Help with sudden hunger strike

[Dam777]

One of my 5.5" Checkerboard Red Pigeons has suddenly went on a hunger strike after being in the tank since Mid May. He will sometimes go after food only to hold it for a few seconds and spit it out. I'm feeding a diet of spinach combo black worms, frozen blood worms and cobalt flakes which he would eat all with no issues. As far as appearance and interacting with the group he is still at the top of the pecking order and no signs of anything physically. The rest of the group is eating normally and water parameters are in check. This started 3 days ago and I've done nothing different as far as maintenance since the tank was up and running. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[discuspaul]

This occurs at times for no seemingly apparent reason, and may correct itself with time.

On many occasions though, a hunger strike, like several other uncommon discus behaviors, may be due to the onset of stress of some kind. Have you noted any signs of this fish being bullied ? Otherwise, it could be due to some form of water quality issue - what is your wc & tank cleansing routine ?
Can you post a pic of your tank, which might provide some insight.

[Dam777]

Every 2 days do 60% WC, every third change is 80-90 percent with a complete wipe down. My normal routine consist of draining and vacuuming 35 gallons, refilling and run pumps for a few minutes to move any poop I miss to the corner of the tank its mostly accumulates in. I then vacuum again removing another 10 gallons, filling back and I'm done. So basically Im changing 45 gallons in a 65 gallon tank every 2 days and a larger Wc on the third rotation. All is done with conditioned tap water. Once a month I clean my 2 Fluvial 306's alternating one per week. This particular fish is the largest in the tank and is 1 or 2 in the pecking order. Will post a pic.

This occurs at times for no seemingly apparent reason, and may correct itself with time.

On many occasions though, a hunger strike, like several other uncommon discus behaviors, may be due to the onset of stress of some kind. Have you noted any signs of this fish being bullied ? Otherwise, it could be due to some form of water quality issue - what is your wc & tank cleansing routine ?
Can you post a pic of your tank, which might provide some insight.

[Dam777]

IMG_0580.jpgIMG_0603.jpg
Don't have tank pic since the Pigeons where added but nothing has changed since this pic. The one in question is the pigeon to the left.

Sorry pic isn't rotated correctly, any tips on that issue?

[discuspaul]

We don't know whether or not the Pigeons were acquired from the same source as the original six, or whether or not you undertook a proper quarantine before adding them to the tank, and that might possibly have brought about some adverse effect on the fish which has ceased eating.
At any rate, just keep a close eye on that fish to note if there is any other negative occurrence besides not eating, and to see whether or not it reacts positively over time to any of the various foods you're feeding.
Your tank looks nice & clean, and all the fish appear healthy.

[Dam777]

All of my stock came from Chicago discus and arrived in great shape. Just finished my routine WC and fed flakes and he ate them ( go figure), crazy because spinach combo was his favorite. Maybe was just trying to tell me to change things up! At any rate Im going to keep tabs on him and see where this goes. Thanks for the reply.

We don't know whether or not the Pigeons were acquired from the same source as the original six, or whether or not you undertook a proper quarantine before adding them to the tank, and that might possibly have brought about some adverse effect on the fish which has ceased eating.
At any rate, just keep a close eye on that fish to note if there is any other negative occurrence besides not eating, and to see whether or not it reacts positively over time to any of the various foods you're feeding.
Your tank looks nice & clean, and all the fish appear healthy.

[BinaryRun]

Hopefully he'll continue to eat healthy and I agree with what paul said. Your tank is very nice.

[Filip]

Great discus collection and a squicky clean tank you got there Dam . According to the pictures, water quality shouldn't be an issue in your case .
I hope he will come back eating again soon . If not , raising the temps. would be my next step .

[Ryan925]

Wow what a clean tank. Nice work

[Dam777]

Thx for all the replies, gave them flakes for their AM feeding and he didn't touch them. Temp is up to 83-84F, Ill try bumping it up and see if it triggers his appetite. How long can he go before not eating starts to cause irreversible damage? Any other food suggestions?

[MD.David]

In my experience they don't eat for two main reasons,
1) sick, not feeling well or constipation
2)the fish is a female wanting to breed
The second one is less common. However most likely the fish feels sick.
A little salt and Epson's salt with 80-90% water changes per day, do this for a week, see if the fish's appetite comes back.

Thx for all the replies, gave them flakes for their AM feeding and he didn't touch them. Temp is up to 83-84F, Ill try bumping it up and see if it triggers his appetite. How long can he go before not eating starts to cause irreversible damage? Any other food suggestions?

[DISCUS STU]

Thx for all the replies, gave them flakes for their AM feeding and he didn't touch them. Temp is up to 83-84F, Ill try bumping it up and see if it triggers his appetite. How long can he go before not eating starts to cause irreversible damage? Any other food suggestions?

They can go for weeks and into months w/o eating though for extended periods it may affect their growth. It's always best to see if this will resolve w/o medication but if you do need to treat then this is what I have done in the past. Most of the time it works well.

My treatment is heat at 90-92 degrees, shouldn't be that hard in the summer, and treatment in a separate tank, a 10 gal. with a HOB Fluval 50 works. Treatment with Metro for at least 6-10 days at .5 grams per 10 gals. and Kanamycin Sulfate concurrently every other day for 10-12 days. A few days into the treatment test their appetite by feeding some frozen bloodworms. If they're eating this will be the first thing they'll go for. Clean any uneaten portion immediately as it will spoil very quickly at these temperature. Minimum 50% water changes every other day when adding new meds.

[Dam777]

Still looking for some help. Its been around 3wks since this started and still no appetite. Treated double dose of Metro for 10 days and going on 10 days since treatment ended and still no appetite. Its still only two of my eight but Im wondering what should I try next or just wait it out a little longer? They are acting fine and hanging with the rest of there group but just no appetite. any recommendations welcome.

Thx

[Dhavalsp]

since you have just finished metro, avoid another meds at this point....bump up the temp to 86F, treat with Epsom salt ( i think its 1 tbsp per 10G)...don't feed for 1 day...then try feeding the most fav food (probably FDBW or frozen worms)...if they start eating, for a week, I would just feed 2 times a day with the favorite food...if they all start eating, you can start experimenting with reg food again after a week or so...I hope they bounce back soon...

[DISCUS STU]

I'd try Kanamycin Sulfate. I usually work it with Metro at the same time but you've already done that. This usually works for me.

It's a PIA but it happens out of nowhere, for no apparent reason.