months ago, but the bio media, etc. has been running for several years. The tank has around 10 Amazon sword plants, in roughly 3 inches of Seachem Flourite on the bottom, over a slow undergravel filter. The tank also has a Oase Biotherm 850 canister filter with several grades of foam, eheim bio media, zeolite, carbon, GFO, ion resin, phosphate pad.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I only put water into a barrel with water conditioner and a circulation pump for an hour or so before adding it to the tank. No pH swing, once the water has been circulating in the barrel it measures very close to the tank.
8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
API Stress Coat
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 F_
- ph _7.9_
- ammonia reading _0_
- nitrite reading _0_
- nitrate reading _65_
- phosphate reading _1.5_
- ORP reading _165-175_
- TDS reading _350 ppm_
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 ____
I know the nitrate and phosphate readings are high, much much higher than I would like, but that is what the tap water is here (London UK). The nitrate and phosphate readings for water straight from the tap are if anything slightly higher.
10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
A couple weeks ago I added some new Amazon sword plants (which did bring some snails), but no other recent changes.
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.
Diet is mostly freeze dried blackworms and soft pellet artemia, with some assorted frozen daphnia/brine shrimp/bloodworm/etc. as infrequent treats.
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.
Here are 2 photos, one trying to show the holes and the other trying to show the discus from above to show the swelling.
https://user.fm/files/v2-66d007583afe4836a7a2f852bbe5f5a8/IMG_0206.jpeg
https://user.fm/files/v2-293a2e453abc5416970db515255b1b66/IMG_0207.jpeg
Any ideas on what the problem might be?
Thanks!