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My Discus is Sick


discus_boy

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I noticed that my female was scratching against the wall three days ago and i quickly treated her with some dissolved drontal to get rid of what i think is worms. I have added salt to the tank. but she is now worse I have done several water changes in the last 24 hours. she is now swimming on an up ward angle and leaning against the glass her lips are white i am not sure if it is fungus or just mucus as she is making a lot of mucus on her skin if there is any other advice i would be glad.

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Probably a severe fluke infection. Flukes will be killed by the drontal as that has praziquantel in it (a great fluke killer), but like Sharn was getting at it has other undesirables so can make them sick from that too. I use dissolved potassium permanganate

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Seems there are more than yourself with gill fluke problems.

First Drontal is an internal medicine and it will treat worms. In the water however,it is more likely to irritate your fish, hence them producing more mucus and be detremental to their health. Drontal must be treated internally to kill worms, they live in the guts of the fish!

Gill flukes are like fleas on dogs, so long as they are not severe the fish can live with them. Hence the need for regular water changes as this stops an infestation of gill fluke. It does not however get rid of them. In fact i doubt that there is anything that can. Parazitoqiol or whatever it is, is now illegal due to the 'P' manufacturers. This will also kill your Discus, unless you know precisely what you are doing. believe me, I have lost many fish due to bad advise.

I now use Formalin, It is cheap and very affective on gill fluke as well as an antibacterial. Once again be very careful with the dosage. I use Blue Circle' Formalin at the rate of 3 drops per litre. No more, no less. Oxygenate the water as formalin binds with oxyegen. The filter will eliminate the formalin over a 10 day period.

Do a water change before and after treatment although this is less important than the treatment itself.

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And your plants aren't adversely affected?

(that would be great news)

It shouldn't be too bad on plants because the formaldehyde (gas) component should begin to dissipate fairly quickly at normal aquarium temperatures, but at the same time it will drastically reduce oxygen content, which is why its generally recommended (and more effective) to use dips - you can use concentrations that would otherwise not be sustainable - plus you don't have to use so much.

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