Metronidazole + BW

[Jung]

Purchased my first discus about 2 weeks ago, 5 total. 4 appear healthy and are eating well, however one showed no interest in eating and had the white feces. Moved it to a 10gal hospital tank set at 94F and did the first treatment with 400mg of Seachem Metronidazole about an hour ago. Is this correct?

Since it has not eaten in the 2 weeks that I got it, I was thinking of trying the Black worms soaked in Metronidazole. One of the LFS carries live blackworms, and I was thinking of trying to feed the sick discus tommorrow. Would it be too soon to attempt a feeding? How much Metronidazole per ml of tank water do you soak the blackworms and for how long?

Never fed live blackworms before, can they be kept in the fridge for later feedings? If not, would it be ok to feed the Metronidazole soaked blackworms to the healthy discus and other fish (altums?). Thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

I would do a three day treatment dosing 400 mg 2 or 3 times per day at the 94F temp. You may feed a few black worms - - see if the discus eats any (make sure they are very clean, rinse them everyday, sprinkle a bit of metro on them prior to feeding if you want) Keep temp elevated for a week after treatment ends.

[ShinShin]

If you have never fed live blackworms before, don't start now. It is not worth the risk you take. Soon, you'll be treating your fish for all sorts of other ailments. There are many better options available to feed your fish. They are NOT necessary for raising quality discus.

[Howie_W]

Hi Jung,

Sorry to hear about your fish. I agree with Mat; if you haven't fed blackworms to this fish previously, now would not be a good time. While medicating I usually feed with a clean food such as tetra bits...feed sparingly and remove any and all eaten food.

92-94F is an okay temp. range to work with...at these temps it's important to elevate oxyen levels as mush as possible for the fish. If your fish hasn't eaten in that many days you can increase the dosage to 500 mg and apply directly to tank water. Keep in mind that the medication loses it's effectiveness after a short period of time. Replace the dosage at 8 hour intervals combined with regular water changes. I would keep treatment going for 4 to 5 full days.

As Carol mentioned, I would keep the temp up for a full two weeks...at the end of this period I would slowly lower the temp. down to the 84F-86F range.


Howie