it's a very sad day today....

[Mattzilla]

one of my favourite discus died today :(
my red scorpian ss had a bad case of a fin infection where it had a white cotton wool like fungis or somethign growing on parts of it's fins. i was treating it with (at different times)salt, 33deg temp, melafix, pimafix, fungis ade and another med i got off a mate (can't remember it's name). i got it to the stage where it had stopped spreading and looked like it was starting to get better. i got up this morning and went to check on it to find it dead! i haven't had a discus die on me for well over a year and considering it was one of my fabourites i am crushed today. it was growing at a rediculously fast rate and was starting to show some awesome colours.

anyway, i'm going to drown my sorrows this arvo.

[weird]

Really sad to hear your discus passed away. Tub of icecream usually cheers me up abit.

[mtchye]

Sorry to hear for your loss! The cotton wool like growth you describe could actually be a bacterial columnaris infection. Unfortunately columnaris these days can be resistant to the common antibiotics sold in LFS such as tetracycline, due to misuse by wholesalers. Luckily the columnaris usually only afflicts fish that have been stressed in some way or had their skin damaged.

There is someone on our forums who had the same problem with peppermint bristlenoses. I've posted up some possible treatments and doses that you could try there. I personally have not had any of my fish have a columnaris infection before but have found these meds useful on other external bacterial infections: metronidazole, lincospectin (from rural supply stores, its used by farmers) and one of the papers I read about this disease in the US suggested that potassium permanganate would also work.

I know its not much comfort but perhaps if your fish get it again, you will have something to try.

If you need more details on dose rates etc they are posted here:

http://www.perthcichlid.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2393

[Escher]

really sad. :cry: It is utterly frustrating when you do everything, they even seem to improve, then all of the sudden they take a turn for the worse and you cannot make heads or tail of it; then it seems clear that you can't help them anymore! Almost as if they lose the will to survive.
:x

[flukes]

Matt - Heart goes out too you, My favourite fish is also my Red scorpion snakskin, one of my first fish and ive been looking for a female for him for so long and most of the stuff labled red SSS these days is nothing like what ive got.

If i lost mine i would be devistated!

Stuff the tub of ice cream, there is only way too get over a pain like that! (DPT) Discus purchasing Therapy...works wonders :lol:

[Merrilyn]

So sorry to hear that Matt.

[kalebjarrod]

sorry matt :cry:

[Proteus]

Matt, I am very sorry to hear of your loss...

:cry:

[parasite]

sorry to hear of ur loss

[Chris McMahon]

one of my favourite discus died today :( Sorry for your loss. Losing a discus is always a kick to the guts, a favourite doubly so.