Do my Discus have gill fluke or something else?

[enigmatic]

I've notice on my 2 Blue Diamond that as the gill moves in and out, a black, wavy line encased in something clear (mucus?) is moving with the gill. This appears to be present in both Blue Diamond but not in any of the other fish in the tank.

Have tried to get a photo to show this better but will have to try again tonight.

In addition to the black line, the fish will flick occasionally off some of the plants and in some instances, "shiver". As above, 2 other Discus don't show the black line around the gill but they also flick.

Does this mean they have gill fluke or something else?

How do I go about treating this? Should I get Waterlife Sterazin?

I don't have another tank to move the fish to and I have Peppermint Bristlenose and Neon Tetra in the tank. Just concerned how any treatment might affect them.

[sammigold]

Waterlife sterazin is pretty safe with catties... if you have any doubts regarding meds I have called the manufacturers of certain ones and they have always been helpful. Better safe than sorry.

[enigmatic]

OK, a couple of photos but not the best really. Will try and get better later if I can.

It is hard to catch what I am trying to show clearly as this goes in and out of the gill.

Photos are crops from larger images taken at 1600 ISO so a bit noisy and some quality is lost in reducing file size.

[enigmatic]

OK, one more taken with a macro lens to try and get in close.

[enigmatic]

And whilst I was taking photos of the Blue Diamond, I noticed another of my Discus doing long, stringy poo! Is this normal?

[enigmatic]

And now in addition to the stringy poo (which the other yellow Discus also has) both yellow Discus lurk in a corner at the back of the tank when there is food in the tank.

The yellow Discus come out after the feeding has stopped and pick at the driftwood but other than that, I don't see them going for flake, bits, beef heart etc....

Beginning to get concerned that this is something more - Hex, HITH ???

[sammigold]

How are your fish going enigmatic?

Have they improved any?

[enigmatic]

How are your fish going enigmatic?

Have they improved any?

Hi,

Yes, they do seem to have picked up following a course of Sterazin. The yellow Discus are now at at the front of the tank most of the time and will dominate at feeding. Stringy poo has also gone.

Very happy again now and have added some more Discus to the tank today following a trip to Fish Rock.

Cheers,

Chris

[Merrilyn]

Enigmatic, what you're seeing on the blue diamond is just normal gill tisssue. If you look closely at your yellow fish, you will see the same thing, only on yellow fish, it's clear.

Glad to hear they're back to normal. A small amount of flicking is pretty normal with discus It's only when there is an excessive amount of flicking that it becomes a problem.

[sammigold]

Glad to hear they are going well and that you got a new lot!!! Yay!!!