discus shaking dorsal fin - one side fin clamp also

henrythediscus · Wriggler Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 4

Hey guys, first post and not a good one Sad

We have a 300L tank, tank was cycled before introducing discus. started with 6 small 4month old turqs. schooled well together aside from one that was not the smallest runty one but a middle sized one that hid a lot.
He has been moved into our 100L aquarium with rams etc, still cant get him to eat and its been two days.

a few week ago we purchased a leopard discus, about 9 months old, gorgeous fish, eating well and rules the roost

came home today to find him clamping one side fin, partially clamping his dorsal. still eating a bit but not with usual vigour. every now and then does this weird shaking thing of his dorsal fin, i havent seen him scratching against rocks or driftwood as i watched for it, no obvious redness of gills, patches or wounds. if left alone for a while he almost seems to list to one side but when you go to check on him he rights himself.

very new to discus although have kept other fish before.
hes a little darker than usual. tested water and everything is sitting fine so it doesnt look to be that.
one of our other new discus that came in about the same time is clamping one side fin as well.

what can i do to help him right now? we were told pimafix and melafix so have dosed the tank this afternoon but hes not looking right Sad

boxters · Turquoise Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 51 Location: sydney

It sounds to me like your fish are suffering from gill flukes. All fish have them, but if left they increase to plague proportions and affect the gills, hence the clamping. You need to get some praziquantel tablets from your aquarium store to treat this. Follow the directions on the packet and let me know how you go

Hollowman · San Merah Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 1890 Location: UK

henrythediscus · Wriggler Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 4

yeah have since read up about quarantine and purchased a 2ft 90L tank to quarantine properly if needed.
do i need to split the two that are clamping off? i dont want to stress them out too much by moving them. trying to get quarantine tank cycling at the moment.
when spoke to pet shop they said they'd had the leopard for months so its almost like quarantining him already so there wasnt much point in doing in.
just checked him this morning, he is still doing weird shakey thing with dorsal fin and the other discus is still clamped on one side.

is flukes contagious

BigDaddyAdo

Mr Wild · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:10 am Post subject:

If he has flukes it is through the system now so treat them all in the tank they are in. Flukes can be on the substrate and in filters, you need to treat the lot although they need a live host to survive but eggs can be viable so you need to treat the lot.

They can also be very hard to get rid of in the long term so treat as per instructions the entire group, system, tank.

henrythediscus · Wriggler Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 4

i got some praziquantel tablets from the vets, they said to put one tablet into a 20litre bucket of water and put the three worst fish in, one at a time, for 20 minutes, watching them and removing them if they seem to show signs of stress.
is it easier to treat the whole tank?

boxters · Turquoise Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 51 Location: sydney

dont confuse the shaking dorsal fin shaking with a problem, as they do this when they are pairing up for mating. praziquantel is a good medication, but you need to treat the whole tank. It is no good just treating the fish.

henrythediscus · Wriggler Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 4

lol take it il need to get more tablets tomorrow. 300litre tank? so il need 15 tablets? will it kill plants or anything
the one witgh the shaking dorsal fin keeps it clamped quite a bit last few days now, whence the worry, i was thinking maybe it was a breeding thing but hes 9 months old and someone said it was too young, plus he started clamping his side fin and one of the others did too.
just noticed a Kribensis in with them flicking against the bogwood too Sad

boxters · Turquoise Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 51 Location: sydney

it will not effect your plants. just make sure you disolve tabs in hot water first. Water will go cloudy for a while, and then turn clear again.

Where do you live?

Hollowman · San Merah Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 1890 Location: UK

Mr Wild · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject:

You can drop the water level in your tank while treating to reduce the amount of medication required. Fish probably will not be real hungry through treament, just feed spairingly so as not to foul the water too much. HTH