Is this cause for concern.

[Skitz]

As many of you know I'm only new to discus. Have had my discus since mid-late April. I had 7, but the other day I lost 1, so now down to 6.

They do range in size a bit, but seemed to be all playing nicely. The smaller ones are about 4-5cm and the bigger maybe around 7cm.

The one that I lost a couple of days ago was one of the smaller ones. He was eating and socialising and all that in the morning and I came in to check on them in the arvo and he was almost dead. An hour or so later he was dead.

Did a water change then 20% water change immediatley.

Have tested my water conditions and results are as follows

PH = 6.6
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia =0
Carbonate Hardness = 2

Had been feeding fish a combination of Sera dicus bites and JBL flake and dried blood worm, until was introduced to Beef heart about 2 weeks ago.

2 of my larger discus (out of 3) seem to be hiding away the last couple of days, and are not eating. The smaller ones are still being a pig but the smallest of the lot kinda seems thin.

They all look healthy, clear eyes, no fin problems etc etc, so I'm not really sure if this even a cause for concern or just to keep my eye on them.

[scott bowler]

hi Skitz sorry to hear about your loss ,are you just feeding beef heart ?if so i think maybe you should get other food and feed them that as well.give them a mix of food .dry, frozen and live every now and then .also if they are a little thin maybe think about worming them .i hope things turn around for you soon keep us posted

[Skitz]

Thanks Scott,

Had been feeding fish a combination of Sera dicus bites and JBL flake and dried blood worm, until was introduced to Beef heart about 2 weeks ago. Am now feeding them the variety.

Only 1 of the little guys are a bit skinny, none of the others. He is the smallest one I have, but he still seems to race for the food and downs it more than some of the bigger guys.

What type of worm stuff do you buy for a discus ?

[scott bowler]

hi skitz there are a few that you can use but i use is worm rid but i think the ame has changed to Aqua worm . but it treats tape worm and flukes , it is prazi hope it helps scott

[Merrilyn]

A lot of young fish suffer from a worm infestation.

If they seem to be eating well, but not gaining weight then it may be worth while treating them for tape worms, wih prazi, and for round worm and threadworm, with levamisole.

In this case, I'd use the levamisole first, and then a week or two later use Prazi.

You'll find full instructions on using both of the above medications in this forum.

[Skitz]

Thanks guys & girls,

Is there any other problems I should look for in helping to diagnose if this is a problem or not ?

Also, can these treatments be picked up from any aquarium retailer or is it a vet thing ?

Can this be done to the whole tank, or do I have to quarantine the skinny fish.

Thanks for brining it to my attention, I will certainly look further into it. My main concern however was the bigger fish, my Blue Diamond & Golden. They have gone off their food. They dont seem to be skinny though.

I took some photos earlier but my stupid computer (or is the camera - I don't know) but keeps making the computer not respond. Will charge the camera batteries tonight, and hopefully that will fix the problem.

Keep them ideas coming. Thanks everyone.

[Skitz]

Ok, things seem to be working with the camera and the computer so I'll update those photos for you all.

[Skitz]

And some more...

[Skitz]

And turk....


I went a bit snap happy last night.

Also I noticed on occassions turk fliks the back of his body ??

[ILLUSN]

mate i think goldie and pigion looks a little thin, hard to see diamonte, turk looks ok eye is a bit big, is he eating well?
i believe it never hurts to worm your discus, like merrilyn and scott suggested, i'd go levamisole first and then a week later the prazi cause after treating with prazi you'll have to clean your filter.

[Skitz]

Thanks Illusion. I know Diamonte's pic wasn't that good. He/She wouldn't come out.

Turk eats well.

This worming treatment - where can I get it. Just a LFS or do I have to go to a vet. The only treatment I've had to buy in the past for other fish was white spot stuff.

[Merrilyn]

Levamisole is a pig and poultry wormer. The reason we use it, is because its soluble in water, and therefore ideal for treating fish.

Your local fish shop may have it, a feed and grain store will certainly have it, or you may need to order it from an online store. Don't let them sell you anything else other than Sykes Big L Pig and Poultry wormer. Most of the others have glucose added, and that will cause a massive bacterial bloom in your tank.

No need to move the fish to a hospital tank, you can safely dose in the community tank.

Dose rate is 1ml per seven litres of tank water, and usually one dose is sufficient.

[samir]

2easy.com.au has the levimasole. what is your ph ???

[Skitz]

PH was 6.6 on Sat.

Can I get the stuff from Extremes online store. They live close to me and I could easy pick it up.

[Skitz]

Hey guys & girls,

Managed to get hold of the 2 ingrediants you suggested. We have a Pet Care Warehouse at Taren Point, just down the road from Extreme.

Anyway I managed to get the Levamisole product you mentioned. I just wanted to confirm doses with you all, because obviously it doesn't have a dose for fish !!. It is 8.48g/L Levamisole on my pack (not sure whether my brand is the same as yours - Mine is Aristopet Worm-enda poultry wormer). What is the rule to work out the dose required. Not sure if it has glucose in it (it doesn't say), so whilst I was out bought something for algae too. Levamisole 125ml was $13.95

Prazi was 100mg tabs. In packs of 25 tabs for $11.50. Says 1 tab per 20 litres and after 48hrs from initial treatment change 25% of water & clean filter medium. Repeat after 7 days to prevent reinfestation.

Were the prices OK ?

And someone said to regularly treat them for worms. How often would you do that ? Every 6 months ? Also is there anything else I should be routinely treating them with, or only if the problem arises ?

I just wanted to thank you all heaps for the help you have provided so far. I really appreciate it.

[Skitz]

Ok all,

Just wanted to update you all on what is going on.

After posting again about the levimasole product I ended up buying I found out it had glucose in it, and didn't use it. This is my first time with discus and was very nervous about killing them from the problem they were having so decided to buy "Sterazin" as they quoted it would treat the same worm problems as the Pig & Poultry wormer would do. So I'm up to dose 2. I will buy the Skyes Big L to keep as a on hand and future treatment (if necessary) but I wanted to get something started as quick as I could and I knew that to post it out might take a few days and I wanted to get things started.

Anyway, Goldie did some nice white poos, and now seems to be back socialising with the others and eating like a pig. Diamonte, my BD is still hiding quite a bit, and I haven't seen him physically eating at meal time, but sometimes if I quitely come and watch him I will occassionally see him peck at the groud, so maybe he is getting something to eat. Turk is still eating well, but thin. I'm sure it will take time.

I will continue the treatment with sterazin (it says dose on days 1,3,6,8,10) and to wait 48 hours before using any other treatment. I will then use Prazi, with repeat dose in 7 days.

So things seem to be looking up. I just have to now order Big L to have on hand.

I read here that some people regularly worm their discus. Should this be done routinely ? If so, how often do you do it ? And do you do it to all tropical fish or just discus ? And, if you treat all the first, do you use the same routine, the Levamisole & Prazi ?

Also, just wanted to thank you all for the help you have given. It means a lot.

[scott bowler]

hi skitz i just saw this post again just some thing that see you said that you are useing Sterazin i dnt think it will help with worms .it is mostly used for gill fluke and things like that ,you realy need to get the big L to use for the worms. but dont mix the meds so if you stop useing the sterazin. do a water change and run some activated carbon in you filter for a few days to take out the last of the meds unless you have another tank.then treat with the big L.hope that helps a little

[Skitz]

Scott,

I will still get the Big L.

I read on the Sterazin website, it does state that it also treats the worms that Levamisole said it would treat. It was just something to get the process started whilst I got my hands on the Big L.

[scott bowler]

skitz sorry on the water life web site it says that sterazin treats gill and body fluke ,

[Skitz]

Shit. I swear I read it somewhere. Now where did I read it ???

[Skitz]

Scott, I remember where I found it said that.

QUOTE "STERAZIN is used or the control of gill and body parasites which cause fish to flick when no symptoms are visible to the unaided eye. STERAZIN will also aid the control of internal parasites such as Round Worm, Thread Worm, and Intestinal Worm. In order to destroy the parasites in all stages of their life cycle you will need to use the product on days 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10. STERAZIN may also be used to aid the sterilisation of aquatic plants and is highly biodegradable. "

I found this on ASA (aka Extreme's online store) in regards to information about Sterazin.