Flukes ?

[angel12]

Blue Powder adult . with 3 others in Tank... Since Day one this particular Discus has often breathed through one Gill.... it seems to happen more often at night then during the day she uses both .... This has been going on and off now for a month ..

she is eating and looks for food constantly on the substrate .. no signs of internal parasites her poop is black and solid....

I at first thought it might be lack of O2 as my tank is planted So I put an Air sponge in and turned the Air up to max so there is a constant bubble stream going to the surface.....

Still after a week or so she showed no signs of Breathing constantly with both Gills... meanwhile all the others breath though both Gills....

So I treated the Tank with Sterazin and completed the Course ... it looked as though this had done the trick ... in that she was breathing as best as I could make out with Both Gills.... the course finished a few days ago ......

Now it looks as if she is back to the Begining again she has one Gill closed and is breathing quite rapidly through the other one .....

What confuses me is its like one minute she is breathing through Both the next through One .... if all the others are fine and the other occupants of the tank are fins why is it that this one is any different....

Ive noticed that when she does open here Gills its is when the lights are on in the Tank ....

Can anyone advise on what maybe the cause ... water perams check out fine .... I dont know if I should leave it as being just one of those things or it is something that needs attention....(I dont have a seperate Tank to put here in) Also most of the meds avail in the USA/Canada are not readily avail here in the UK

:)

[brewmaster15]

Hi Dave,
This doesn't sound like flukes to me...It may be something else that is irritating that fishes gill. What it is, is hard to guess... one might almost think it was neurological since it breaths normal at night.

do you have access to formalin?

-al

[angel12]

Al Thanks for the reply .. :) Yeah I thought it might be particles but my water is clear and the other inhabitants are of the Tank are fine.. as for formalin .. I know this has been posted about before .. but is it just known as formalin or is there another name for it also .. what meds contain Formalin or is it a pure product ....

ask a lot of questions but things are fine in the Tank .. just wanted to make sure she aint got something serious that I can sort out .. I know that you shouldnt med for the sake of it so ive delibratly left of the meds except for the sterazin .. hence me posting again I ddint want to dose anything else unless I was sure it was going to help/reslove the problem

:)

[brewmaster15]

Hi Dave,
The main problem I see here is that I have no idea what is in sterazin, as the manufacturer doesn't list it. :-\ so it very hard to tell you if the med you used was broad enough in its activity to work against say..flukes and protozoans?

Formalin on the other hand when used as a dip should work on almost anything organic..same as Potassium permanganate should work on most.

Formalin is actually 37% formaldehyde. It is used as a preservative, antibacterial agent, fumigant..

My advice would be to try a dip in any of these ..

formalin
Potassium permanganate
Methylene blue
or salt.

all of them have their risks. But since its just this fish, and its a recurring problem... I think it may be neurological or physiological , and none of the above will help. If any do...then you know the cause is parasite or possibly bacteria (doubt it).

hth,
al

[angel12]

Cool Al thanks for the reply Sterazin is a broadspectrum treatment for flukes and parasites it is made here in the Uk by a company called Waterlife ...

ill look out for the stuff you mention .... also ill keep an eye on her and see if she gets worse better ... like I said her poop is black and she is eating maybe she is just funny like that .... Once again thanks for the advice

;D