Diamond not looking so good!

[MissClaire]

Hello All :) Noobie here :wink:
Help Please!

Stats:
180L Aqua One Tank
PH: 7.6
Stock: 2 Discus, 7 corys, 4 rummy nose tetras, 1 clown loach, 2 snails
Temp: 28
Ammonia, Nitrite, nitrate etc etc etc all fine & tested.

My Blue Diamond is not looking so well, she is a juvenile and her mouth and around her eyes appear darker/greenish in colour, gills moving rapidly (alot more frequent than my pearl pigeon discus) Also I have noticed Ich like spots...only 4-5 spots at this stage.

Background Info:
I recently lost alot of my stock in my tank (none being discus) This could have been:
a) I was trying to get my PH down using Ph Minus, and this kept flactuating and was all over the place (nightmares)
My Ph is normally around 7.8 - should I just leave this high and stable instead of trying to get it lower?
b) Chemicals got into the tank, bug spray maybe ( I added geoliquid just incase this was the reason)

It's been a while since Ive lost my stock and the remainder of the fish have been well and healthy except for the recent decline in my diamonds health.

Any suggestions?

[flukes]

Make sure the water your doing water changes with is as close to the temp n the tank as possible. Might be ICH but with that discription you would have a better chance of knowing.

Keep us updated on any chances over the next few days..

[jim]

better don't use PH buffer too much. Fish don't like them, and they give you algea problem.

Why don't you age the water for few days and PH will drop without any usage of any chemical.

[MissClaire]

It doesnt drop :cry: ...it just stays around 7.8 I didnt put any PH minus in for ages and it seemed to stay the same during the week (didnt drop at all) There is no reason my PH should keep going back up :cry:
And I do have alot of algae recently, I didnt know this would cause that, well I learnt something today!
I'll keep an eye on my diamond and let you know how she is doing...im not sure if the 4-5 spots are Ich or not they are raised white spots...so Im presuming it is.
Ive had so many problems that ive never ever had before. Im seriously on the verge of giving up and getting majorly fustrated!

[jim]

It's the phosphate within PH buffer that cause the algae growth. Try to buy non-phosphate PH buffer to prevent the problem..

[kalebjarrod]

my tank sits a about 7.5 most days

fish don't mind i think they appreciate the stability more so than the low pH

If you want to lower the pH try it with peat more so than buffers, they are much harder to stablize especially when doing water changes

[weird]

Hi MissClaire, stop using buffers ... STABLE PH at 7.8 is better than PH bouncing all around the place.

If you tank is purely a discus tank, raise the temp to about 32 degrees for a week to treat the white spot.

What other fish do you have in the tank ?

Please show us a picture if you can.

[MissClaire]

The 'white spot' seems to have disappeared! so possibly it was calcium spots? it seems to come and go? I have other fish in the tank so they wont be able to withstand higher temps if it does come back and is ich.
As for the dark eyes, mouth, colour she still is the same and sulks.
My pearl pigeon seems happier then ever!
I cant win! haha

So you suggest leave the tank at 7.8?

[luvmydiscus]

MissClaire,

Take it from me and don't fool around with your ph. Leave it alone and concentrate on your water quality and water temp.

I played around with my ph when I was breeding angel fish and killed over half my stock. I then just let everything be as it was, water from the tap the only thing I treated it for was chlorine and chloramine (Aqua Plus) water conditioner. Never put anything else in the water and I had more baby Angels than I new what to do with.

Alot of these fish today are being kept and bred in higher ph as most LFS will not devote a specific tank for low ph fish unless they are very much into those types of fish.

I am very new to discus, just bought one 2 weeks ago. Nice young fish, it is in a tank with high ph, we have hard alkaline water but the most important thing to me is the water quality and the water temp.

This little fish is so hardy, eats like a piggy and is the boss of the tank already putting the Angel fish in its place when the frozen bloodworms arrive in the worm holder. He gets first pickings :lol:

I would suggest you do a water change if you have not already. Condition your water if there is high chlorine count and make sure your temp is stable. Don't worry about your ph at this time and get your fish healthy first. If you have ich then treat for ich. Leave the chemicals on the pet store shelves and your fish and you will be better off. :wink:

Keep us posted... :D

[MissClaire]

Thanks for all your helpfull replies!!

Just an update on her condition....
her right gill is opening frequently and fast in time with her gasping.... while her left gill doesnt move much/well not as visibly as the right gill.

parasite??? or something??