Head standing???

[mench]

Ok anyone know what causes discus to stand on thier head?????I have two that are straight up and down.I haven't a clue what to treat them for....Any ideas?????

Mench

[fcdiscus]

Sorry Mensch- I have one guy doing that for about 5 years now. I tried just about everything, but to no avail. I have heard that sometimes it gets better by itself in a short period of time. Good luck, frank

what did you try frank?? I've got a headstander adult who has always been that way(I received the fish knowing full-well it had that problem) It's just that it's such a nice fish I figure maybe at some point I can cure it of that problem...or maybe it'll just fertilize some eggs swimming top to bottom ::)

[fcdiscus]

OK David, Let's see. Sulfer drugs- No good, Antibiotics- No good. Cool water (78), No good. Warm water, (94) , No good. Low water level- No good. Epsom salt- No good. Hey David- Wanna tank mate for yours. Mine is a male. frank

ummmm...no....lol
mine's apparently a male as well....
maybe we could duct tape them together facing in opposite directions as a counter-balance.... ;D
that wouldn't be much of a life though ::)

[fcdiscus]

My guy seems very content- eats like a horse, and lives the life of riley in his little 10 gallon tank! ;D Frank

oh i'm sure...i meant it wouldn't be much of a life being duct taped to another fish that always wanted to swim in the opposite direction you did... :rolleyes:

[mench]

I have tried different meds also,nothing worked.Today the second was was dead,and two more in the tank are starting to headstand...

Mench

[DarkDiscus]

Ron,

I have had it happen to one discus and a red devil.

The discus was the runt of the tank at the time and was the most picked on. I went away in May to Florida and there were no w/c for about 5 days. A week after I got back the fish started with the headstanding. On advice I treated for an intestinal blockage with epsom salts. The problem worsened and the fish died.

The red devil was years ago. I believe that he tried to jump one night and damaged his swim bladder. For the next 6 months he pretty much hung out vertically. Then he died.

A friend had an angelfish that came down with the same thing. In his case, he put the angel ( a HUGE male) in a 20 gallon QT tank and raised temp to 90 and added salt. In a week the fish was better and never showed the problem again.

I think that the causes are typically A) A trauma or damage to the swim bladder. B) An infection or virus affecting the swim bladder. C) An intestinal blockage.

I believe that in case A) the fish will likely spend the rest of its life in a vertical position. In case B) there is a chance of recovery or the fish will die if the illness progresses. In case C) with prompt treatment the fish may recover, otherwise it dies.

Of course this is not exact science on my part, merely observations and some guesses.

John

[fcdiscus]

I agree with John. I believe the problem with my fish came from attempts to force spawning by doing cold water changes. Ron, if your fish are dying, it is probably a bacterial problem, and maybe you should try a strong antibiotic? Frank

[gary1218]

Ron,

The best response to this problem that I can recall was from Ron Futrell of Rare Breed discus in TX on Raf's discussion board some time ago.

You might try e-mailing Robin.

GARY

[daninthesand]

_david_

Have you tried turning the aquarium sideways?


lol :D ;D

Daniel

....laugh it up....some day you're gonna DIE laughing :o ;D

here's a pic of the headstander in question...I understand he's been like this for some time, so I guess from what I've learnt reading George's post, there's not a lotta hope that he's treatable at this point...He's been like this long before I got him, and he's been here for a couple weeks...

[Carol_Roberts]

Thanks for posting the article George. Has this method worked for you?
Carol :heart1:

[Discusgeo]

Carol I haven't had to use it. Lucky for me my Discus haven't developed this problem. I keep the article around for safe keeping and I hope everyone copies it and saves it. David I would try to help the fish even though it' s been 2 weeks. You may never know if it works or nor.
George

[gary1218]

GREAT job George.

It's a good thing there are still a few of us around from the "good old days" when Raff's forum was THE place to be if you were into discus. A lot of good information came off that forum.

GARY

george: i've had the fish for a couple weeks...it's been headstanding literally for months before it came into my possession....maybe i'll give it a shot anyway....i'll let you know how it goes...

[mench]

George,thanks for the info,and yep it is printed and in the fish book.David the headstanding done by my guys was straight up and down.I have started the epsom salt treatment,hope it works.

Mench