Stringy Poop

[sudz]

So I was talking with my fiance, wondering how one of my discus can be perfect show quality specimen, and the other one looks Horrible, Is always showing his bands and is not very colorful at all, (same variety)

And then I FINALLY saw the issue:
White, Stringy "hollow" looking poop.

Whats the best medicine to treat with? He is still eating, just not as hearty as the other ones. I suspect my Melon has caught the bug as well, but my QT tank is only a 5gallon, Not good for 1, Impossible for two discus.

Is there a drug I can treat my planted tank with that won't harm anything/bio filter?

Other fish are just Tetras (cardinal and black neons)

There might be an otocat in there, but I haven't seen him in ages. (they're good hiders sometimes!)

 

[sudz]

Anyone?

 

[HUKIT]

Sorry no one has answered yet,

If the fish is continuing to eat then the best bet would be medicated food, this can be store bought or simply General Cure( metrozoidale and praziquental) soaked pellets/flakes or store bought pellets by Jungle or flakes by Angels Plus.

Medicated Flake Food for Fish

If the fish has stopped eating then the water must be treated directly with Tetras Parasite Guard or API's General Cure(my first choice). I would treat the entire tank and not QT the specific fish. Follow the directions and perform 3-5 rounds of treatment. I don't feed during this time as food will only cause more irritation to the digestive track. Plus leave the overhead lights out as metro is effected by direct light.

 

[sudz]

He's still eating. I was away for the weekend.

Can I treat the whole tank with this? he's been in there for the last 6 months, with no additions to the tank, so other fish are probably infected, just un-noticed.

 

[HUKIT]

I would certainly feed the whole tank, Angels plus food is great or even better is making your own. I started using Repashy gel food which you can add in any medication in the mix, it's the greatest thing for making you own custom foods.

 

[sudz]

Went to Big als, And they had two options for parasites: Medicated food, or this:
PraziPro - 1 fl oz

The guy there strongly recommended the Prazipro over the medicated food. he said his discus would never eat the medicated food.

I've gone and medicated the tank with the correct dosage. (maybe slightly stronger, I have a 75 gallon tank, and put in the correct amount for 75 gallons, but realized after the fact that I have a good 5 gallons of substrate..

Either way, Here's hoping the stringy poop is gone in 3-5 days!

 

[HUKIT]

I would also soak whatever food they are eating in the Praziquental, this will allow the medicated food to get in the digestive track which is where all the issues are.

 

[sudz]

Alarming Update

So Yesterday, I noticed that all the fish were a tad bit lathargic, not eating as agressively (one has always been a passive eater, just picking off the ground casually.

Today, There's still food at the bottom - This has NEVER happened, and as well, my Black neons were at the surface gasping.

I've seen this before, thinking my temp was too high - Nope. it was actually at 84. haven't turned on the furnace yet so it was a bit chilly in the living room. (normally keep the tank at 85-86)

The Local Big als strongly recommended PraziPro, so I dosed it properly. That's the only thing that Changed!

I did the barrage of tests: PH 8.1, Nitrite, Ammonia at 0. Nitrate under 5ppm (but not quite zero)

I did notice a bit of an "oil film" at the top of the tank. I wonder if its a side effect of the drug? My only guess is that they were starved for oxygen. I did a 40% water change, and made sure to siphon off the top layer. I also moved my powerhead a bit higher to cause more surface agitation.

SUPER worrying thing: My one "sick" discus has some white "rot" on his forhead. It looks like... a wet scab. he's also very lathargic.

After the waterchange, the one melon resumed eating, the other aqua one brightened a bit, but the sick one is quite dark. He alternates between nearly black and then colored with dark black bands. His vertical fins are clamped (all the fish haven't been "showing" well since I started the medication)

I did a 40% water change, I'll do another 40% tomorrow. I don't want to do larger because my Tap PH is 8.6 right now!

Any Idea's what could be causing his head rot?

 

[Christopherlh84]

Why do you have your ph so high? Discus like soft water with low ph like 6.0 to 6.5. This could be stressing him not helping with the situation.

 

[sudz]

Its just my tap water. I figured rather than fighting it and having PH swings, a stable PH would be better. the tank seems to settle around 8.2/8.1, but fresh tap water is 8.6

I've had the discus since april and they've been flourishing and growing rapidly. (although the one with internal parasites has been growing slower than the others)

The local store that imports them also kept them in tap water, his was ~7.6ph. I took 4 hours to acclimate them in 4 gallon buckets with their own filtration. it was quite the operation.

 

[Christopherlh84]

Yeah just a thought. You can add driftwood to bring the ph down if your looking to do so. You have great water for African cichlids. Here in sc the water comes out at 7.0 and within a day it's at 6.5.

 

[sudz]

Already have a bit of driftwood in there. I think that's why it settles down to 8.1-8.2ph. I just don't like doing HUGE water changes because the PH jumps .5 very quickly.

Still... any idea why there'd be face rot in a matter of a day? totally shocked me.

 

[sudz]

Well two days and two a 40% and 30% water change (with plenty of stress coat) And he is still holding on. Will feed tomorrow morning when i can watch them to see which ones are eating.