Need advice about fluke treatment

[keith_cny]

Many here obviously have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the care of their discus. I would like to say hello to all and thanks for the very interesting and inciteful reading (and beautiful pictures) I have quietly enjoyed for the past couple of weeks. I have kept discus myself for some time now without much trouble but recently have become perplexed (and panicky) as a result of what I think are gill flukes. I recently decided to try feeding my guys blackworms which I purchased from LFS. I thought this was my big mistake! I washed them thoroughly and started them out slow (4 days ago). 3 days ago my largest and oldest fish look to be getting a fungus so yesterday I treated the tank with "fungus eliminator". Tonight I think I may have misdiagnosed the fungus and really have gill flukes (or maybe both). She is hiding in the back of the tank and I think one gill is shut. 2 of the other 3 discus in the tank are not visibly stressed, as the first one is, but seem to be rubbing or scratching at the live plants in the tank. These 2 seem to be eating fine right now. Question: should I perform a formalin bath on all 4 fish and treat the tank as well? If so, how can I treat the tank without upsetting the bio and plants? I do have a second tank setup but just prior to observing the sick fish had unwisely transpalnted a large swordplant from the first tank so that may need treating also. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

75 gallon tank
85 degrees F (raised to 88 right now)
ph 7.5
hardness ?
ammonia 0
nitrite 0

[Carol_Roberts]

It sounds like these are adult discus you've had for a while, so probably not gill flukes. More likely an external irritant or maybe a bacterial infection. ONly one or two fish showing symptoms?

First line of defense is always extra water changes and salt (a couple of tablespoons per 10 gallons)

Then careful observation - whos acting funny, what are they doing -scratching all the time on objects? any marks or patches on body? are they dark in color? added any new plants or fish? Were they worse after adding the fungus med?

Carol :heart1:

[keith_cny]

Carol,
The sick one is an adult fish. The others are juveniles. The other 3 seem to be better tonight. No scratching or dashing going on. No signs of stress in color. They are very active and foraging. The sick one altough does not seem any better yet. You suggeted that I add salt with my water changes. You don't mean epsom salt do you? Or are you talking about iodized salt? Also do you think I should remove him from the tank since the others look ok. Or leave her there and treat them all at once?

Thanks very much for the input!

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Keith:
How long have you had the younger discus? IF only a week or so they could have brought a virus or bacteria into your tank that they are immune to, but your adult isn't.

Probably not gill flukes with an adult, maybe bacterial infection. Is only symptom hanging back?

Extra water changes and table salt (or pickling salt or kosher salt or rock salt @ 2 tbsp per 10 gallons) first and observe for other symptoms.

Epsom salt is used for bloat or constipation - it's a laxitive.
CArol :heart1:

[keith_cny]

Hi carol,
My younger discus are fairly new. I did not quarantine them very long (couple weeks). My sick fish seems slightly improved tonight. I hope I am not imagining it. He is hiding back but swimming out to see me once in a while. i am continuing with the water changes and the salt for now. Although I am still wondering about the gill flukes. One gill seems to not be pumping much. Also fin on opposite side is not in motion much. A little more than yesterday though. I don't have any formalin so I'm gonna get some just in case I decide to dip her. I guess I should have some on hand anyways huh. Thanks for your input. I'll keep you posted. By the way, whats your status here, hobbyist, breeder, store owner, etc?? Thanks again.

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

I'm glad your discus is doing better. I'm a hobbiest, breeder and global moderator.
Carol :heart1:

[keith_cny]

Hi Carol,
Just an update and a quick question tonight. My cobalt is appearing a little better yet. Both gills are pumping fairly normal. Fins are working normal. She seems fairly relaxed although her color still is little dark. Question: She is swimming tilted up slightly (but not breathing at the surface of the water) and his slime seems to be hanging off him on his pectoral fins. Its noticeable but I'm not sure its alot. Is this bad or a normal occurrence after being sick? Thanks for your help. I can sleep better now.

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

Watch the slime coat. . . . keep up water changes and add salt removed with water changes (for every 10 gallons of water added to the tank add 1 or 2 tablespoons of salt). If it is something mild this alone may do the trick.

Carol :heart1:

[keith_cny]

Hi Carol,
Bad News!! My cobalt died yesterday. It seemed to be doing better. Slime coat looked better and she was starting to swim around the tank again. Breathing and fin seemed better. Then all of a sudden yesterday afternoon, she swam in a loop and laid on the bottom of the tank. Died within a couple minutes. Have you ever seen aything like that??? I was totally shocked. I was feeling good about the improvement so far and then BAAM!.. Dead...Man! I did notice some sudden changes when I examined her out of the tank. She had some irratation around her mouth and white blotches appeared on her sides right before she died.

Oh well...Now I have to decide what to do....Should I move the 3 remaining fish to my q-tank and treat this one really hard?? It is a planted tank so maybe its time to consider going to a bare bottom again.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

I just don't know what your discus died from. Do the three new juveniles appear sick?

Carol :heart1:

[keith_cny]

Other 3 fish appear very healthy. They are eating everything I give them. Swimming, chasing each other and overall appearing very active.

I still wonder if I induced some bacteria from the LFS blackworms I fed one weekend. 2 days after starting to feed them the cobalt got sick and I stopped. But too late. I guess I'll never now. I want to try some CBW but I'm a little gun shy now.

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

Blackworms have to be refrigerated and rinsed daily. If the pet store was lax they could have been bad. Next time order from the link above. That's where I get mine. I rinse them twice a day for the first week and once a day the second week (and then they're all gone, lol)
Carol :heart1: