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craniac24
03-29-2005, 12:30 PM
Hi everyone,

About a month ago, I decided to get back into the discus bug and pick up 8 juveniles that were about 2"-2.5" in size. So far the experience has been somewhat mixed, but very satisfying nonetheless. I did lose the smallest one of the bunch for no apparent reason...it was very sudden and there were no signs of illness. Another one I am about to give up on, as he suffered from gill flukes and never seemed to recover after treatment. He is currently quarantined and hasn't eaten in almost 2 weeks.

I also had to give away what was probably my healthiest and prettiest fish...a red turquoise. His bullying started to become out of control, to the point where he was damaging the others. So at this point I have 5 very beautiful, very healthy and fast growing discus in a 72 gallon tank.

So here's the question for the day. One of my bigger ones has become VERY easily frightened in the last couple of days whenever I approach the tank. He doesn't just hide when he sees me, he absolutely bolts to the back of the tank as quickly as he can...sometimes running into things along the way. Sometimes he even gets caught up in one of the plants and will just lay there breathing heavily until I leave. He's never been like this before, in fact it's always been the opposite. Whenever I used to come to the tank he was one of the first ones to greet me and got more than his fair share of food.

I find that if I feed them then walk away, he'll come out of hiding and eat...so I'm not worried about him getting food. He still looks extremely healthy in every respect and if I'm across the room, he'll be out in the front of the tank acting quite normally. It's when he sees me coming his way that he begins to flip out. I guess I'm a little concerned/curious about this only because this is only very recent behavior from him. I try to walk as softly and gently to the tank so I don't startle him or otherwise take him by surprise, but as soon as he sees me....off he goes. Not only is it disheartening to see him so scared of me lately, but I also worry that he's going to injure himself if he continues to act like this!

I'm sure the first question most of you would ask me is "what are your water parameters?" So here goes:

Temp: 86
PH: 7
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: None.
Water changes: 25-30% every other day.
Currently using aquarium salt at 1tbs./10gal

Has anyone had any similar experiences or thoughts they'd like to share? I appreciate your help in advance.

tpl*co
03-29-2005, 01:43 PM
Well, here's my opinion/theory. He/she has been seeing the disappearance of other fish in the tank and the disappearance of the lead discus so he's afraid the next time it will be him/her so he/she is hiding.

What I've noticed in my tanks too is that the other fish take on the personality of the lead discus, if there is one skittish fish they all become skittish, if there is one outgoing devil may care fish then they all become outgoing to match top discus (in pecking order of course). Since you removed this top discus they are falling back on other behavior. In my latest tank of babies they were scared too until I introduced another non-scared fish, now they are all back front and center to great me.

I guess this is my long out drawn out way of saying you upset the dynamics of your tank so this is why he/she is scared. Perhaps a dither or another non scared discus will help him out? Or just wait till he/she regains their confidence?

RyanH
03-29-2005, 01:51 PM
Besides the potential water problems there are two other things that come to mind that you may want to check in to:

1. I've found that Discus get really funny about shadows in the room. That is, if the tank is facing a window so only a dark silouette or a shadow of you can be seen, they will absolutely freak out. This turned out to be a major source of stress for my fish until I figured out what was going on. I had to move my tanks around so that none face windows for this very reason. Problem was solved.

2. You may want to check for stray current from your heaters. This will cause your fish to completely freak out and can eventually kill them. If you have other heaters lying around that you can use as replacements, try that to see if they are still as jumpy.

hth!
-Ryan

raglanroad
03-29-2005, 02:59 PM
I have a recommendation to try. When you approach the tank, crouch down lower than the tank. Feed from that position, and then stay low.
My Altums were terrified when I got them. They never got crazy when I stayed lower than them.
Counter to popular ways, I kept them in a high-traffic area, where they would not be protected from disturbance. They soon became like puppies, following me as much as they could. Even my African cichlids become very easily frightened if kept isolated and protected. When they get crazy, you have to be careful that they don't leave the tank.

Howie_W
03-30-2005, 10:13 AM
Hi craniac,

My first concern is that you've mentioned gill flukes, and in all liklihood they are infesting your tank, and ultimately the source of your problem.

What did (or are you) using to treat for the flukes?...if you haven't already done so I would recommend using Prazi. Keep in mind that removing a single fish to a quarantine tank will not eliminate the problem, as one type of flukes will reproduce by laying eggs. The medication will kill the live flukes, but not the eggs, requiring multiple treatments applied at 48 hour intervals.

Some fish will tolerate minor fluke conditions, but when a fish becomes stressed, the condition can also become worse.

Also at issue is that you are growing out juveniles in a planted tank...this makes it more difficult when treating the tank for problems such as flukes, as it's harder to eliminate a recurrence of the problem.

I would also recommend moving up to daily water changes, and making sure the fish have plenty of extra O2, as with the gill flukes it becomes harder to breath.


HTH


Howie

craniac24
03-30-2005, 10:38 AM
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the replies. I wouldn't be surprised if the guy was smart enough to realize that I'm the one associated with the "disappearance" of 3 of his buddies. These fish aint stupid!

Last night he decided not to be afraid of me when I went to feed them, which I was very happy about, but this morning he was back to his state of paranoia. Maybe it's just a matter of letting time go by.

FYI for Howie. Thanks for your response on the flukes. I actually have been treating the main tank with Prazi for the last couple of weeks. I only took the one guy out because he wasn't eating at all and had literally become half the size of the other fish. Unfortunately he's still not eating and is starting to turn black. I think his time might be up. :(