HELP! I have a sick Discus...

[marl_nyc]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE

Problem
1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started

I have 1 Pigeon Blood Pigeon that seems to be constipated/bloated. Has a huge feces of white and red origin. It literally looks like his insides are coming out.


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)
His color is fine, just tends to hide most of the time and as far as I can tell has not been eating. He has white pea sized poop coming out with like red pieces. It looks like his insides are coming out. The eyes are fine and he is still very lively attacks all the other fish when its feeding time.


3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
5 discus in a 55 g planted tank and i rasied the temp to 90 from 86. Have only added 3 tsp of epsom salt after my weekly water change. Have observed him pooping 3 times after that with the same kind of poop.
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish
55 g planted tank, a year old
5 discus, 4 panda cories, 1 boivina ram, 3 ottos
5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?
once a week of water change in conjuction with EI regime for the plants. NYC tap water but I add Prime after every 80% weekly WC.
6 Parameters and water source;
- temp _90F____
- ph ___6.2__
- ammonia reading _0___
- nitrite reading __0.1__
- nitrate reading _20ppm___
- well water _n/a___
- municipal water _xx___
Tests are done before weekly 80% water change
7. Any new fish/plants added recently
none
Any help in treating my sick fish will be greatly appreciated....

 

[Cerianthus]

Wow!. If not released but on the body, wouldve said tumor or lympho.

Are you sure it is excreting this mass as POO?

I am also from Queens and never had problem as such on Discus

Is it possible to see more clear pic of this mass?

Hope this is nothing serious. As color seems pretty vibrant and if eating well, would not do any massive water changes or other sudden changes. Sometimes such massive/sudden changes can cause more harm than good, not just this one but other healthy tankmates So Just keep up with routine maintenance for now until more conclusive answers are obtained.

Any reasons for such massive water changes at one time?

 

[marl_nyc]

Hi! I know but it seems like its poo because it was coming out of its anus and its the 3rd time i have seen it again. I do 50-80% Wc a week because I also follow the EI method of ferts wherein I have to reset the water column. this is the first time I have seen it happen to any of my discus. Now that you have mentioned it starts to look like a tumor... will try to get clearer pics. Only thing wrong with him that I have noticed so far is that he is not eating and tends to hide from sight during feeding time. Should start getting my hospital tank ready to quarantine him? I really want to know what it is thats on him and if possible start treating him for whatever it is.

 

[Cerianthus]

I would like to know if this sac/nodule come off. Should be able to spot it if on the gravel.

Meanwhile, research Capillaria worms, Oxyruida. also Camallanus worm (doubt it).

 

[pinkertd]

Marl it looks like a prolapse to me. Are you sure when you've seen this that it has actually dropped off like poop does? I would tend to think the fish is pushing insides out in an effort to poop, you're seeing the prolapse, then it does go back up inside the fish, only to pop out again. If it is a prolapse, there's nothing you can do for it.

 

[marl_nyc]

Hiya Deb! Nope it has not really dropped. I've seen it come and go 3x from the past week. Been reading up on "rectal prolapse" it it really looks like it is. Folks on Simply discus say the same thing. Looks like I will just have to keep up with WC and hope he does not get any infection. Hopefuly it should go back in by itself. It was also mentioned that I starve him out for a week in the off chance the prolapse goes back in. oh well here goes nothing.

 

[pinkertd]

Good luck Marl! Keep us updated on what's going on.

 

[acevudoo]

Buzzkill... I pray for you both!

 

[marl_nyc]

I've been doing some research and asking around on Simply Discus as well and apparently there is nothing you can do but wait. It seems that in the long run to prevent unecessary suffering and protecting the other fish I might be forced to cull him. I don't know what to do now this is hard. Will give him a week for observation then we will see what happens...

 

[kyryah]

I was just going to suggest fasting for a minimum of 7 days. A lot of times prolapses will heal over time and you will never have another problem, but in order for that to happen you have to avoid permanent injury to the soft tissues.

So, first things first would be to get him out of the main tank if you have not already done so and into a barebottom QT tank, with something for him to hide behind and a piece of black paper or cloth under the tank to block some of the reflectiveness. Discus do not do well with fasting. You need to get some sort of nutrition in the water for him to stay strong enough to fight infection. I recommend using either liquid bird vitamins or Gerber Poly Vi Sol for infants. Another route is to use Maracyn Plus, which is not only an antibiotic but contains vitamins also. It is up to you if you want to go the vitamin route. Keep that water PRISTINE!!! Water changes are your best friend!

Make sure to stick to the fast routine of 7 days. Afterwards you want to reintroduce foods slowly, starting off with small amounts of soft foods. Bloodworms are excellent. Keep all sand, gravel, or other things that the fish could possibly ingest out of his tank. Keeping the light low and the temp steady will help to reduce stress.

Then it is just a waiting game. You can slowly increase feeding amounts, and slowly begin to add more foods to his diet. If you are lucky, the prolapse will not reoccur.

Kristina