fishfingers Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 One of my four remaining discus (160 L tank) has always hidden in the bottom corner of my tank and been quite dark in colour. It was originally one of two I bought who hung out together. The other one had the same problem and died four weeks ago. Nothing physically obvious. I put it down to my tank pH being too high (7.4) and dropped the tank to 6.8 slowly over three days. This one is now pressing itself up against the side of the tank and not looking too happy. Last week a male swordtail hung out with this discus and sat around all sad with fins clamped beside him and died about 4 days later. I've noticed the discus has a very slight raised abrasion on its body. All tank conditions from a chemical perspective seem good and I water change >15% every 3-5 days. My lfs says I probably have gill flukes and has told me to give the discus 1 hour salt baths each day in a bucket of water containing a teaspoon of sea salt. I've also dosed the tank with blue circle white spot cure (for what its worth). Is there anything else I should be doing? Do I have flukes and how do I treat the tank? Thank you for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Hi, Discus are best kept by themselve or with tetras(not neon) that can handle the high temp(28-30) that discus trive on. PH of 7.4 is alright for discus as long as its stable (not fluctuating all the time) Discus need very clean water condition so more regular water changes is required(at least 25%every 2nd day). why do you dose it with blue circle when there is no sign of white spot and the salt bath probably won't help. Better stop going to that lfs for advice. Where do you get the discus from and what is the size . What other fish have you got in the tank with them. Is it a planted tank? Can you post a photo of the tank so we have a better picture of whats wrong. Adding all sorts of medition without actually knowing the cause will make things worst instead of helping. I would do a big waterchange(>50%) to begin with. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfingers Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Thanks Ron, I've got neons with my discus. LFS suggested I have them with the discus. I'll up my water changes. I dosed with blue circle because I noticed a tiny amount of white spot about two weeks ago. It worked well so I thought I'd just give it a go again (i can hear the groans...). I won't say where I got the discus from becasue I don't want anyone to bag a guy I thought was quite knowledgable. It was a separate lfs that suggested the salt baths. The discus are about 7-8cm long. I'll do a big water change now. I put the sick discus in a separate breeding tank inside the main tank. I put it there just in case it got picked on. Should I let it out? The tank is planted but not very heavily. I've got an image but can't upload it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 If it is gill flukes, get some liquid praziquantel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Neon is probably the wrong tetra to be in with discus. Cardinal and rummynoses will be a better choice. If the fish is not rubbing itself against any object it's probably not fluke. Is the fish eating at all and is the fish passing white fluffy poop? I would keep it isolated to prevent it getting pick on and spreading whatever it's carrying. Consult the guy/shop you got the discus from for advise and see what he says. He might have something to treat the discus. Cheers, Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfingers Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Its not actually rubbing itself up against anything, more like just pressing it's left side up against the tank sides. I think it may be a really timid/shy fish. I never see it eat, but have in the past regularly "caught it out" cruising with the other discus. As soon as it sees me it heads back to the same position/posture. I've probably psychologically ruined it for life. I did notice yesterday that it had a couple of very fine ~ 1cm strands hanging off its body near the fins. Seems more active today. I'll have to let it out while we're away on holiday for 3-4 days. It's still quite dark in colour. Praziquantel -sounds like this is liquid gold, and pretty much impossible to get.... I should be able to get some through my work... Hope I can. Otherwise do you know where I can get it from? Thank you for your help. Merry Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 If your discus has gill flukes it will be pumping its gills much faster than normal. If it's not rubbing itself against things and not effectively 'breathing faster than normal' then it probably doesn't have flukes. Discus are quite prone to them and they can come in with other fish or some foods but they're still quite rare. I've been keeping discus for over 10 years and only had a case of flukes once... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 have you checked the feaces? heximita is common among discus. they will get white stringy poops, turn dark, and eat less and less until they waste away. the flagellite is always present in the gut but it takes hold when the fish is stressed or its immune system is down. hexamita can be treated with metrondiazole either by food (most effective method) or via the water if the fish wont eat. what did the strands look like? spider webs? if so that is most likely slime coating. they can over excrete slime coat over alot of things, stress, water quality, certain illnesses like body flukes etc. i would invest in some large aging bins (just large rubbish/storage bins work fine) and age the water to see if that makes a difference. all the bin needs is a powerhead for water movement so the chlorine can dissapate (and during that time the ph will normally change slightly) and a heater if you wish (makes it alot faster). my discus hate my water straight from the tap but after its aged they seem fine with it. it also saves on heaps of water conditioner which can become pretty expensive when your doing frequent large w/c's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Yeah, I'd go with sharn, hex is much more likely than flukes based off the info you've given. If you find it is Hex, here's what to do. Treatment with met: For oral treatment; add 250mg of powdered met to 100g of food. Crush the standard tables into a powder and mix into food like beef-heart or thawed discus tucker. Feed twice daily for six consecutive days. For tank treatment; add 1000mg per 100L of water. Crush the tablets and dissolve in 1L of lukewarm water. Slowly add to the tank by evenly distributing over the entire tank surface. Raise the tank temperature by 3'C. Treat for 3 days followed by at least 30% water change and add activated carbon to remove the remainder of the medication. Return the tank to normal temperature. After five days, repeat the treatment. Make sure there is nor activated carbon or other form of adsorption material in the filter during the two treatment periods of 3 days. Use new activated carbon for the cleanup of the second treatment. Warning: Metronidazole has been successfully used for many years but it can have negative side effects and in rare cases can kill the fish. If any negative side effects are noticed, treatment should be stopped immediately. Met is a prescription drug so you'll need a Vet to get it for you. It's not expensive but you'll need to find a friendly vet who doesn't charge too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 its also known as Flagyl when used in humans. i am unsure if it has any extra additives though so best to check if you get it labelled as Flagyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 the one i have is trichozole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 It is the same med under a different name in nz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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