HELP...DISCUS IS IN TROUBLE!!!!

fishkid951

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Jan 7, 2007
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hey all
please if u can reply to this message please do so right away as i need serious help!!!
i hav had a discus for about 2 yrs and hav had no problems with him. until a few weeks ago. he somehow got gill fluke. the water at this time was good and i had not added any other fish into the tank. how could he hav got it??
i treated him 3 times now and each time it would get a little bit better and then the next day turn bad again. i hav done many water tests and most of them were good.
tonight i did another water test and the rusults not so good...
ammonia:0ppm
nitrate:0ppm(the tank is planted and has been running for 18months)
nitrites:0.25ppm(is this bad)
ph:6.4
temp:31
i used worm-rid when treating this and i hav done my w/c(25% a week) and hav been increasing the temp to 32*C. what else hav i got to do to finally get rid of this fluke. i came home today and it was alot worse than it was 1.5hours before.
the fish in the tank are:
15x baby kribensis fry
12xsailfin molly fry
2x boesmani rainbows, 1xbn
1xdiscus
the kribensis fry will be moved out this weekend.
please help me!!!!!
thanx all
fishkid
 
First do massive water changes - 70%. Make sure the water you add back to the tank is the same temperature as the tank. Then add 1 teaspoon salt per 10g's water back in with your clean water. (Non iodized salt).

Second - how do you know this is gill flukes? Usually adult fish don't suffer too much from fluke infestations. Most of the time however gill fluke infestations wipe out baby fish. Are your krib fry fine? If so, I doubt you have gill flukes.

I say to add salt because it will help the fish all deal with the toxicity of nitrites.
I also don't think bosemani should be in with discus - the temps are a bit warm. However, this issue can be dealt with later.

What exactly are the symptoms you are seeing in your discus? And, I wouldn't move anything out of there until I had a idea of what is going on. You might end up spreading the disease/parasite to other tanks...

Cathy
 
Good call Cathy
 
hey thanx for replies
all the other fish re fine and are doin great.
the saymptoms i am experiencing is him flickering, rubbing against things, a clear/white theing commin out of his gills when he breathes and back in when he doesnt(one side alot more than the other), shyness, heavy breathing...i think thats all
please help
is it gill fluke or am i wrong??
fishkid
 
that sounds like it could also be a bacterial infection brought on by stress. discus are a shoaling species that prefere a group to be comfortable usually, though i have heard of highly aggressive loaner discus. they are also extremly snesitive to water conditions, and from what i've read, even that small amount of nitrites could cause issues, compounded with the stress of medication. also, a bacterial infection like flexibactor will respond to increased temps with an increased growth rate.
 
Why don't you pm star-rider, he knows a lot more about what a discus can handle. It isn't a gill fluke - they are to tiny to see with our naked eye. Since the fish has been on anti parasite meds, I'm wondering if it is a fungus or bacteria infection and thats the stringy thing you are seeing. It might also be excess slime coat? In which case a salt bath would get rid of it.

Until you hear from a discus expert, I'd add extra airstones/bubble wand and drop the level of water in the tank to increase the oxygen content in the water. If there is something going on in his gills you can bet he is having trouble breathing.

Cathy
 
Why don't you pm star-rider, he knows a lot more about what a discus can handle. It isn't a gill fluke - they are to tiny to see with our naked eye. Since the fish has been on anti parasite meds, I'm wondering if it is a fungus or bacteria infection and thats the stringy thing you are seeing. It might also be excess slime coat? In which case a salt bath would get rid of it.

Until you hear from a discus expert, I'd add extra airstones/bubble wand and drop the level of water in the tank to increase the oxygen content in the water. If there is something going on in his gills you can bet he is having trouble breathing.

Cathy

Thanx.....What is star riders username?
 
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