Gill Fluke Rx

[eykw]

I am pretty sure some of the discus in my tank (2.5 ft) has got gill fluke. I've noticed 2-3 of them started breathing heavily, with flaps sticking out and scratching a bit :roll: . It's not too bad at this stage. I've treated one in a hospital tank with prazi before. but this time, it's the main tank i need to dose. there are 8 juvi discus, 3 PepperBN and 2 cory Sterbai. i do water change at least once every two days and added some salt. all water parameter is good. there are a few Q i would like to ask...
1. should i lower the water level of the tank?
2. raise the temp of the tank? it's 30C at the moment
3. remove all Peppermint BN and Cory?
4. remove carbon from canister?
5. would the prazi affect the plants in the tank? should i remove some?
6. airstone to increase O2 conc?
7. would UV help in the future?
any recommendations welcome :)

[Dave001]

Seen as though you've got no answers yet, i'll try to answer them for you.


1. should i lower the water level of the tank?

With that size tank I wouldn' worry about lowering the water level, prazi is not that expensive or hard to get.

2. raise the temp of the tank? it's 30C at the moment

With the Peppermint BN and Cory in there, i'd leave it at 30c.

3. remove all Peppermint BN and Cory?

I have Bristlenose (4) and Cories (7) in my tank and I have had no problems when dosing prazi in there. I do add the prazi very slowly though instead of just dumping it in, I usually mix the tablets with some tank water and pour it in over a three or four hour period, just to allow the fish to adjust to it.

4. remove carbon from canister?

Yes, it will remove the medication from the water.

5. would the prazi affect the plants in the tank? should i remove some?

No, and No.

6. airstone to increase O2 conc?

Never hearts to have some more oxygen in the tank.

7. would UV help in the future?

No idea if UV helps against gill flukes sorry.

Hope this helps,
Dave

[djceri_g]

Isn't that tank way over stocked!?

[Dave001]

Isn't that tank way over stocked!?

I don't think so, the fish are all young.
With water changes every two days and plants in there, I'd doubt you'd ever see nitrates above 20 in the tank.

[djceri_g]

How do you get your plants to look so healthy? Are you using echo complete?

[eykw]

Thanks Dave, that was really helpful :D
I bought all of these as babies. (the orange ones were only the size of a 20c coin) and i am sure my wife will realise they need a bigger home soon :wave2
I used JBL substrate and fertilises once every two week with Seachem flourish. there is no secret or CO2. however I only bought plants that is strong and healthy.
cheers,
Eric

[Pauluk]

Looks good eric, what corys do you have in there?

[mistakes r crucial]

Doesn't look like too much wrong with those Discus, they look big, fat and healthy. Good job, well done.
MAC

[eykw]

Thanks guys. i've got 2 Corydoras sterbai in the tank and i'd love to have some more :lol:
They have grown a lot in the past few months!!! I do pay much attention to them and noticed a bit of scratching and marked rapid breathing in one of them. just want to play safe and rid of any parasites in the future. would prazi (WormRid) do the trick? many thanks,
Eric

[Nathan]

hes growing quite low maintance plants, swords val and anubias, all quite easy to keep, the plants look like theyve been bought recently though.

the discus look fine i reckon, i really like the gold brown ones, and that red snakeskin.

keep up the goodwork

[eykw]

yup that's the key i think, it's low maintenance... it's difficult to spend time in front of the tank all night, my "boss" will surely get upset :lol: this tank has been set for 6 months. i've set up a similar tank in my old home before but with very different result... i had a lot of trouble with algae and even the vals were struggling! the things i did different this time: change water every 2nd day, used a proper substrate, used good quality fertilizer, lots of trimming and i ve purchased a quad T5 lighting system. i think consistency and an established routine is very important as well. there are so much more to learn!!! that's why i am here reading all night :P

anyway i ve treated the tank with prazi 2 days ago and added LR's recommended amount of salt as well. i've moved the cory and PeppermintBN to my other tanks. I'll do a water change tomorrow night and clean the filter as well. what's next? should i re-treat it again in 7 days just to make sure? i m planning to add garlic to the beef heart too, is that a good idea?

[eykw]

Every discus is happy and fat again after 2 dose of prazi! Thank you everyone for your advises! very helpful! :wave2