Fungus? Bacteria?

[BABYJIZAY]

Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started
Received a new shipment of fish 2 days ago. The next morning when I finally turned the light on, one fish had very frayed tail fin, and what looked like a scratch on both sides of its body. I figured it was scraped by my driftwood. The next day, the scratches are much worse, now looking like an infection or fungus. The frays on the fin fell off though, as if already beginning to heal.

2. Symptoms
Besides the wounds or whatever they are, the fish hides but does come out now and then. On the gill there is a little white thing, tried to capture it in one of the pics.


3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
Dosed the tank with pimafix and melafix pro strength as recommended dosage. Only been two days. 75% water change in between dosing.

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish
55 gallon, up for 3 years. Tank only had 3 cories and 2 loaches before adding new shipment of fish, so no quarantine was done.

5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?
Usually 70% water change once a week. But, just got new fish 2 days ago. Had done a 100% water change the morning before they arrived, then another 75% the morning after they were added. Tank is gravel. Don't age my water because NY water is pretty stable. My readings are always the same. I also run a UV sterilizer.



6 Parameters and water source;

before adding the fish all readings were 0, my water is very soft.
- temp __88___

- ph ___6.4__

- ammonia reading _0___

- nitrite reading _0___

- nitrate reading _0___

- well water ____

- municipal water _x___

7. Any new fish/plants added recently
Almost all fish are new and from the same source, a sponsor here on simply discus. New plants added days before fish, but everything is artificial.

Any help or thoughts is appreciated. The first two pics are of the scratches on day 1, and then the other pic are how it looks today. There are alot of bubbles in my tank from the pimafix and melafix.

[kenhappen2u]

what do you mean....before you added fish you readings were zero,

was the tank cycled? how old/new is your tank?


to me it looks like a bacterial thing.

[BABYJIZAY]

Tank is over 3 years old. It is cycled. Readings were 0 as far as nitrates nitrites and ammonia.

[hedut]

is the fish still eating? if yes you should be save. put 86+F and add some salt 1 tblsp/gln.

[Eddie]

is the fish still eating? if yes you should be save. put 86+F and add some salt 1 tblsp/gln.

You could do a bath at that amount but not to the community tank. You plants will die surely and loaches & cories are salt sensitive.

Get a QT tank set-up 30-10 gallons. Get yourself a bucket or container.
As Hendri stated, that would be good for a bath but I would use 2 tbsp per gallon for 20 minutes in the bucket. Also, I would monitor the fish and if it rolls (flips over), take the fish out and put him in the QT tank with fresh water.

Something is going on in your main tank for your fish to get an infection like this in one day. I'd so some good WCs and keep the tank super clean.

I'd keep the infected fish in the QT for a while to make sure the wound heals properly.

Melafix and pimafix are junk for discus.

Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

How did you acclimate your new discus? It sounds like the primary reason for the scratching may have been a sudden change of TDS, but I can't be sure without comparative TDS readings from the supplier and your tank. What are your GH and KH readings? Have you had discus in this tank before? It's likely that you have open wounds that have turned to a bit of bacterial infection.

As Eddie and Hendri have both stated, a QT tank would be better suited to help treat the now infected wounds. I would definately investigate your water situation. When given the correct, comfortable water parameters, discus will not flash on objects in the tank unless there is an external parasite. Irritating water will cause this.

Best wishes!

[BABYJIZAY]

Thank you so much for the replies!! I LOVE this forum.

I did add salt to the tank. I did large water changes each day and kept with the melafix and pimafix. The little wound is almost completely healed. Its really amazing how good it looks now. I assume from the transit the fish was bumped around ad a little weak. I do think it was/is a bacterial infection but the fish is healing fine and is eating well.

The water was very different from the seller and mine. I tested the water in the bag and the ph was 7.6, the water was very hard, and the alkalinity was very high as well. My water ph is between 6.4 and 6.6, my water is very soft, and my alkalinity readings are at the lowest end. I took about an hour acclimating them, by putting them into a bucket with their water and then adding about a 1/4 cup of my own water every 5 minutes. Every now and then I'd take out some of the mixed water.

Anyway the little guy looks like he will be just fine. Thank you again!

[Eddie]

Thank you so much for the replies!! I LOVE this forum.

I did add salt to the tank. I did large water changes each day and kept with the melafix and pimafix. The little wound is almost completely healed. Its really amazing how good it looks now. I assume from the transit the fish was bumped around ad a little weak. I do think it was/is a bacterial infection but the fish is healing fine and is eating well.

The water was very different from the seller and mine. I tested the water in the bag and the ph was 7.6, the water was very hard, and the alkalinity was very high as well. My water ph is between 6.4 and 6.6, my water is very soft, and my alkalinity readings are at the lowest end. I took about an hour acclimating them, by putting them into a bucket with their water and then adding about a 1/4 cup of my own water every 5 minutes. Every now and then I'd take out some of the mixed water.

Anyway the little guy looks like he will be just fine. Thank you again!

;)

[Keasbeynights]

Melafix and pimafix are junk for discus.

Eddie

Sorry to go off topic, but Jack Wattley stated that "a product made from the Melaleuca Tree is useful for treating bacterial infections for discus"

I assumed he was talking about Melafix. Are there any other products with that ingredient?

[Graham]

The beneficial affects of the Fix's are so minimal that they are a waste of $$....good water will help a fish every bit as much as they will....as Eddie stated ...junk...sorry Jack W