2013-12-29 flubendazole

1/2 blind coral fish has lost weight and his fins are fraying.  He cannot get food effectively when competing with the other fish.  This is made worse by his behavioral reluctance to go to the bottom to get food.  I decided to move him to the QT to fatten him up.  There he can eat without competition.

One of the blue leopards is losing weight (wasting) and yet is still trying to eat.  He spits a lot of it back out.  This is consistent with the parasite issues I have had before.  Will try the following treatment but using flubendazole instead of levamasole.  Flubendazole is much better tolerated by the discus.  Added 90% of 1.5 tsp of 20% flubendazole to the big tank (i.e., 1/3 tsp/20 gallons).  Will need to repeat next week.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?77832-Capillaria-The-Cure&highl

addendum.  Flubendazole is effective against Capillaria:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22024017

2013-12-16

cleaned filter last week.

blue discus has white lesion on area immediately anterior to tail, similar to prior lesions on Golden Melon that resolved with Baytril.  1 lesion on Golden Melon resolved without treatment approximately 8 weeks ago.

Will add salt and follow up.  It is possible this is an injury rather than pathogen.

2013-9-1 Thinning plus Levamisole

Major thinning of plants yesterday plus added Levamisole.  Usual dosin is q 2-3 weekds at temp 75.  BC temp is 82, parasites life cycle speeds up but dot sure if it is this much.. 

Thinned glosso dramatically and removed it fro the dwarf hair grass.  Crypts and java grow well now that NPO4 added.   Adding double excel to keep down hair algae.

I notice the discus bc very lethargic  on the levamisole.  Did not read that anywhere but have noticed it the 3 times I've used it.  They will not eat today.  It was traumatizing for them when I cleaned the tank so thoroughly yesterday.
Need to do another water change Mon or Tues night.  I think the Golden Melon still has worms.  He's the one I got the last picture from.

2013-8-29 accidental formalin (Rid-Ich) overdose

Formalin OD

Accidentally added 9 TBSP to 90 gallon tank instead of 9 TSP!

 

See the ORP (redline) crash.  Tank became hypoxic.  Fish at surface gasping for air.  Did 50% water change ASAP and added airlines ASAP.  I think all the discus were saved.  Lost one rummy nose tetra.

 



2013-8-15 Capillaria eggs from Golden Melon discus

Proof positive for capillaria eggs in Golden Melon stool.  Treated for 3 days with levimasole at 5gm/100gallons.

SE makes fish sluggish and they don't eat with this treatment.

Now treating main tank to get newly hatched eggs from that tank.  Need to do it again in 3 weeks.

QT only has the albino coral.  Still can't figure out why he eats poorly and is so skittish.

2013-8-15 QT potential pathogen

Hexamita /Spironucleus

Hexamita is a small (3 -- 18 m) intestinal parasite commonly found in the intestinal tract of freshwater fish (Figure 10). Sick fish are extremely thin and the abdomen may be distended. The intestines may contain a yellow mucoid (mucus-like) material. Recent taxonomic studies have labeled the intestinal flagellate of freshwater angelfish as Spironucleus. Hexamita or Sprironucleus can be diagnosed by making a squash preparation of the intestine and examining it at 200 or 400x magnification. The flagellates can be seen where the mucosa (intestinal lining) is broken. They move by spiraling and in heavy infestations, they will be too numerous to be overlooked.

Figure 10. 

The recommended treatment for Hexamita / Spironucleus is metronidazole (Flagyl). Metronidazole can be administered in a bath at a concentration of 5 mg/L (18.9 mg/gallon) every other day for three treatments. Medicated feed is even more effective at a dosage of 50 mg/kg body weight (or 10 mg/gm food) for five consecutive days. See also IFAS Fact Sheet VM-67, Management of Hexamita in Ornamental Cichlids.

2013-8-13

QT TANK

Was going to move Golden Melon to big tank bc was eating well and being more aggressive to the companion sighted Coral Albino.  But then way white stringy poop from the Golden Melon.  No evidence of bacterial infx and the sores on the side were successfully eliminated by Baytril and the secondary fungal infx eliminated by salt and Rid Ich.

Stringy poop examined and saw 1 fluke like parasite and the tumbling egg-shaped parasites but not much else.  Specifically did not see capillaria eggs.

I had treated the big tank recently with Levmisole and all those fish are now eating well.  So I am treating the QT tank with Levmisole also.  Perhaps I should add them all back to main tank and treat the bunch again and perhaps I will, bc I need to treat the main tank again as it needs to be repeated q 3 weeks.

Both tanks maintained at pH 6.0 and the bio filters work at that pH.  At pH 4.0 the bio filters are knocked out.