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Thread: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

  1. #1
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    Default not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?
    From the beginning when I got the fish they have always been very skittish and hide, they stay in the corners of the tank so I assumed it was just them adjusting to their new tank. its been 2 months now they all still hide and one of them is developing black spots. I heard they do this to blend in but i also heard its a symptom of discus plague.


    2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).
    -Hiding in corners and behind rocks (they have done that since i got them)
    -They don't like to eat with the lights on so its hard to tell if they eat enough but they do poop so they must be eating something at least.
    -on one of my 3 discus its got tiny black spots (pictures are attached)
    -sometimes they have clamped fins
    -sometimes When i come i see them sitting at the bottom at an angle but not always (picture is attached)
    3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
    ive not done anything but constant water changes. I do 30 percent every 4 days. The reason I did not treat was because I thought they were just stressed about moving to a new tank so i was giving them time, but now im thinking it has been too long for this to be simply moving stress.


    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.

    Tank is 75 gallons its been set up for 8 months. There is about 25 red cherry shrimp and 15 blue neon tetra and 3 adult discus in the tank.

    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).

    30 percent every for or 5 days

    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
    8 months- I added the shrimp on month 2, then the tetra on month 4 and discus on month 6. Its a lightly planted tank with a sand substrate. Its around an inch thick but there is a spot in the back that's raised where its like 5 inches deep just for aesthetics.

    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
    no

    8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
    Top fin

    9. Parameters and water source;

    Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.


    - temp 84

    - ph 6.8

    - ammonia reading 0

    - nitrite reading 0

    - nitrate reading 10

    What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

    Just tap water I live in the city


    10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
    Nothing added since the discus

    11. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can.

    I feed twice a day Tetra color xl tropical granules.


    Not sure where to put this but I have a pretty bright light from around my house its an led 120 watts but it seems more powerful than other aquarium lights. My discus seem happier in the dark so i dont use lights often just around 5 hours a day otherwise its just the light from my room.

    I cant figure out why pictures are posting sideways sorry!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Registered Member seanyuki's Avatar
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    Default Re: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    Last edited by seanyuki; 09-30-2020 at 05:48 PM.
    Grasshopper
    Francis

  3. #3
    Registered Member seanyuki's Avatar
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    Default Re: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    Those black dots(patches) are peppering.....Pigeon bloods discus. The amount of peppering depends on many factors, genetics,including color of the tank background and substrate. But as you may know, over the years much of the tendency to pepper has been bred out of pigeon bloods. So it also depends on genetics. Try doing 50% water changes every two days.....Keep your water clean by doing water changes. If the water is clean, the fish won’t be stressed. Stress-free fish won’t succumb to diseases.Then you won’t have to medicate them constantly with medicine.....The Nitrate is also high,try to bring it below 5.....No medications needed.....just my 2 cents.
    Grasshopper
    Francis

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    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Default Re: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    I expect your nitrates are actually much higher than you mentioned. With 30% water changes every 4-5 days your nitrates will always be increasing, never decreasing. As Francis mentioned, increase to 50% 2nd daily for several weeks, then adjust your regime to keep nitrates <5. Your discus will thank you for it, and their overall condition will improve enhancing your enjoyment of them!

  5. #5
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    Don Speers

    Default Re: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    Also for fun you might want to fill a 5 gallon bucket with tap water and an airstone, check the ph out of the tap and again 24 hours later, depending on the variance you should consider aging your water. Also you might want to check your tap for gH, kH and TDS as well as TDS in your aquarium just prior to water change. All is probably fine but if your source is rock hard you might consider other options, especially if your parameters are substantially different than the water the fish were raised in, can you get than info from your source? Also is your nitrate reading just before or just after you do a water change, always measure just before, you want your worst/highest value, not your best. Also FWIW, I concur that increased water changes and not medication is the best first step. What is sitting on top of the white sand?

  6. #6
    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
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    Default Re: not sure if this is discus plague or stress from something else

    I think if it were a bigger group they would have been a bit more brave to come out and swim around. 3 is not the greatest number for discus to begin with. Their behavior sometimes depends on the group.

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