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mattgoanna
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 09:40 AM
Just wanted to share this story for others who may have similar problems.

I got a batch of small fish that looked ok in the shop. Only half of them started eating when I got them home and within days one had started to hide a lot. Over a few weeks it became apparent that they most likely had hex. Stringy poo, not eating and in one case pimples on the head. I tried everything to treat them, including using metro and other discus worm treatments, but no improvement. Having a much larger collection to consider, I had come to the point where I decided it would be better to kill them to ensure I did not bring this into my collection. I had 7 discus, one bristle nose, one Angelfish and 8 Rummy Nose tetras in this tank.

So, out of options, I decided to try heat treatment as a last resort. I placed x2 300 watt heaters in the tank set to 34 degrees C. I also increased the oxygen to the tank and did a 25% water change every day. Within 24 hrs of starting the tank was 37 degrees C.

All discus and the angelfish become incredibly active and would not stop moving. Some started eating ok, while others were constantly begging for food, but then not eating or spitting it out. By day seven all fish were eating and I reduced the temperature to 31 degrees C.

I was always suspicious of the old heat treatment method, but I am convinced this killed the hex and most likely anything else they had. The growth on these fish is now excellent.

I suspect that the extra heat stimulates the immune system of the fish, places a lot of stress on the parasites and ultimately let's the discus win out.

I would be careful taking your fish to that temperature, but if you are out of options, then this one may be something to try. Unfortunately, the Rummy Nose and catfish died.

jimstreet
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 09:48 AM
Seems to be a lot of people buying fish with diseases at the moment. I wonder if it is to do with the breeder/importer or LFS.

Mavzta
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 10:55 AM
Yeh I think there's a lot of greedy money makers out there and don't care what they're selling.
Just want to move them on quickly.
Good job saving yours matt.

ILLUSN
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 12:20 AM
all discus have some form of disease as part of their natural flora of the digestive system, when the fish is under stress these take hold and make the fish sick.
The overuse of antibiotics in the farms and holding middle men of the international fish industry has made this worse, old and common drugs are no longer effective.

Fish being exothermic rely on the environment for metabolic and enzymatic activity, heating the tank is like giving the fish a fever, it makes the metabolism faster and increases the enzymatic function both of these boost cellular functionality which assist in the immune response. Also the heat makes it harder for the microbes to breed giving the fish more of a chance.

For treating hex I'd often bump the temp up to 32-34C and it did help. 37 is a little extreme, I've had fish go all crazy darting and bashing themselves to death against the tank at 34-35C.

Awesome it worked for you and good to know the science behind the mechanism.

please keep these fish in isolation for another month at a minimum just to be sure you don't get a relapse.

mattgoanna
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 10:03 AM
Thanks. I Will be keeping them isolated for some time.

sayid
Sun Feb 14, 2016, 11:56 PM
hi matt;
i am going through the same problem with hex and discus not eating but can't get the temperature above 30 c because of the thermostat in the heater ,how did you get 37 c when most heaters got the maximum range of up to 34 c ,what is the make of your heater. thanks

mattgoanna
Sat Feb 20, 2016, 09:00 AM
sorry for the late response. Jager 300 watt in a 3 foot tank. Hope all is going well. Azoo also make a product that you can get at New Life Aquarium that will kill Hex. It is their endo parasite liquid.

sayid
Sun Feb 21, 2016, 09:46 AM
hi matt ;
Thanks for the reply ,i went and bought a jager heater and fiddled with the calibration to get the maximum temperature,hope to get good results .