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Thread: Depressed discus?

  1. #1
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    Default Depressed discus?

    Is it possible for a discus to be depressed?

    One of my females chose a new mate about a month ago, the old male was not happy about being replaced and did everything he could to interrupt spawning for a solid 3 weeks.

    Now it seems the old male has completely given up. He has been slowly eating less and no longer will eat with the rest of the group. He also spends most time dark and hiding in one of my large sword plants.

    I continue doing 50-75% every two days and I'm not seeing any other signs of sickness. Is there anything I can do to help this situation?

  2. #2
    Registered Member Shan_Evolved's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Maybe moving him to a QT tank, raising the temperature and adding 1-2tbspn salt per 10 gals for a few days and then putting him back
    Amateur discuskeeper, Professional doofus

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    I'll give it a go and see what happens, he's not eating at all this morning...

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    pics and videos will help us help you. Good luck Evan
    Amateur discuskeeper, Professional doofus

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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    He lost a stressful battle for his mate. It has taken a toll on him physically. A parasite that is present in all Discus has beaten his immune system because of it. Stick him an a QT tank with lots of air. Bump the temp up to 90. Add 2 tablespoons of salt per 10 gallons and 500 mg daily of metro for 12 days. Do 80% WC daily for 14 days.

    But please post a pic of the fish before you follow these instructions blindly. If I see something that looks bacterial doing what I just said would make it much worse.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Here he is in the quarantine tank, the only way we could get him to eat was to put some baby cherry shrimp in with him.

    1.jpg

    20 gallon tank @ 85-86 degrees with 4 tablespoons of salt.

  7. #7
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    I don't see anything that looks bacterial. Bump up the temp to 90. Since he will still hunt live food the high temp alone might get rid of the parasite. The Hex organism cannot survive in heat that high and it doesn't bother Discus at all. In fact, it speeds up the fish's metabolism which makes him want to eat more. If you do have the Metro go ahead and use it and hit the parasite with 2 things it can't survive. BTW, he is a very good looking fish.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Thanks for the help you two, he seems to be a lot more active already with just the temp and salt.

    Is it really ok to keep salting the water for 12 days?

  9. #9
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Yes.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by Thingsarefun View Post
    Thanks for the help you two, he seems to be a lot more active already with just the temp and salt.

    Is it really ok to keep salting the water for 12 days?
    It's worth noting that you don't continue to add salt once you added the initial dose of 2TBSP/10 gallons. What you do instead (if you follow the prescribed 80% daily WC) is that you only add enough salt to replenish the salt removed from the water change. For example, if you have a 20 gallon aquarium, your initial dose would have been 4TBSP of salt. The next day, say you do an 80% WC. After the WC is complete, you would add 3.2TBSP of salt back to the aquarium. An 80% WC on 20 gallons is 16 gallons. Using the 2TBSP per 10 gallon rule makes it 3.2 TBSP. If doing a 50% WC daily, it would be an even 2TBSP of salt after WC (50% of 20 gallons is 10 gallons).

  11. #11
    Registered Member Shan_Evolved's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    10 Days max for salt
    Amateur discuskeeper, Professional doofus

  12. #12
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Ok, my wife just sent me these.
    Really hope this isn't infection...

    IMG_20210512_090329.jpg
    IMG_20210512_090114.jpg

  13. #13
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    It looks more like a scrape.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    I had a similar experience recently. Separated a paired male to entice a nicer male to pair up. The seperated male stopped eating and went dark. I tried metro, potassium Permangenate, flagil etc. Ended up losing him. It was horrible to watch him fade away to nothing.

    PXL_20201213_081534587.PORTRAIT.jpg

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    Default Re: Depressed discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by Silent Weasle View Post
    I had a similar experience recently. Separated a paired male to entice a nicer male to pair up. The seperated male stopped eating and went dark. I tried metro, potassium Permangenate, flagil etc. Ended up losing him. It was horrible to watch him fade away to nothing.

    PXL_20201213_081534587.PORTRAIT.jpg
    I've lost quite a few beautiful adult fish trying to get the hang of keeping these guys, it's really upsetting. I'm coming to the conclusion that meds just make things worse.

    So far this guy is looking and acting better, but I have yet to see him poop.

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