Wild discus - cloudy eye or popeye & one darker discus

[Jens]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started
I did receive 5 wild blue discus (4" size) last Saturday. One was showing
a cloudy eye from the beginning. One discus started to turn dark 3 days ago.
I'm a first time discus keeper but have planted tanks for 8 years. I'm a little anguish with this guys and really would like to ensure survival. Feeding live black worms. I wanted to start de-worming next week.

2. Symptoms
cloudy eye -> cloudiness did started to get better but the eye is looking bulkier since the beginning.
picture to show bulky eye
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u182/jensrohloff/IMG_2750.jpg

darker discus -> was looking good in the beginning, but started to turn dark 3 days ago and tries to stay separate from the rest. He will turn lighter a little if any of the other join him. Stays more at the top. He clamps his fins most of the time. But still swimming around
picture of dark discus
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u182/jensrohloff/IMG_2753.jpg

group shoot (darker in front, eye issue on the left)
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u182/jensrohloff/IMG_2754.jpg



3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
salt -> 2tps/10Gal for the last 4 days


I did added 0.6 mg fenbendazole 2 days directly to the water before the discus turned dark. Later I noticed the big no-no on the board and added carbon to a HOB. I did use .1g/10Gal in my shrimp tanks before I know that it was save for all the shrimps and snails in that amount.

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish
~80Gal QT with sponge filters, 5 wild 4"


5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?
25% change daily, BB, aged water 20% Tap, 80% RO (TDS 5)


6 Parameters and water source;

- temp __82___

- ph ___5.5 - 6.0 __

- ammonia reading __.25 or less__

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading __0__

- well water __no__

- municipal water __20% tap and 80% RO__

- kH 6 (without salt) 9kH (with salt)

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

no


--------------------------

I'm looking for advise if I should put them on any treatment or still wait it out.

[Jennie]

you shouldn't be reading any ammonia...none of the fishes look well..may need to bump up the temp a couple degrees(unless cloudy eye from bacterial infection) and wc more often..start by doing larger wc daily

[Eddie]

I actually had this happen once when I added fenbendazole directly to the water, it is not a good method of treatment for discus. Its a lot safer when added to food. So far nothing looks too alarming, I'd probably just keep up the salt and make sure the tank remains clean, wiped down. As a precaution, I would order some Kanamycin just in case.

The ammonia is fine, your PH is low and its actually ammonium that you are reading so its not a problem.


Eddie

[Jens]

Thanks, greatly appreciate the advise! I did order Kanamycin on Friday already as a precaution. I'll give them a couple more days.

[Eddie]

Thanks, greatly appreciate the advise! I did order Kanamycin on Friday already as a precaution. I'll give them a couple more days.


Thats what I'm talking about! Way to be prepared.

The one eye may be swollen a bit from damage, hence the cloudy eye. Eyes take a long time to mend. Now if the eye starts bulging out, it may require Kana treatment. So far the fish look fine, maybe the darkened one reacted poorly to the Fenben in the water. There are lots of stories from reactions with fenben being added to the water, even my own. :o

Hope they start cheering up in the coming days.

Eddie

[Jhhnn]

Lots of fresh water for now, and watch their feces. If they start to exhibit stringy white poop, it's probably hexamita or worms... turning dark is often a prelude to that.

Hopefully, the one with the eye problem will recover on its own. If it really starts to bulge out, the likely cause would be bacterial infection. Popeye is fatal more often than not, sad to say, and extremely difficult to cure.