Young discus got sick

[nicefishman]

Hi,
I have a young discus (3'') that I bought from a LSF a month ago. I noticed that yesterday his one gill is shut and the other one is wide open and breath heavily. Is this so called the Gill fluke ? THe fish is still eating well.

Is there any med other than PRAZI that can be used to treat this kind disease ? Any thing you can find in the LSF.

PS I feed them with brine shrimp, blood worm and Colorbits
temp: 84
PH : 7.5

Thanks !

Jerry

[saints27]

Does it seem to be rubbing up against the walls of the tank or heater filter etc?

Jamie

[nicefishman]

No, It does not rubbing up against the walls or anything else in the tank. I got home yesterday and found out both his gill are functional now. ??? Still breath heavy, but never come to top gasp for air. Eat well.

However, I do notice that even though both his gills are functional, yet they seem to open wider that it supposed to. Could it be some bacteria infection ?

Thanks !

[saints27]

Have you checked nitrite , nitrate and ammonia levels?

[nicefishman]

Yes, they look fine. I only have two discus in a 30 gal bare bottom right now and plan to add 2 - 3 more. The fish still eat well. Any input is welcome ! :D

Thanks !

[Carol_Roberts]

One of two young discus you purchased a month ago from LFS is breathing out of one gill.

They are in a 30 gallon bare bottom tank. They are eating well and not scratching.

I'm guessing a water quality problem. You may have lots of disolved waste in your filter and/or water column.

Ammonia and nitrITe are zero?
What is your water change regimen?
Have you looked inside your filter?
Do you have a pre-filter on the intake of your filter to keep feces and food bits out?

Carol :heart1:

[nicefishman]

Hi, Carol,
Here is my answer to your question.

Ammonia and nitrITe are zero? Yes
What is your water change regimen? 10% every other day
Have you looked inside your filter? Yes ???
Do you have a pre-filter on the intake of your filter to keep feces and food bits out? No

One more question: will CopperSafe treat the Gill fluke ?

Thansk !

[saints27]

Id be doing alot more water changes than 10% every other day.
Something closer to at least 50% every day.
When I first started breeding/keeping discus one person from this forum told me there are 2 things you need to breed/keep discus
1. clean water everyday
2.patience

Jamie

[Carol_Roberts]

If they are not scratching I would try this for a week to see if they improved before adding any medication to the tank.

Dump out the contents of the filter. Rinse media in used tank water and set aside. Clean the filter inself in the sink, don't forget the impellor.

Make a prefilter from a fine pore sponge. Cut a sponge into a rectangle big enough to fit over the intake of the filter. Cut an X in the end to slip over the intake. Reassemble, fill with tank water and begin doing daily water changes of 10 gallons everyday.

You can add 2 tablespoons of salt per 10 gallons of tank water now AND 2 tblsp. salt daily with the 10 gallons change water.

Please let us know how they are doing in one week.
Carol :heart1: