# Help!!!, My discus are covered with a white slime



## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I came back from work today to find that all my discus are covered with a white opaque slime, they look very stresses and very inactive, one of them is eating, the others are still thinking about it. They look sad but their breathing seems normal for now.
Other than the routine water change last Monday nothing out of the ordinary has happen. No new fish added, no new food, nothing....I am clueless!!!
Can someone please tell me what is this and how to treat it? Please???
My water parameters are normal,
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
PH - 7.2
Temperature 84.3
No chlorine in the water, I test it every time.
I do 50% water change twice a week and I have these discus for about....I want to said 6 months now?
Tank companions; a large school of cardinals & neons (none has die or showing nothing) (about 100)
a large school of diamond tetras (they keep having babies I have almost 40 now)
a smaller school of black neons and lamp eye neons, about 10 cory julii, 3 clown loaches and 3 striated loaches and a whole bunch of crystal shrimp that I had for about 3 months now, they also keep reproducing so now I lost track of how many are they in that 240 gallon tank ah...and the fancy plecos. (5)
the only discus that die was about a couple of months ago and he jumped out of the tank from the smallest opening while I was at work...found it death when I came home.

Any help or advise will be very much appreciated.

Thank you


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Hello Shahlvah, I've moved this thread to the Illness, health, and nutrition sub-forum, where it belongs. You'll probably get responses faster here. A shadow thread has been left in the SA sub-forum as well. Good luck.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Did some quick searches and found two items you might want to look at...Costia and Columaris. Sounds more like Costia from your description. Others with experience might have some additional input. Hope you find out what is going on.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Things are going from bad to worse, my two blue diamonds are dead....my two striad red are super sad and sick, incredibly the one that was the sickest is coming out of it, the leopard skin....
I took one of my fish and went to the D N A, they run some tests. They have a bacterial infections. I have no clue how they got it, maybe I gave it to them? I was super sick the weekend....could it be? I was my hands before touching anything that belongs to my fish, but I guess the malady was in the air and then in the water, the thing is that they told me to treat them with Api Melafix. So we are in day 2. I open my FX5, took out all the media except the sponges and the ceramic biomax.
This is horrible.
I came home to find my blue boys dead floating in the tank....
The rest of the community seems to be ok. I lost only one diamond tetra and 5 neons that under the circumstances I thought it was going to be worse... the worse affected are the discus. It hurts me seeing them feeling just so sick.... I appreciate your help. I will keep you posted on what happens. Thank you so much.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Today I woke up to my leopard skin death.
This is the saddest thing ever. I don't know what to do. I keep treating the full tank, the whole 240 gallons. the rest of the community seems to be OK, only a couple of neons have died and one diamond tetra, but my discus are mortally ill. I am at this point really believing that I am going to loose them all, with the leopard skin today there are 3 dead already. At this point besides treating the tank I am praying. It hurts to see this poor guys suffering like this.


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## FishFanatic245 (Oct 17, 2012)

do you have carbon in the filter?


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I took it out when I start medicating the tank
I just have the sponges in the filter for now, all the other media I took out.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

You took out bio media?


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

No the instruction said to leave the bio media that it won't harm it.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I have an fx5 and a sump i took out all the media from the fx5. Except the sponges


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

If it's a bacterial infection, I would treat with something stronger than Melafix. The two antibacterial, or antibiotic medications that I usually recommend are nitrofurazone (Furan 2) and kanamycin (Kanaplex). Used together, they make for a wide spectrum antibiotic. If switching medications, run carbon for 24 hours following a large water change prior to dosing. Monitor water parameters daily during the course of the treatment.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Thank you GTZ. I was about to go out to the DNA again because now my other fish are dying, this morning 6 neons and one Kerry blue and a diamond....I really need to get this in the butt or pretty soon all my fish will be gone. I am in day 4 of the metafix and 3 of my discus are dead, the other two are in bad shape, the bigger one has all his tail in shreds. I don't see any fungus or any other sign in any of the other fish. the one that look awful are my discus.
This is a show aquarium 240 gallon 8 X 2 X 2. My pride and joy. And now I feel like crying every time I see death fish in there.
I will buy what you are recommending and keep you posted. I appreciate your assistance. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I have one question though, when I start using the Nitrofrazone and the Kanamcin do I disconect the bioological filter? will the medicine kill my beneficial bacteria?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Your bio should be fine with those medications, but as suggested, it's good practice to do daily water parameter testing while medicating (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH).


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Ok will do. Thank you. News to come.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Only one discus left...no longer swimming at the top....I don't know if this are good news or bad news. No more white slime.
Day 3 after the Nitrofrazone and the Kanamcin treatment. 
I lost 95% of my almost 200 cardinals....I just have a few....what a sad story.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

3 days and no more deaths...finally.
240 gallon today another 50% water change.
Only one discus survived. He is in a hospital tank, after the medication that stop it all, I am just adding the megafix for another 7 days. He started eating some today.
I thing we are on our way out.
Stock left in my 240?....glowlights, diamonds, lamp eye tetra, some cardinals (about 20) and the black tetras. all the plecos, all the cories and all the crystal shrimp....and the loaches, they still swimming.
planting the tank with natural plants. I have never had a problem with the ammonia or Nitrites....but anything that could help to improve I will do.
More $$$ out of my pocket to get the CO2, ..in parts. My wallet is hurting.
I feel exhausted after this event....


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry for your losses Shahlvah.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Thank yo GTZ.
I guess it comes with the hobby. Lesson learned. I still have the most beautiful and huge discus alive, he is doing well, no more funky stuff on him (slime..) his tail is growing back, he is eating well.
My 240 gallon went through a huge transformation.
I planted the tank, I fertilized the substrate, I redesigned the whole thing, I start buying natural plants and conditioners and I got the biggest surprise of my life. The day i brought the first set of plants home and put them in the tank ALL the fish well ecstatic, they all came to explore and since I plant them they seem to be enjoying the plant so very much. I am buying my CO2 equipment in steps, so far I have the [email protected] tank and I order the regulator...still pieces and parts I need to buy, but so far so good, fish are happy, plants are looking healthy and some even have some growth.
I will post some pictures late on. I guess I will have to wait about 4-5 weeks with the discus just to make sure he is doing fine. In the meanwhile I will buy some others and put them in a quarantine tank, for the same 4-5 weeks, then all will be ready. Plants will be growing, fish will be healthy and mom will be happy, sounds like a good combo.


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