white/clear looking poo? staying in corner

[mel.s]

help,one of my discus has been staying in corner,he dosn't look well white/clear looking poo,eating only minimal if any? poor boy he was the dominant fish now very sad..... what is this and what do i do? any help appreiciated :(

[mel.s]

any help my fish is looking worse! colour is dull,staying in corner, white/clear poo? what do i do? sorry im just new with discus... :(

[marg]

mel.s.,

It sounds like Hex to me.

You need to isolate the fish and get some metronizadole - Ladyred has an article under Emergency Section I think - check that out.

Regards,

Marg.

[mel.s]

thanks marg will do....

[Merrilyn]

Oh Mel, so sorry to hear that. Yes, I'm afraid it does sound like Hex, and Marg is right, read the article on here and see if the symptoms match up.

It's very treatable with the right medication.

How long has your fish been like this Mel, and can you tell me your water parameters, and the age of the tank.

[Merrilyn]

This is the info you need Mel. Hope it helps.

ur fish is showing early stages of the disease. Treatment is quite effective at this stage.

It can be transmitted to your other fish, possibly thru contaminated droppings, although little scientific work has been done in this area. It is believed that the pathogen responsible for Hole in the Head (also known by a variety of other names such as Hex, head and lateral line erosion and wasting disease) is Spironucleus Vortens.

An infected fish may show one or several of the following symptoms:-

Skin lesions around the head area.
Turning dark.
Refusing to eat.
White jelly like droppings.
Muscle wasting and pinched appearance above the eyes.

The best drug to use is Metronidazole (Flagyl) which you will need to get from your local vet. Ring first to see if he will prescribe it after seeing a photo of the fish, or if he insists on seeing the fish himself.

1. Do a 30% water change.
2. Set the temperature to 30 degrees, no higher.
3. Add 250 mg Metro per 40 Litres of water. Crush tablets to fine powder and mix with water to form a paste before adding to the tank.
4. After 12 hours, do another 30% water change and repeat the dose. This should be done for a total of 3 days.
5. During treatment the tank lights should be left off. Metro is affected by light.
6. A variety of good quality, high protein food with added vitamins and minerals should be fed several times daily. Include prepared dry food, beef heart, brine shrimp, green vegetable matter and blood worms in the diet. Remove any uneaten food and keep the water very clean.

This treatment is effective for early cases of Hex. If however, your fish has been showing symptoms for a long time, or is refusing food altogether, then the treatment needs to be more aggressive.

In that case, the dose rate would be 400mg per 40 litres of tank water, with a 30% water change between treatment. Repeat every 8 hours for a maximum of 10 days if necessary. Usually 5 to 7 days will be sufficient for symptoms to disappear.

Further reading can be found in the excellent article from Discus Page Holland

http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/spironucleus.shtml#1.%20%20Introduction%20–%20Comm on%20Symptoms

Hope that helps. Keep us posted on your progress.

[mel.s]

thanks lady red, off to the vets in the morning thanks heaps for your help :)