Help! 2 large gray splotches have appeared on my Discus!

[Dean AU]

I went on a weekend trip, left my family to look after the discus (in a community tank) and when I came home it looked like this!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1574931/sick%20discus%20flash.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1574931/sick%20discus%20without%20flash.JPG

You can't tell from the photo, but the top-quarter of his fin on that side is missing, and there's small (~1mm) circular blothes on his face I've never noticed before either.

It's a community tank, He's the only discus I've had him about 6 weeks, 30c, ~6.5PH.

Any advice would be real helpful!
Thanks,
Dean.

[Eddie]

Please fill out the information in as much detail as possible.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?38545-Disease-Questionnaire-please-complete

[Ryan]

What other fish are in the tank? It looks like something scraped/burnt it. Is it possible that it got wedged behind a heater or stuck to a filter intake? Are there any fish that could suck on the side of the discus, like plecos or Chinese algae eaters?

[dbfzurowski]

no expert here on fish disease but tear shaped scrapes like that, to me looks like the fish darted into something.

[Dean AU]

Thank you all for your replies.


1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started
See original post


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)

It's usually dark, hiding in a corner, and not moving. Unless I go and sit with it, then it cheers up and moves around a little.

Poop is white, sometimes black. only visible some of the time. (not always there)

Eating is a big one -- I never see him eat :( The other fish get to it first! The last 2 days however there has been a change in this behavior, I See him actively trying to get to the food, (but still rarely see him get to any).

He headstands / tailstands sometimes but not for prolonged periods of time.

On the same side as the marks, his fin is missing the top-part.




3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
The guy at the store said it was hole-in-the-head disease, and if I fed him a garden worm he would heal. I couldn't get him to eat the worm, eventually the pakistani loach got to it.
He also said to try sprinkling sea salt on him, so I've done that.




Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish
I setup the tank fresh 3 months ago, it's 140l.
Other fish:
18 neon tetras
2 rummynose
1 glass catfish
2 mollie (cookies n cream coloured)
4 male guppies
1 pakistani loach
2 red ones with black tails (mollie?)
1 red one with a white tail

3 weeks ago I noticed white spots appearing on the glass catfish, The guy at the store said nitrate was up, so I put a bag of purigen in the filter, and did 50% daily water changes for a week. the number of spots on the glass catfish has stopped increasing.

I've never seen any of the other fish interact with the discus. (biting, chasing, etc).


5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?
30% weekly water change. Tank's been running 3 months. fluro-colored pebbles line the bottom. (don't know what aging water is..)


6 Parameters and water source;

- temp 30 degrees celcius

- ph 6.5

- ammonia reading: 0

- nitrite reading 0

- nitrate reading 0

- well water ?

- municipal water ?



7. Any new fish/plants added recently
no


It looks like something scraped/burnt it. Is it possible that it got wedged behind a heater or stuck to a filter intake?
Yes that's possible the heater and filter intake are both in corners of the tank.

Are there any fish that could suck on the side of the discus, like plecos or Chinese algae eaters?
No. I used to have a sucking catfish but it mysteriously died a few weeks ago. I never saw it sucking on the discus though.

[Eddie]

3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
The guy at the store said it was hole-in-the-head disease, and if I fed him a garden worm he would heal. I couldn't get him to eat the worm, eventually the pakistani loach got to it. He also said to try sprinkling sea salt on him, so I've done that.

This is why it is NEVER a good idea to listen to ANYONE from any LFS. Feeding your fish a worm from the garden is absolutely absurd, it won't fix HITH. Also, your fish doesn't have HITH, those are scrapes.

Sprinkling sea salt on the fish is another wild one, maybe squeeze a little lemon and coat that sucker with butter. LOL

STAY AWAY FROM THE LFS!!!

Just keep your tank/water clean.

[Dean AU]

Thanks Eddie.
I have noticed that sometimes if another fish gets near the discus (usually during the feeding frenzy) he will dart away very quickly.
I've removed all the decorations from the tank for the time being... but hopefully that's not the permanent solution.

My first reaction when I saw the shapes of the splotches was that it might be a burn from the heater... how easily does a heater burn a discus? if he just darts past it would he get burned? or would he actually have to get stuck behind it?

[Dean AU]

Also, what does LFS stand for?

[Eddie]

Thanks Eddie.
I have noticed that sometimes if another fish gets near the discus (usually during the feeding frenzy) he will dart away very quickly.
I've removed all the decorations from the tank for the time being... but hopefully that's not the permanent solution.

My first reaction when I saw the shapes of the splotches was that it might be a burn from the heater... how easily does a heater burn a discus? if he just darts past it would he get burned? or would he actually have to get stuck behind it?

Its not typical for a fish to get burned by a heater. It could happen but it looks more like a scrape, from being spooked or darting wildly. Sounds like the fish is a bit of a loose canon from your above description.

LFS - Local Fish Store