What is on my discus????

[SpyderSpy6]

One of my discus has a tiny white spot. It's been there for roughly 2-3 days, that I've noticed. It isn't a bunch of white spots, just one spot.

The best way I can think to describe it, is it looks like a "zit" on the side of my discus. I haven't seen anything spread. I use a parasite terminator when I water change to keep worms away. That's the only thing I can think of is that it may be a worm protruding (I've only read about this happening and have never seen it).

Has anyone seen something like this before??

[OscarFan]

Could be a worm or a leach. treat with an anti parasitic medicine.

[SpyderSpy6]

that's what I'm leaning towards... she may have hit the log in my tank too. I know sometimes they will chase and end up scuffing the log.

I will treat my food and water and see if there is a difference.

Do you know where these things come from???

I haven't added any new fish or plants in over 3 months. Haven't had any issues. Only thing added is my nutrients, food, fertz, and fresh water.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Can you possibly get a picture? If it looks like a Zit then I'd highly doubt an external parasite of any kind.

[Fishguy2727]

Where exactly is it? (face, forehead, lateral line, by anal fin, etc.)

If you have discus, and expecially in this situation, I highly suggest reading the article in my blog on HITH/HLLE. With discus with a 'zit' the first thing that comes to mind is hole in the head (HITH).

[SpyderSpy6]

I have read the article from your blog :), which I thought it was very good. Thank you for that, I still do use a little bit of carbon to polish the water but don't use it as a main source of media. It isn't hole in the head either.

This is about a 1/4 inch below the lateral line and I would say about a 1/4 inch(in the body) from the begining of the analfin. So.. just under middle back side of her. Does that make sense??

I put some parasitic medicine in the tank yesterday, and today the spot is still there but it looks to be almost "dried out". The previous days, it has looked like a small smooth "zit" on her. Today it appears more like a chunk of salt stuck to her there. I hope this means it is going away. It is only on the one side of the fish too. I've inspected all of my other fish and nothing is on them.

I will try to get a picture too.

[DragonGoby]

Perhaps it is only one of the scale which had been displace during a rough incounter with something?
Sometimes our platies shows things like that...

And stupid question.... what is a "zit"?:14: :hmm3grin2orange:

[SpyderSpy6]

like a little pimple or blackhead... an infected skin pore.

Maybe I should put a little noxema or clean&clear on my fish.... joking!

[SpyderSpy6]

Here are the pics of my fish...

I've outlined what I'm trying to show... sorry if the quality inhibits being able to tell what it is. The fist picture is to show you the location on the fish and the second is a sideview picture that I was able to capture.

Thanks for the help!

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Damian%20Ochsner/Desktop/location.JPGfile:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Damian%20Ochsner/Desktop/location.JPG

[Fishguy2727]

Hopefully it is just a scrape that is infected and not HITH, which the second pic does look like.

What medication are you using?
Have you tried no carbon?
Nitrate concentration?

For polishing the water you want a fine mechanical media like polyester pillow stuffing, not a chemical media like carbon. If you are doing enough water changes you should see no problems with not using carbon.

[SpyderSpy6]

Fishguy,

My nitrates are showing a 0ppm. I do clean my water religiously, but I'm going to assume they are above 0ppm, but below 5ppm for sure. From what I have learned 0ppm is almost impossible.

I have used no carbon before. To be honest, nothing ever went wrong and my fish were fine, but my water was never as clean and clear as it was with the carbon. I just bought an R/O filter 2 days ago and I'm cycling this filter before I use the water. I will have my tank transfered over to R/O by two weeks from now. I will not be using a carbon media.

There are many debates back and fourth on whether or not to use carbon. I believe the carbon has a greater impact on wild caught discus. The discus we buy in the states are all tank raised, and who knows the conditions they were born in. I know for the most part many discus hobbyist will use the best water possible and we all hope for the best. I know my LFS will buy batches of discus from local breeders as well as professional breeders. I basically feel that the discus species has come far enough to be acclimated to normal tank conditions.

You hear of people having discus fish in 7.3+ pH and from some articles I've read... that's suppose to be impossible. Same with them breeding in tap water.

Because of your article though, I do go on and off of using carbon. I like to use it to filter out any inorganic materials I may not be able to visibly see, and again, it does make my water crystal clear, and I feel as though my fish become more active. Could just be me hoping that's the case too.

I think if you aren't overboard with any one media, the discus are fine. I've used purigen as a substitute as well. Didn't get the results I was hoping for though. I think today's species are too well adapted into fish tanks that you can use almost any media and be OK.

[SpyderSpy6]

It appears the white spot on my discus has cleared up! YES!

She also laid a batch of eggs last night. Would they do this if there was any kind of "sickness" in the tank?

[Fishguy2727]

Depends on what the problem is, some will even with certain problems.

It is not just discus, I don't use carbon in any tank anymore. I am curious as to why it seems to be helping your tank, this does nto match any tanks I have maintained.

I use just tap water for my discus. My tap is hard and alkaline and I don't alter it in any way. Some breeders breed them as high as 7.5, so I don't think pH is as much of an issue with some individuals, moreso with others. Mine are laying eggs but still in the stage when they eat them every time.

Discus have come a long way. It seems the hardiest ones are the 'assorted discus' in the LFS. Breeders take too good of care and tend to overlook health/hardiness in favor of better coloration, conformation, etc.

Glad it worked out for you.

What are you feeding them?

[SpyderSpy6]

I'm not sure, but I think it was you that refered me to New Life Spectrum, and I've been using it ever since.

The fish LOVE IT!

I was also curious to see the changes in color everyone had talked about. I haven't seen necessarily more vibrant colors, they just look very healthy and all of them come to the cone when it's feeding time. Only a couple use to show up at feeding.

I also supplement this with bloodworms and beefhearts. I would say the bloodworms once about every 3-4 days apart, and the beefhearts about every other week.

When I do a big water change I will put some tabs at the bottom for my bottom feeders, and I have one discus that will munch it down if I don't hide it a little, don't know why he eats it though.

I do have one question... is there a way to keep the NLS from spreading like debris in my fish tank? When they eat little particles go everywhere, it's like a dust in the tank.

[Fishguy2727]

Which size are you feeding?
What size are the discus?

Check out the article on bowl feeding in my blog, that should help keep it in one spot.

[SpyderSpy6]

I'm assuming the pellets I'm using would be a medium to smaller size. They are not as small as the "small fish formula" and they are not as big as the "Antiparasitic Formula" pellets that I have.

All of my discus are about 4.5 - 5 inches. I' haven't put to much effort in to getting a measurement though. I put a ruler up to the tank and tried to estimate it. Either way they are good sized.

I will check out the blog article! Thanks!

[Fishguy2727]

NLS has the pellet size in millimeters on the package. That or the name of the food exactly will tell me.

[SpyderSpy6]

HA... I didn't even notice they put the pellet size on the container. It is the 1mm Discus Formula

[Fishguy2727]

That should be small enough for them to eat whole, I'm surprised they are making such a mess with it. I had that problem in my 150. I cut back the amount being fed and that helped a lot. Discus like more smaller meals anyways than one or two larger ones. Maybe try messing with the feeding schedule a little and see what that does.

[SpyderSpy6]

I have kind of done that already, but I have trouble making it home during the work day to feed. I will usually do a good size portion in the morning and then from about 4:30 - 8 I do 2 - 3 small feedings.

So I will cut it down a little more to see if that helps. Also, have you ever soaked the pellets?? My brother says that he's done that, and it doesn't make a mess. I don't know though... watching his discus which are much smaller than mine, they don't spit anything back out... mine will take a bite and spit almost the entire amount of food back out... or atleast it appears that way.

[Fishguy2727]

Soaking removes nutrients, so don't do that.

Have you looked into the programmable automtic feeders that can do many feedings per day? They cost more than the usual preset every 12 hours feeders, but you can have 6 or so feedings per day at the times you set.

[Citroen]

Hi SpyderSpy6
I have also one of my 8 discus having only one white spot on the Skin. could you please advise if you have done any particular medication or the white spot disappeared by itself?