White spot on new fish- is it bad?

[MidnightFisher]

I would say that I am still pretty new to discus. I have had a few that died, but two came though strong. I have had these for about a little over 4 months, and recently bought two from a local person. One is a solid purple and seems to have a little white spot that is kind of coming out of his body just behind and above one eye. I am not sure what this is, and don't want it to get to my other fish if it is something bad. I didn't notice this when I bought the fish. I have had the new ones for aobut 1 week. The other fish looked like it was on deaths door step, but seems to have come around. The one in question was very active from the get go, and eats very well. I tried to attach a picture, but don't know if it worked.

Any help would be apreciated.

I have been keeping the tank at 6.0 ph, and about 82 degrees.

[ILLUSN]

any chance of a photo, sounds like a sick blue diamond to me

[Hollowman]

Never seen a 'Purple' before, like ILLUSN, I'd say it is sick. What are your water parameters, test for Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and Ph. Also what temperature is your tank at, and what is your water change regime.

These answers will help diagnose your problems. Photos as advised will also help.

H :)

[MidnightFisher]

Can't tell it really looks purple here, color seems to change a lot. Will test the water tomorow.
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1853

[jesx57]

Hmmm. Dark eyes on discus are never good. Usually indicates something is wrong. Is your discus eating? What's its behaviour?

[Hollowman]

It looks pretty ill to me, pinched and stunted. More better quality pics would be better,(if possible) and please post up all test results asap

[MidnightFisher]

The fish is kind of looking like it is taking a turn for the wors. I can't seem to get a real good picture of the fish, but this is one from today. It now seems more like a crator than something growing on the side of the fish. The fish is now hiding in the back more, and not eating as much, but still coming to the front to eat.

This is in a 55 gal tank with a marineland C-360 canister filter.

Temp-82 deg.
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Hardness-150 ppm
Alkalinity-40ppm Low
pH-6.0
Ammonia-<.25mg/l

Water changes were about 5 gal tap water/week. Since I got these two it has been about 3 gal RO every other day.

[Hollowman]

I'm sorry to say that this fish look like it is on it's last legs. The fins look very ragged, the eye is definately large, which means it is badly stunted. The pinched look to the forehead also means it is badly malnurished, and when they are like this they hardly ever pull back. The fact that it is also not eating is not a good sign.
This is not your fault, but the fault of the seller/breeder selling poor quality fish. I hope you never spent much money on it.

To at least give him a better quality of life, you need to get rid of that reading of ammonia, you should never show ammonia in a mature tank, not nitrIte. Big water changes are needed immediatley.
As for treatment, you could try a course of Metro, this might help clean him out internally, but I don't hold out much hope. Raise the temperature to 86 degrees you have it too cold for them right now.

On another point, discus cannot be mixed with existing stock right away. Mixing fish from different sources, even the same, can introduce pathogens/disease to your existing fish and wipe them all out. I would suggest you get a small hospital tank in the future for quarentine new fish.

Sorry it's not good news.

H

[Hollowman]

To at least give him a better quality of life, you need to get rid of that reading of ammonia, you should never show ammonia in a mature tank, nor nitrIte. Big water changes are needed immediatley.

Typo, should read as in red

[MidnightFisher]

I need a better ammonia tester I think. The bottle of test strips are about 3 years old. Not sure if they can get to a point when they are too old, but the color never changed on the strip, but was not the bright yellow, indicating 0. I have turned the temp up and am starting a water change.

The attached picture is of the other fish that came with the one that is not doing so hot. I thought I was going to lose this one, but now it is eating really good, and is starting to pick on the other fish. He seemed to have a white look to his scales, and one eye is still a little cloudy.

I paid $50 for the two of them. I didn't think that was too bad, but if they die...

[Hollowman]

I am sorry my friend, if it was me, I would cull them right now. They are terrible fish, VERY SICK, and I am also sorry to say that you have been ripped off, badly.

Best option, go to the chemist, get some clove oil and put them out of their misery. The clove oil will put them to sleep. !0 drops mixed in tank water in 1 gallon of water. Once aslep, add another 10 drops until their sleep is permanant.
I am not being hard on them, but if it were a dog or cat, it would be the decent thing to do.

:cry:

I would demand your money back, and never use that seller/breeder again.

[MidnightFisher]

Is this somthing that will transfer to the other fish?! Attached are what my other fish look like. The little one always has the vertical dark stripes.
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1854

[Hollowman]

Yes, because you never used a quarentine procedure. The first fish with the central vertical stripe is a Heckle, the stripe should be there. The other is a low quality Turq, which also looks stunted.
Did you read my pm?

H

[MidnightFisher]

Just received it, and have sent you one back with a couple questions.

[MidnightFisher]

Well, the fish didn't make it. It got a lot worse in a short time. The spot traveled down his side over night, and he was stuck to the filter gasping for air. :(

[Hollowman]

Sorry Jeremy,
I think it was on the cards though wasn't it. Concentrate on the other two now, they look healthier, the heckle is a nice one, and the other can have a good life too if you get it right for them. As I said, it's a water thing from now on, get that right and the fish will blossom.

Steve

[MidnightFisher]

I didn't mean for it to sound like both died, just the one with the spot that grew. Attached is a picture of the redish one from this morning. I also now have a liquid testing kit.
Results:
pH: 6.3
ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:7.5 mg/l

Is the Nitrate too high?

[Goerge_of_the_Jungle]

Hi mate,

I don't know if H-man has replied to you in a PM or not - the ones to watch for are ammonia and nitrIte - these must always be at 0.00 (As H-man has already stated)- If you have a planted tank - nitrate isn't that bad at those levels as the plants absorb it for food - but there is only so much plants can eat - i never let my nitrate go above 10ppm in my planted tank - i try to keep it 5.00-10.0 as continuous exposure to Nitrate (at about 20ppm and above) will cause damage to your fish (such as lowering their immune system and opening the door for diseases and infections) - For my discus tank - i do a extra water change when i start reading Nitrate as i dont have any plants in there ( i test with a master test kit every 4- 5 days)

HTH