Urgent..Ick and some other symptoms.

[vicky]

My discus have started showing ick and some other worrying symptoms please help..
I have 8 juveniles in my 55G planted tank.

symptoms:

1. They have white spots on their fins and bodies, not a lot but...
one has 3 spots on one lateral fin and 3 on its forehead.
two have a bit more spots on the bodies not on the fins.
2. they flick against leaves of plants
3. two of them are not eating from 3 days and look dark and hide at the corners (the same two showing ick)
4. Breathing seems to be normal
5. i see some web like threads on the leaves (like the ones mentioned in the plague sticky) .

other 5 juveis look fine now.


I've added about 5 heaped tablespoons of cooking salt in the tank and upped the temp to 31C yesterday, and have not fed them since yesterday. did a 25% waterchange day before yesterday.
other parameters as of yesterday are

pH 6.5
ammonia is slightly higher than 0

should i change water today and shoud i add some other medicines
i am trying to geta hospital tank but i'll be getting it not before tomorrow.

please help me.. this is my first time with discus.

[Merrilyn]

So sorry to hear you're having problems Vicki. I know how much you love those little fish.

Don't do a water change just yet. If you can get that hospital tank, then that's going to be ideal. Don't add any more salt to the main tank, cos your plants won't like it at all.

Okay, now here's a plan to follow, and hopefully that will fix your problems.

1. Remove fish from main tank to clean hospital tank, which should be bare except for a pot for the fish to hide behind.

2. Turn the temp up to 32 degrees and add a white spot cure from the aquarium shop. There are lots of good brands, and most of them will turn your water blue.

3. Leave your fish in the hospital tank for 10 days, following the treatment instructions on the bottle. You need a heater and an airstone in there. A filter isn't necessary, because you'll be doing daily water changes.

4. While your fish are in the hospital tank, do a big water change and thorough gravel vac on your community tank. Turn the temp up to 32 but don't add more salt. We want the tank to be vacant of fish for 10 days.

The life cycle of white spot is such that it will die in the main tank without any host fish, that's why we leave it vacant for a week. The increase in temperature will speed up the life cycle of the white spot, and without a host, the little parasites die quickly.

In your clean hospital tank, as the cysts fall from the fish (they normally fall into the gravel, where they mature and burst open, releasing hundreds of free swimming parasites, all just waiting to jump on a fish and so the whole cycle starts again), they will be removed when you scrub the bottom of the tank, and removed with your daily water changes .

That way, we break the life cycle of the parasite, and remove the cyst before it's had time to hatch. The white spot medication in the water will kill off any free swimming cycts that have escaped the cleaning.

Feed your fish normally during this time, and be dilligent with your daily water changes and vacuuming the bottom of the tank.

Your fish should be completely cured within 10 days.

Keep us posted.

[vicky]

thank you so much for all your advice Ladyred.
I'll do exactly as instructed by you. I don't have the hospital tank yet but i'll definitely get it tomorrow morning, can i wait for it or should i transferr the fish to a large clean bucket for the time being.

Thank you again, for this detailed reply.

[marg]

Merrilyn,

What a great article. Very easy to understand, especially for those of us who are unfamiliar with these types of problems and their treatments :D :D .

Is there any chance someone could make this one a Sticky - Name the problem, Symptoms and treatment? It would be a great reference for those of us who are interested in diseases and their treatments. It might also help stop people medicating their Fish uneccessarily - whenever something seems to be wrong a lot of us go into Panic Mode.

I think the best bit of advice I have received (and I got it from you) was to isolate sick Fish in a Hospital tank and try Salt treatment before anything. I don't know how many times it has saved my Fish (and my pocket) from uneccessary medicines.

Hope your Fish get better soon Vicky.,

Regards,

Marg.

[jim from sydney]

Marg

She was not only a fish in her last life she IS A FISH NOW!!!!!!!!!

[Merrilyn]

Cut it out Jim, you're just being cheeky now.

Watch out or I'll smack you with a wet fin ............... ooops I mean hand hehehehe

[marg]

Hey,

You're nearly right Jim - I'd say more like a mermaid :lol: :lol: :lol: .,

Regards,

Marg.

[vicky]

@Ladyred
Got the hospital tank an hour ago, the tank is 2'x2'x15" along with a heater and an airstone. i've filled the tank with water upto 18" and turned on the airstone, temperature set at 31C. I'll transferr the fish in this tank tomorrow. the only ich medicine available here at the LFS was 'malachite green F' it contains the foll. every 100ml :

Malachite green 20mg
Methylene blue 10mg
Zinc Chloride Ph. 3mg

Is this alright? i added about 5ml of this in the present 55G tank, after a 50% water change, this afternoon.The water turned a bit blue as you said and the two fish which were hiding at the back seemed a bit better at around 9 today, they even fed a little bloodworms which i gave. That was a bit of relief.. :) the spots are still there though, still flicking against plants.
i'll be keeping them in the hospital tank from tomorrow for atleast ten days to break the lifecycle of the parasite, with daily water changes.
hope everything goes well....
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.

[marg]

Hi Vicky,

Noticed you were on line.

How are your Fish today? Any signs of improvement?

Regards,

Marg.

[jim from sydney]

Vicky......it will be OK.......just relax about it.....you have not only got good advice, but the best advice....straight from the fish's mouth...if you know what i mean........good luck... :P :P :P ....Jim

[sammigold]

Hope your fish are getting better Vicky...
Ladyred is the fish lifesaver... she helped me save mine too...
cheers,
Sammi

[vicky]

The fishes are definitely showing improvement :), they are swimming around more actively searching for food. the white spots are still there though.

They are definitely getting better day by day, the spots will go away in time as ladyred said.

I can't thank her enough :D