Help Please....Dumb Fish Owner Alert...

[Lichan]

Hi there,
Yesterday I did something flamin stupid. Something that I said I would never do. I introduced a couple of very beautiful Super Reds into my tank without quarantine first. I know I know.....It doesnt need to be said...DUMB...
I am not even sure if there is a problem. Hopefully someone can offer some suggestion with their discus keeping wisdom...
This morning I noticed one of the SR's twitching (kinda) and just rubbing his mouth area on some driftwood....kinda like it was itching ?? With the naked eye the fish look great...not off colour, swimming around... etc etc.. water params are normal...Just a bit worried - and feeling a little guilty ???!!! I will watch and see how things go but in the case things get worse - what do I do ??

[Benny]

Hey mate its fairly normal for a fish to be itchy,
however its not normal for a fish to repetitively be flicking on objects...

You could be looking at a case of gill flukes,. which is treated with praziquantal, contained in the product "aquamaster fluke and tapeworm tablets"

[Ben]

Hi Lichan,

Don’t worry mate, but next time make sure you do quarantine any new fish!

It sounds like to me this could be flukes; because the SR's have been transported and a little stressed it has aggravated the gill flukes which are making the new fish some what uncomfortable.

Keep us posted on how the new and old fish go over the next few days. In the meantime keep up daily water changes, %20 is good.

Is the tank a planted or bare bottom tank?
As if this gets out of control we might have to treat with meds.........but let’s just wait.....

Hope this helps,
Ben

[Lichan]

Its a 4' tank - all I have in it is a largish piece of driftwood and maybe an inch of substrate - easy to clean and no plants to worry about, the Discus seem to love it to since I removed the plants and started to aerate the tank more.

[tank]

guys why do we think these fish are ill
could it be that its displaying a simple spawning pattern ?

[Merrilyn]

I think this is definately a wait and see job here.

You may be lucky, and have no problems at all.

Just observe the fish for any unusual behaviour patterns. If you're worried, post the information here and one of the more experienced members will be able to advise you if the behaviour is normal or not.

Good luck.