OK.....I'm frustrated

[krislewis3]

I'm on my 4th day of treating with quick cure. I have four juvies in a 40 gallon tank. All water perimeters are perfect!!! I started noticing that at least one of the discus began flicking his body against plant leaves or tubings! I suspect flukes!
I've been Treating with 1 drop per gallon, once a day, preceded by a 50%water change. WHY am I Not seeing any improvement? The only symptom is the flicking. Do discus do this for any other reason? I'm soooooooooooooooo upset...PLEASE HELP !!!!!!!

[Skip]

how often and how much do you water change!?
barebottom or substrate!?

flashing is not the only indicator of flukes.. it could be other things involved..

if you want medical advice(fill out questionnaire).. you should post this in the disease section..

or

are you just wanting general information..

[Discus Origins]

Agreed with filling out questionnaire first.

On suspecting flukes, Quick Cure wouldn't really take care of gill flukes anyways. you'll need other meds for that such as Anti-fluke or Prazi.

Most of the time its not flukes and something irritating the gills water-wise. You say all parameters are perfect but we will need all data regarding exact test results of ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and which test kits you used and how old it was .

Then we can help you better :)

[krislewis3]

I water change daily...50%.....I do have a very thin layer of sand with one inch of pea size gravel on top! I'd like to know if the flicking behavior could be normal, or could something else be going on....Ph is 6.5. Ammonia is 0. Nitrites 0. Nitrates 20.....I use tetra easy strips that I bought 4 weeks ago.

[Skip]

fill out the form please..

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

[Discus Origins]

I water change daily...50%.....I do have a very thin layer of sand with one inch of pea size gravel on top! I'd like to know if the flicking behavior could be normal, or could something else be going on....Ph is 6.5. Ammonia is 0. Nitrites 0. Nitrates 20.....I use tetra easy strips that I bought 4 weeks ago.

Nitrates are WAY too high, should be below 5ppm at all times. I would step up WC to 75% daily for a week and see if that resolves the situation. For further advice please fill out complete questionnaire.

[strawberryblonde]

I water change daily...50%.....I do have a very thin layer of sand with one inch of pea size gravel on top! I'd like to know if the flicking behavior could be normal, or could something else be going on....Ph is 6.5. Ammonia is 0. Nitrites 0. Nitrates 20.....I use tetra easy strips that I bought 4 weeks ago.

Once you've filled out the form that Warlock linked to we'll be able to give you better advice. Be sure to get very specific and don't leave anything out.

In the meantime, having nitrates of 20 isn't having perfect water parameters. Discus prefer nitrates at 5ppm or less. They can handle it a bit higher for short periods of time, but if it stays at 20ppm for too long you're going to see some irritation and that flashing you've been talking about.

Discus flash, shiver and twitch whenever their skin feels irritated. That can be caused by flukes, bacterial infections, fungus, etc, but can also be caused by toxic (for them) levels of nitrates, metals and other goodies in the water.

For now I'd up the water changes in order to reduce the nitrates and/or remove the sand and gravel since it's probably hiding a lot of detritus in it.

Oh and don't forget to fill out the disease/sickness form.

[krislewis3]

Sorry.....I made a typo..my nitrates are 0. Nitrites 0 chlorine 0 alkaline is moderate, ph 6.8
I will follow your advise about the form, and to be safe, I'll can the substrate. But tell me, if everything looks good water wise, what would the flicking represent to you....what would you suspect? Should I salt the tank?

[Skip]

Sorry.....I made a typo..my nitrates are 0. Nitrites 0 chlorine 0 alkaline is moderate, ph 6.8
I will follow your advise about the form, and to be safe, I'll can the substrate. But tell me, if everything looks good water wise, what would the flicking represent to you....what would you suspect? Should I salt the tank?

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100920214661/youtubeusers/images/b/b7/Facepalm_animated_gif.gif

[Discus Origins]

Nitrates won't ever be zero in an established tank. So either test kit is old or inaccurate. Try again with new liquid test.

[krislewis3]

O.k.....my husband just got back with new testing supplies.....according to the new test...my nitrates look to be between the 0 and the 20 mark, nitrites 0, ph is still testing 6.8, chlorine 0!.....however...my ammonia appears to be .25 !!!!! Yiikes....after my initial panic I did a 75% water change and it still reads .25, so I tested my smaller tank that has been up for 3 years and that water is also testing .25 for ammonia. Could this new test kit be bad? Can prime falsify the test? Help!!!

[applekrate]

If your not sure how the form works its just a copy, answer, paste in your post. To difficult to guess on the problem without more info.

[random-cichlid]

if u have ammonia your tank is not cycled properly remove the substrate and do a 75 percent water change and yes fill out the illness report for that will help every 1 help u

[Len]

Is the ammonia coming from your source water? If using municipal water, check to see if it's being treated with chloramine. Even though you seem to be using prime, an ammonia test will still show positive. I'm doubtful about your nitrates though. You say between 0 and 20 but that's an extreme range, so what is the actual number?


... and for goodness sakes fill out the questionnaire. Not only will it magically transform the information you already provided into a special language, it will also stop everyone from feeling the need to tell you to fill it out. Seriously 7 out of 14 posts in the thread.

[strawberryblonde]

Oh criminy, YES.... your tank is cycled! Prime gives a false positive for ammonia since it converts it to ammonium. So no worries there.

Ok, so the nitrates can't be zero in your tank. And beyond that, we still need the completed questionnaire in order to help you with your fish. =)

[Skip]

And beyond that, we still need the completed questionnaire in order to help you with your fish. =)

http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Jobs_and_People/Office_and_Businessmen/Bored_man.gif

[TNT77]

Oh criminy, YES.... your tank is cycled! Prime gives a false positive for ammonia since it converts it to ammonium. So no worries there.

Ok, so the nitrates can't be zero in your tank. And beyond that, we still need the completed questionnaire in order to help you with your fish. =)
Here is the other thread with the questionnaire.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?95417-Please-advise...I-m-getting-discouraged&highlight=

[D/I/S/C/U/S]

Stop feeding her advice untill she fills out the sheet, they asked you very kindly acouple time... Just fill it out and stop.trying to dump meds if you dont even know what it is yet.

[Skip]

She did.. Look at post above urs

[krislewis3]

I'm learning!!!!

[Skip]

I'm learning!!!!

we all have to learn from our mistakes.. we all still do :)