Tape worm or Hex or something else?

[zarmi]

Hi all

just took these pictures of my new discus. Not sure what it is..i've had him for 6 days now and haven't seen him eat yet, overall he looks healthy but has been passing white feces. My first thought was hex, but the colour wasn't transparent white but rather full white color and i'm not sure if this is still hex.
I've started treating with prazi for tape worm, today i've done the 48 hour water change and he started passing what you see on the photo, it started about an hour ago and still is passing this long string that appears mostly full white and some bits are transparent. i hope the pictures are good enough for someone to tell me what this exactly is.
is this a tape worm?
Also, can these tape worms be transmitted to humans, any dangers dipping your hand into the tank when you do water changes if there's a fish that has tape worm?
Thanks
zarmi

[pcsb23]

It is not a tapeworm. Looks like it could be spiro or bacterial to me.

[zarmi]

Thanks paul, i guess continuing the prazi treatment won't do much.
what's spiro. The only antibiotic that i have is metro..
should that be my next treatment?

[tonymaccs]

Hi Zarmi,
Spironucleus and Hexamita are both flagellated protozoans thought to be associated with some of the symptoms your discus is displaying.
Access to a good microscope would greatly help in targetting what you need to treat for.
Tony

[zarmi]

yeah i later realised that spiro is spironucleus, i unfortunately don't have a microscope, i'll treat with metro and hope for the best :-s

thanks

[subcooler]

I'm new to discus & although I don't want to hijack someones thread-The pics sent here are exactly what I'm seeing with my 4.5" Brown Discus.
My tank is a 50g. I have (6) discus in it 4.5" is solo large fish all others are about 3".There are also 2 cory cats in tank.It's a bare bottom tank with driftwood & fake plants.My Ph is 7(stable).I have always been getting 0 readings for Ammo,Nitrite & Nitrate.
I have a sponge filter in corner(What's recommended cleaning frequency for sponges?-cleaned after 3 wk.'s & it seemed that I should have done it earlier!)There is also a Fluval 305 running in tank.
I'm doing 33% WC daily with aged tap water(Ph 7).I've been keeping tank temp. @ 84 degrees(constant).
My problems started here on Christmas when I noticed largest fish not really eating(always aggressive eater).I then saw feces that looked just like the pics attached in this thread.I saw fins shuttering(shimmying) starting today.
I've been looking through common treatments here & found recommended Epsom Salt treatment for Bloat/Constipation- which I just started-Hoping that in 4 hr.'s , things are better!
I'll continue to follow those steps(re-dosing with Epsom Salts in 4 hr.'s) & hope for the best!
They also mentioned that if no improvement in 24 Hr.'s-suspect a Bacterial Infection.
What would recommended course of treatment be for Bacterial Infections?
I'm of course stressing over this development & very thankful for the wealth of info on this Forum!
Any additional info will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks-
Rob

[Ardan]

I would up the temp Rob, to around 90F or a bit over, sometimes that will help.

hth
Ardan

[subcooler]

Thanks for the suggestion Arden.
I've raised temp slightly(2degrees) trying to gradually go to 90(Afraid to move temp. too fast, as I have enought going on here already).
I also posted my own thread -and got some input pointing toward hex being the problem(after seeing the pics here).
I guess I'll get the Metro now & be prepared if no improvement seen by tommorrow!
I'm sure I'll be on here through the weekend searching for any advice I can get!
Thanks again!
Rob

[subcooler]

Zarmi-
I was wonding how your fish are doing?
I also wanted to apologize for hijacking your thread-The pics you sent were a carbon copy of my situation!
I got some good advice here, my fish is now eatin again(just waiting to see if any offcolor feces appears!)
I've applied Metro (3)times & will complete recommended treatment (5 days).
I also mixed metro in food-fed twice so far.
I hope things are improving for you!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Rob

[zarmi]

Hi Rob

just saw your hijack now :)
i dont know what fixed it but the fish is fine now, eats seafood mix as well as pellets, feces appear normal. after the initial prazi doze i did use metro in food but i doubt that did the trick since he wasnt eating at all.(at least i didnt see him eat). i did disolve metro in my hospital tank then, 100mg per 20l, daily with 25% water changes for a few days, maybe 3 days, i was also using rock salt every time with a water change. after 2 weeks or so he started eating so beats me what i did, i think he just recovered himself, i'm glad it's over and i didn't lose the fish :). my temp was around 31 degrees during the treatment.

[subcooler]

Zarmi,
I'm glad to hear your fish are doing better!
I'm giving Metro the credit here-but who knows?
The elevated temp.(89) alone may have been responsible for the recovery?
I'm just glad mine are also doing better!
Hope you have a happy/healthy 2008.
Rob

[Ardan]

Glad both of your fish are doing better:):)

Ardan

[subcooler]

Ardan,
Thanks for the concern.
I have to give the credit to the forum , as when I was freaking out-the calm voice of reason helped with diagnosis & advice!
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure are extremely greatful for this forum!
Rob:)