URGENT HELP PLEASE..SOMEONE?????

[Tracey73]

Someone please help.. I did a water change today, added prime as per usual, added some ph down and added some biozorb to the filter and changed only one white filter pad..
The temperature is 29
PH 6.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

One of my discus is at the surface, rapid breathing, looks like one fin stuck to side of body.. The other one at back of tank, which is unusual, breathing seems heavy, not much movement, looking sick.. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!! This has occurred within the last 15 minutes suddenly.
Closer inspection..both discus seem to be favouring one fin, sometimes holding it close to body but can still move them.. both breathing rapid and at surface..
I have Sterazin and Big L Pig & Poultry Wormer on hand, could stress have brought out an underlying problem???

** I can now see a mucus coming off the fins on one discus.. 2 of my neons are dying, they are floating around going topsy turvy...

[Tracey73]

two neons have now died, have just done a 50% water change.. Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[discusluver]

hi there i know this might be a silly ??? did you declorinate the water might be a spike in clorine! i am not very experienced there are lots of ppl on this site that might suggest other possibilities best of luck i hope the discus pull through for you :(

[Tracey73]

Thankyou for the reply!!!!!! Yes I definately 100% declorinated the water, but I just did a 50% water change, added extra prime and they seem to be getting better.. Im still very panicked and unsure of what has happened. I took the BioZorb and new filter wool out and put back the original carbon just in case one of those was causing a problem.. Im just really panicked as to what has happened.. How long does it take for them to show signs of chlorine poisoning? They were in the water for a couple hours, they ate dinner and then all of a sudden BANG!

[Tracey73]

Update... Discus seem better, they are all upright now, fins are up, still breathing heavily.. 2 neons died, other three ok... I am sitting here in tears, feel so bad and bewildered. Is it possible that there was something on the filter wool? or could biozorb cause this reaction? I am beginning to believe it is a chlorine spike somehow but if anyone can shed some light i would be eternally grateful..

Update - Both Discus are still favouring one fin while keeping the other one close to their body.. they are moving around more and are upright..

[discusluver]

hi i think clorine issues can have a rapid effect on discus i use a special little device to save headaches i use a single under sink water filter nothing fancy $80 at bunnings add the right fittings and charcoal 2micron declorinating catridges 1 for each 12 months costing $30 or so. removes clorine really well! your fish hopefully will come back as soon as the clorine dissapates from the water IF indeed it is clorine causing the problem hope someone else can help!
keep us posted and goodluck
:D

[Tracey73]

Update... Have lost more neons.. Discus are still the same, they just seem to be hovering in the same spot, still very very worried and wondering what else I can do.. When should I do another water change? :roll:

[discusluver]

hi tracy im still puzzled myself and can only suggest adding an extra air stone or 2 if you have them to keep oxygen levels up stop any feeding and maybe add a teaspoon of salt as i have heard it can help and would try it b4 meds if you can avoid meds
and im really scared to say but another water change tommorrow of around 50 per cent try every possible means to make sure that the water is to tally free of clorine as it is a big part of the problem i think assuming your fish were all doing well b4 the water change
i keep my ph at around 5.5 and it really seems to help me to keep discus healthy and disease free!
goodluck again and i hope they pull through for you!
if worst case occurs dont give up discus are to speacial to give up on :D

[Merrilyn]

Hi Tracey, just read your post. Sorry I wasn't online earlier.
It's definately a water problem. Either something in that new filter wool (where did you get it from) or something to do with the bag of bio-chem.

How do you normally do your water changes, do you use a bucket (could someone have accidently used it for detergent or something like that) or do you fill directly from the hose.

If you use the hose, then how are you heating the water. If you use a combination of hot and cold water to get the right temp, it's possible there was copper in the pipe or hot water service which would cause copper poisoning. Although Prime is a terrific product, and I use it myself, I don't really trust it to completely detoxify heavy metals, such as copper.

I'm going to suggest to you to do another big water change, but let the hose run for a while to flush the pipes before you put the warm water in the tank.

Add double the normal dose of Prime and add some carbon to your filter for the next 24 hours.

Neons will be the first to die, discus are much tougher. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[jzz30]

I would get some air in there asap. Also re-check all of your levels. Apart from what you have said that you have done, did you do anything different?

How do you do a water change. If using buckets, have they been used for any other purpose?

[Tracey73]

Thankyou for the replies!!

only hubby and I live here and we use a watering can for the water changes which is kept next to the aquarium.. Absolutely no possibility of detergents. I boil the kettle and add that to cold water via the watering can, have been doing that religiously. Always add prime as well. The filter wool I bought from Coburg aquarium today, it was not wrapped in plastic or anything, she just handed a sheet of it over the counter to us.. We have never used biozorb before, it was recommended by Coburg Aquarium to help with the tannin from the driftwood.
Merrilyn, should I do another water change now???

Thanks

[Tracey73]

also... it did seem to happen not long after Hubby put in the filter wool, the biosorb and everything else happened this afternoon, hubby put the filter wool in tonight about 40 minutes before everything went haywire..

[Tracey73]

I would get some air in there asap. Also re-check all of your levels. Apart from what you have said that you have done, did you do anything different?

How do you do a water change. If using buckets, have they been used for any other purpose?

I have an airstone in there, also have a spray bar. Have checked the levels three times, all is fine.

[discusluver]

yep if in doubt dump that filter wool for sure it just might be the prob

[Tracey73]

Oh that filter wool is dumped alright, it will be dumped down at Coburb Aquarium if I find out its the reason for this nightmare. Just did another big water change, added double dose Prime. The discus are still hovering in the same spot, still only using one fin :cry:
I am going to be awake all night :shock:
All my harlequins died and 2 neons :( I have three neons left and two little suckers that are swimming around now like nothings happened :roll: Wish the discus were doing the same :cry:

[Tracey73]

Update.. got up very early, did another 50% water change. Discus are upright, still favouring one fin, sometimes leaning against the glass..Their colour is normal, there is no signs of slime coat coming off, no mucus or anything but they are still not good :cry: Other fish in the tank (well, whats left of them :( ) are fine, seem to be back to their normal selves. Is there anything else I can do besides the water changes, double dosing the prime adding aquarium salt and leaving the lights off? How often should I be doing these water changes? Is their any product on the market that will help? I have Prime, I have Aquamaster Water Ager, Stress Zyme.. Is there anything else I can get to help them?

Also tested again:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Ph 6.8
Temp 29

I do have a small Aqua One 320 (28litre) Tank if it is necessary to get these fish out, but it only has an undergravel filter set up. I have a heater in there, the only other thing I would need to get is another air pump...



Thank you to everyone for helping :thumb

[Tracey73]

Just got back from the LFS, took water sample, filter wool and dead neons just so they could take a look, thought maybe they might be able to get an idea of whats happened.. Walked out with two different opinions! One guy said it could be gill flukes :? the other said some sort of metal poisoning. One guy told me that the water changes I did should not have been done :shock: made me feel like a complete idiot, the other said that I should do them only once a week???? NO wonder people get confused and end up killing their fish :evil: Absolutely ridiculous.. I could bet my life that If I had not done those water changes ALL my fish would be DEAD.
Anyway, since I did the water change this morning, Discus seem to be much much better, just got home and turned the tank light on, they are all moving around, using both fins and coming more to the front of the tank :) just about to put in some food to see if they will eat :wink:

[Bubbles]

Hey Tracey73,

How are those Discus going, is everything under control with your water properties now?

I would definately say it was a water problem & probably your new filter wool added as you have never had this problem before & you stick to the same routine with water changes the only thing you did different was adding a few new things to your tank. I use Bio Chem Zorb - recommended by Amazing Amazon :wink: for our 4x2x18 grow out tank & have been using it for quite some time now & never encounted a problem with it, I find that ageing our water for 24-48hrs with a heater & pump gets rid of any nasties in the water before we add it to the tanks.

I hope all is well now & I would start getting your products from either Rayonne Aquarium(Plenty Rd, Preston) or Amazing Amazon (Springvale Rd, Mount Waverly) - had a few probs with Coburg Aquarium myself :evil: & will not go there again, you did the right thing posting help in the Emergency room as there are a lot of highly experienced members & sponsors on this forum :D

Cheers,
Bubbles :D

[ILLUSN]

Good 2 hear they're on the mend. Just feed them small ammounts till they're back 2 normal. Keep double doseing the prime with each change you can probaaly get by with 30% daily for the next week.

[Tracey73]

Thankyou for the help..

My discus are much much better, they are moving around, no clamped fins, looking like their normal selves. They are hanging around the back of the tank though, which is not like them, but I would be too if I had just gone through what they have :(
They came out for some food earlier, they did not each much but they had a little something. I noticed also one of them was going for the food but it was almost like he could not get it in his mouth, then he would just let it sink.. is this normal?
I have two neon tetras and 1 Harlequin left :cry: Poor little buggers, I feel so bad. The little suckers got through it unscathed, they must be hearty little things!
So Illusn, I will follow your advice and do 30% water changes daily for the next week, & double dose the Prime :)

[discusluver]

fantastic news tracy really glad you didnt lose the discus would have been a shame hang in there and best of luck in the future :D

[Tracey73]

fantastic news tracy really glad you didnt lose the discus would have been a shame hang in there and best of luck in the future :D

thankyou! I am so relieved, I was up all night, got up and did another water change at 6am this morning, and it was worth it as that final water change made all the difference :) I have a big fat headache and sore eyes from lack of sleep but Im enjoying every minute of it knowing my babies are ok :wink:

Thankyou discusluver for your support, even though we both are newbies we got through it and it was nice to have someone replying to me when I was panicked! Thanks Heaps :wink:

[Merrilyn]

So glad to hear your discus are looking better Tracey.

From reading the rest of your posts, it does seem to be that the filter wool was the culprit. If it wasn't in a packet, and the woman just handed it to you loose, it's possible it may have become contaminated before you got it.

Another possibility is that if the bulk roll was intended for use as cushion or pillow filling, some of those fibre products are treated with an antibacterial agent to prevent pillows and cushions growing mildew. That would be pretty toxic to your fish, and doing water changes was the right thing to do.

I don't know for sure if that's the cause, but all the signs point to it. :?

[Tracey73]

Thanks Merrilyn for your great advice yet again! The big water changes you advised are the reason my fish are still alive :wink:
Yes I have concerns about that filter wool, on the receipt it said Dacron. When she showed it to us my first reaction was :shock: it just looked really different to what we had in the filter but hubby thought it was ok so I left the decision up to him, maybe I should have stuck with my gut feeling :? You would think that someone working in an aquarium and being a discus owner themselves would be more aware of the product they are selling :roll:
Well its long gone :twisted: and I certainly will not be buying anything like that again, especially if it is not pre packaged! I still do not know 100% if that was the culprit, but I can tell you it makes me very nervous about adding anything to my tank after what we have just gone through :(