To Keep or Cull - Please Help

[abijitr]

IMG-7761.jpg

2 of my discus - blue diamond (black in the pic) and gold diamond (creamish in the pic) hasn't changed in size in the last 4 months. While they swim okay and sometimes eat, over the last month their health has clearly deteriorated. I tried isolation, medication, used epsom salt ... etc, nothing has changed. All other fish which were about same size 4 months ago have doubled in size and show brighter colors.

I am wondering if I should keep these fish for some more time or cull them. I am concerned because I travel a lot and can't monitor them 7 days a week and I don't want it to have any negative impact on the rest of the tank which is healthy.

Any help suggestions are welcome and very much appreciated. Needless to say, I would like to keep them irrespective of their looks/appearance but not if it is going to affect other fish in the tank.

Thanks!

[Kyla]

I used to recommend keeping sickly discus, but after years of keeping them myself and finding that over time they seem to go downhill, I now recommend to cull. Culling is a hard thing to do at first, but ultimately it saves a lot of sufferring and pain and ensures your healthy stock stays healthy. I now cull my sickly fish and fish for my friends when needed, if I feel it is warranted.

I used AquaSed, a sedative that is used for fish surgeries and when overdosed it puts them to sleep very efficiently and euthanizes them. Some people used clove oil in the same way. Others do it quickly by chopping off the head. There are other methods but these are the ones I go with because they seem to be fairly painless (hopefully??). The method of euthanasia is an entire discussion in itself, and can sometimes get tempers flaring. Research online for yourself which methods are most humane.

If you aren't ready to cull, I would recommend separating them into a hospital tank away from your healthy fish and observing their progress/feeding/health etc

[abijitr]

Thank you Kyla! I may end up handing it over to a LFS who will give one more shot at it before culling.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Abi, I would suggest culling yourself. If you pass them on to a LFS there is a good chance they will put them up for sell and pass them off to someone else which does nobody any good.
Pat

[White Worm]

You have already wasted too much time and money on these fish. You need to end their suffering and relieve yourself of the worry. You can use that time to enjoy your nice discus.

[Kyla]

Yah I agree with Pat - my LFS sell discus in the exact same shape as the two in your pic for $70 each, it's a total rip off to an unsuspecting aquarist who doesn't realize they are being sold a sick discus that will not thrive, and it may discourage someone from keeping discus in the future when their new lfs discus slowly waste away :/

Plus from the discus' point of view, it's not really a 2nd chance... if a newbie discus keeper actually buys them it means they know very little about discus in general (because someone knowledgable would never buy them) which means the discus will surely suffer while declining in newbie care... so it's a bad for both the fish and the aquarist if they end up at the lfs... just my 2 cents

[abijitr]

Thank you all for your suggestions, I will cull them myself. I don’t want them to suffer anymore.