Does this movement look normal? Discus

[stalefish83]

My blue diamond was moving a little erratically this morning. Not spazzing, but making these quick back and forth motions while facing kind of downward.

Here's a video from this morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2bg...ature=youtu.be

In addition to the odd movement I noticed this morning, a couple discus (including the Blue Diamond) occasionally have stringy clear poo. Not always. I also witness some occasional fin flicking and flashing, but very mild (not witnessed in about a week).

To give some background, I re-purposed what was a SA/CA cichlid set-up, which had been running for about a year with no problems, to this discus set-up. Got rid of all my previous fish (Firemouth, Blue Acara, Honduran Red Point and 6 Rainbow cichlids) and got all new fish (Angel Fish first then Senegul Bichir in early May, then my first 3 discus memorial weekend, and the second three a couple weeks ago. Both sets from the Wet Spot in Portland (whom I believe get directly from Discus Hans).

Here's where I think I might've messed up... I didn’t clean the filters or anything in the tank, other than get new substrate and changed 100% of the water before introducing the new fish. Not disinfecting the tank might be the problem, but I also didn't do any quarantine. I let the first couple weeks without adding discus serve as a “QT,” thinking I’d see any issues in the main tank if there were any before I added new fish. My water quality has always been pristine and I've never had issues with sick fish in this particular tank, so I thought I was getting away without an official “quarantine” by observing the Angel and Bichir for a couple weeks before introducing Discus, then being sure to get Discus from the same, reputable, source.

I will test my parameters tonight, but as of the last time I tested (6/17) my pH was 7.2 (has not fluctuated in all the tests I've done so far) Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10. Tank stays at 84F

The tank is 48" by 18", 75 gallons with 3 large canister filters. Fully cycled. I change 20 gallons of water every day straight from the tap. pH difference from tap to tank is .2. Discus are 3 to 4" juvies.

In addition to the above inquiry about my Blue Diamonds movement, I have a question about the white stringy poo. My worry is hexamita. If that's the case, is Metronidazole the best treatment? If the fish has a parasite, would the feces always look white and stringy, or does it sometimes look normal (as mine does)? I've also read that it's a good idea to treat for worms at the same time as treating for parasites (precautionary, perhaps?) Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[ryansmith83]

It appears to have some sort of swimbladder issue that's causing it to have difficulty swimming/stabilizing. It also looks like it's fighting to stay down, which is common in a swimbladder issue which would cause the fish to swim head down. Swim bladder issues can be caused from everything to poor water, to bacterial infection, to physical injury.

Sometimes discus bloat and show similar symptoms. This can sometimes be remedied with epsom salt at a dose of 1 to 2 tablespoons per 10 gallons. Usually if it's not gone in 1 - 2 days, it's not bloat. Blue diamonds seem to be more prone to this. It's been noted for years that blue diamonds have larger than normal feces, and this may also be why they're susceptible to bloat. It's some weird genetic predisposition of that particular strain.

The other discus in the tank don't seem to be behaving abnormally. The cobalt in the background seems perky and active. Even the blue diamond was attempting to eat despite his condition. Just keep up your water changes and things should be fine as long as the fish eat and don't show symptoms of problems (clamped fins, breathing out of a single gill, hiding/facing the back of the tank, darkening color, producing excess slime coat, etc.).

Metro is the best treatment for hexamita. If the fish show signs of hex (thin bodies, white stringy feces, loss of appetite) it's best to put them in a bare-bottom tank and treat them with pure metro powder @ 1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons. Do a 50% water change daily, siphoning the bottom well, and then re-dose the full dose @ 1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons. Run this treatment for at least 7 days. You can also raise the heat. Some say it helps, some don't think it's necessary for the treatment, but it will speed up their metabolism and encourage them to eat during treatment. Usually after the 7 day treatment I leave the heat elevated for another few days to ensure the fish are eating well and acting normal.

If the fish are eating well and you only see the white, stringy feces occasionally, they probably don't need treatment for hex. Sometimes after feeding bloodworms mine pass the clear casings and it looks odd. I've seen them pass tapeworm segments before, too.

No offense to the Wet Spot, I've bought a lot of fish from them, but I don't know how carefully they quarantine their discus. It's possible they were carrying something when you got them. Also, just because the angels and the discus came from the same source doesn't mean they were all acclimated and quarantined together. Chances are the discus came from Stendker/Hans and the angels are from some totally unrelated source. So technically they should have been QT'd separately.

Stress will also bring on things like hex. I don't usually introduce new discus into an established tank -- best to nuke the tank with bleach/PP before getting new ones. They're more susceptible to issues when they're stressed from being shipped/moved. Having said that, it doesn't mean you can't. A lot of people do it and never have issues. But I've lost several hundred dollars in discus before thanks to improper quarantine so I learned the hard way not to do that anymore!

Good luck.

 

[stalefish83]

Thank you, Ryan!

I came home from work last night and he appears to be doing much better!

Here he is:

I wish the camera could capture how brilliantly blue this guy is. Seems whenever i turn the camera off he starts glowing!

I got some foam I was going to use as the prefilter for my intakes, but turns out its not gonna work... ill use it to replace some old foam when i clean the canisters tomorrow, and ill get some foam that'll work to cover the intakes. I did pick up some better plumbing for one of the filter's intake and output. Just need one more set and ill have 3 of a kind

I'm going to hold off on any treatments for now since they are all very active and eat like crazy. None of them look too skinny and they poo normal most of the time.