Young discus with ich?

[halo_demo]

Hi everyone.

I recently purchased some young discus 1-2inches. I added them to a 60gal that has been running for 2 years. I had a couple of tetras and an angelfish already in the tank, and all previous fish have been in for at least 4mos. The young discus appeared stressed when I first brought them home, but seemed to get better. Today I noticed one was very dark and appeared to have a lot of tiny white spots on him.. The others have a couple of spots but seem ok.. No other fish in the tank have these spots.. The spots look like ich to me, but before I ran out and got rid ich I wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do.
Tank info:
Nitrate: 10-15
Nitrite: 0
Hardness(gh): 75-100
Chlorine:0
Alk(kh):120-180
Ph:7.8
Water change: 30-50% daily
Temp:around 88
Light sand on bottom of tank
I do not age my water though.. But the discus in my 125 are doing fine.

I was wanting advice as to how I should go about treating them/the tank.. Please help!

[laborelch]

not an expert, but Ich at 88F doesn't occur very often. Might be bacterial. Can you post pics of the fish? Did you QT the new discus or put them into the established tank immediately (and what was the timeline)?

[halo_demo]

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n142/halo_demo/1805607116_photobucket_135064_.jpg

[halo_demo]

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n142/halo_demo/1805607116_photobucket_135065_.jpg

[halo_demo]

I added them directly to the tank. It has been 5 days. I guess I really shoulda qt them, but I thought they'd be fine since all fish I had were ok..

[Skip]

sorry.. but those fish look really beyond saving.. very stunted fish and skinny.. damage was done before your purchase..

ps.. those are not young fish.. they never grew

[Discus Origins]

Sorry to say but these fish are in pretty bad shape....they already look stunted and very thin. Your nitrates 10-15ppm are too high, especially if you have been doing 35-50% water changes in this 60 gallon tank with just an angelfish and couple of tetras. There is a build up of nitrates somehow over time you might want to find the cause.

As for the ich, it appears to be ich but at 88F that is a rare occurance. Most likely because these discus are in bad shape that their immune system is very weak. Rid Ich and keeping the high temp should resolve the ich, but the bigger issue is going to be how they will recover and if they get on some food fast.

[JenTN]

I got 4 1 inchers from a sponser on here, mine were very healthy when I got them. Heres a pic now, 6-7 weeks later, with lots of food and water changes

[JenTN]

How often are you changing water? I do about 75% daily, my nitrates are btwn 0-5 ppm. From what I understand very young discus are extremely sensitive to nitrates. Good luck with them, I love my babies.

[halo_demo]

I am giving a rough estimate on nitrates, since I am using test strips and they are not very accurate. I think they look worse in the pictures than in real life.. I will treat them and do around a 80% wc daily in the future. I am still hoping they will recover. As far as treating, do you think I should follow the recommended dose, or decrease? I'm gonna use rid ich plus. Is this ok? As far as getting some weight on them, what would you suggest to fatten them up quickest? I feed hikari bloodworms, krill, spirulina brine, ocean nutrition prime reef, and cobalt aquatics pro breeder flakes. As far as the source of the nitrates, could it be buildup in the filter? If so I can buy a new one.

[Discus-Hans]

Not much experience with Ick but this doesn't look like Ick to me???? to big I think.

Before you start treating, get or find somebody with a microscope, scrape one dot off and put it under it. If it's Ick, you will see a "horse shoe" inside it, if it's Ick, but I don't think so,

Hans

[halo_demo]

Thanks Hans. I posted on the local reef club that I needed a microscope, hopefully someone has one. I want these guys to pull through, and will do whatever it takes to get them better. In your opinion, what can I do to help them put on weight?

[halo_demo]

Another question.. This may be stupid, but could I try a salt dip? Would this be a better method than treating the tank since the spots are only on 2 of 4 discus?

[halo_demo]

Ok.. I did asalt dip on all the discus and monitored them overnight. I also did a 75% wc on the tank, added salt and raise the temp to about 90. I added the discus back to the tank and they are all swimming around the tank more. The little black one from the first pic is lighter, and swimming around swell. They had all been hiding before the dip. I even saw them picking at food today. I'm trying to remain optimistic,though the discus from the first pic still has white spots on him. I am still wondering if the salt would be a good solution for the problem long term, or if it is just something I'm doing that is causing undue stress. I don't like using medications, but will if there is no other option. I am waiting for a guy to get back in town and he said I could use his microscope to examine one of the cysts to determine if it isinglass fact ich. Iwill try and post updated pics of the fish soon.