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Thread: Discus isolating and looking thinner

  1. #1
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    Sal Carmona

    Default Discus isolating and looking thinner

    DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


    Problem

    1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?
    Noticed the issue about a week ago. Smallest discus the runt is hanging out alone at the other end of the tank. Seems down and thinner.


    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).
    I am noticing him slightly thinner, color looks good, still eating though not as aggressive as the other discus.

    3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
    Treated the tank a week ago with API General cure. Recommended dosage, 2 treatments over 4 days. Had already noticed him a bit slower.

    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
    150 gal 3 months old, 8 discus all between 4-5.5”, 3 angelfish, 2 honey gourami, 2 dwarf gourami


    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
    50% every other day


    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
    Tank has been up since August, bare bottom, 4 plants in small planters (cups).

    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
    I do not age my water. I use a python and temp match. Constant 7.4 ph, no issues.


    8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
    I use Seachem Prime 3 capfuls added to tank.

    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 _86.5____

    - ph ___7.4__

    - ammonia reading ___0_

    - nitrite reading _0___

    - nitrate reading ___5_

    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.

    - well water ____

    - municipal water _100___

    - RO water ____


    10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
    None recently.


    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 them frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen beef heart, frozen bloodworm, tetracolor flakes, omega one veggie pellets, bug bites spirulina flake. I rotate them all and feed 5X day, small portions. 30711043-A198-46AF-9D23-BEC84EBEB607.jpg4F2E2F36-19C9-42F4-AB55-B7F4A75D1220.jpg


    12. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.

  2. #2
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    Sal Carmona

    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Asking for your opinions and suggestions please.

  3. #3
    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    It has lost a little condition but doesn't look too bad really. Is the fish being bullied at feeding time? If you haven't tried this already, fed in multiple places around the tank simultaneously to see if it gets more food. 8 discus in a 150 gal is lightly stocked, perhaps adding a few more might spread any aggression out and let the smaller discus get less attention?? Of course you should QT any new fish for 6 weeks so that is not going to be a quick fix ..

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Quote Originally Posted by danotaylor View Post
    It has lost a little condition but doesn't look too bad really. Is the fish being bullied at feeding time? If you haven't tried this already, fed in multiple places around the tank simultaneously to see if it gets more food. 8 discus in a 150 gal is lightly stocked, perhaps adding a few more might spread any aggression out and let the smaller discus get less attention?? Of course you should QT any new fish for 6 weeks so that is not going to be a quick fix ..
    Yes, I try to keep a real close eye on them and inspect them daily so as to catch things early. I thought it perhaps due to bullying as well. I feed on opposite ends or a little heavier where he is at but he seems to eat a little and mostly misses opportunities. I had a new melon in the qt tank and have been talking with Kenny about picking some up on his next shipment. As a result of this I went out and bought a 29 gal tank yesterday. I placed the melon in it to finish his quarantine, he’s done with the dewormer. I sanitized and cleaned the qt tank and now have this fish in there at 86 with salt. He seems happier already, colors look great. Waiting to feed til later today and see how it goes. Thanks for the reply.

  5. #5
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Welcome! Hard to guess what’s going on. Being it’s a 150 I don’t think it’s hormones. May be the angelfish. Discus stress angels. Angels are much more aggressive. With a group of new discus for me there always ends up being a straggler. I’ve found if you remove this fish and qt it for a few weeks they usually come back. When added back to the tank it like a fresh start. I will qt till it’s eating regular.
    Would like to see a pic of the whole tank. How long have you had the discus? Were the angels in the tank first? The temp is to high for your Gouramis. They won’t live as long as they should. Did you buy all these fish together at a pet store or did you order online? In both of your pics the discus look to be hiding. First pic both are showing stress bars second the orange has its fins closed and all 3 look to be hiding. Again a full tank pic may look completely different.

  6. #6
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Behavior if this type is often the first sign of Hex. Are the affected fish still pooping? Is their poop black?
    Mama Bear

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    Welcome! Hard to guess what’s going on. Being it’s a 150 I don’t think it’s hormones. May be the angelfish. Discus stress angels. Angels are much more aggressive. With a group of new discus for me there always ends up being a straggler. I’ve found if you remove this fish and qt it for a few weeks they usually come back. When added back to the tank it like a fresh start. I will qt till it’s eating regular.
    Would like to see a pic of the whole tank. How long have you had the discus? Were the angels in the tank first? The temp is to high for your Gouramis. They won’t live as long as they should. Did you buy all these fish together at a pet store or did you order online? In both of your pics the discus look to be hiding. First pic both are showing stress bars second the orange has its fins closed and all 3 look to be hiding. Again a full tank pic may look completely different.
    Yes they were spooked at the time. I find if I walk up normally they are fine, but if I try to take their picture they react this way. But normally they all swim up to me even the fish in question. The discus in this tank are more aggressive than the angels. I only have 3 angels but they (all fish) were added at the same time back in August. Only aggression in the tank has been the pecking order of the discus and this fish in question is at the bottom of the hierarchy. I’ll post full tank pics when I’m back home.

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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    Behavior if this type is often the first sign of Hex. Are the affected fish still pooping? Is their poop black?
    I have him in a qt tank now. Will keep a closer eye. Main tank was recently treated with Gen Cure and I have seen any long stringy white ones. So I believe it’s normal. Now that he’s isolated I can check better.

  9. #9
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    General cure won't do the job. If you decide to treat use Metro at 500mg per 10 gallons for 12 days with large WC every day. It also helps to raise the temp to 90 degrees because hex has a hard time surviving those temps.

    If these were my fish I would treat the entire tank because they have all been exposed although they may not be showing symptoms. I get my Metro from Jehmco. It's a very gentle med to don't worry about it setting the fish back in any way.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    General cure won't do the job. If you decide to treat use Metro at 500mg per 10 gallons for 12 days with large WC every day. It also helps to raise the temp to 90 degrees because hex has a hard time surviving those temps.

    If these were my fish I would treat the entire tank because they have all been exposed although they may not be showing symptoms. I get my Metro from Jehmco. It's a very gentle med to don't worry about it setting the fish back in any way.
    Thank you for your advice. I just had metro+ show up from Amazon. I’ll definitely start.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    I just checked into Jehmco. Thanks for the tip. Much cheaper than buying from the LFS or even Amazon.

  12. #12
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Good for you catching this early on. I've been so busy for the past few months that I missed one. It had stopped eating and lost a lot of weight before I caught it. I would normally use metro but alost everyone was out, so I put it in a hospital tank, turned the heat up to 93 and added 3TBS salt per 10g for 2 weeks and at the end of the 2 weeks it started eating good. Hopefully it'll make a full recovery.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Quote Originally Posted by jeep View Post
    Good for you catching this early on. I've been so busy for the past few months that I missed one. It had stopped eating and lost a lot of weight before I caught it. I would normally use metro but alost everyone was out, so I put it in a hospital tank, turned the heat up to 93 and added 3TBS salt per 10g for 2 weeks and at the end of the 2 weeks it started eating good. Hopefully it'll make a full recovery.
    Thanks, still new at this so at times I wonder if I’m being overly cautious or reading too much into things. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. It really helps to have this forum where I can research and get opinions. Glad yours recovered. Mi e seems to be doing great today. But I will keep him in the hospital tank for a couple of weeks to make sure and allow him a chance to fatten up a little. About that time I have another in the quarantine tank that should also be ready to be introduced as well. Hoping this will help dissipate some of the pecking.

  14. #14
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    Default Re: Discus isolating and looking thinner

    Update- so I had him in the hospital tank. I dosed with metroplex and kanaplex for the first 3 days doing daily water changes. Followed with an additional 7 days of just metroplex and water changes. No more issues, was eating eagerly and looking great. I moved him back to the main tank and he’s is happy and doing very well. Thanks again to those that helped!

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