Discus in quarantine losing appetite

[Johanna]

Interesting, I didn't think of that! The dark pigeon was already paired up with the other lighter coloured spotted pigeon (I don't know what they would be called, being some kind of crosses). There has been some minor fighting and chasing after the new fish were added to the group but surprisingly little, I thought it could have been worse. The white one was back to swimming normally the last I saw them tonight but the weird swimming wasn't constant before. The angel however was looking worse after I put him back into the tank and didn't poop at all in the epsom salt bath.

[brewmaster15]

It can take time for laxatives to work. Hopefully thats the case here.

[Johanna]

Thankfully the white pigeon seems to be back to normal. I suppose the tilted swimming was some kind of social behaviour, it looks like both existing pairs are preparing to spawn. Unfortunately the angel doesn't look good. I got the hospital tank ready for him today but it might be too late. He's in there now with epsom salt again. His belly is so swollen that his breeding tube is coming out more than it should be. He's getting tired, didn't put up any fight when I netted him. Any ideas, is there something else I could still try?

[Johanna]

I found the angel dead in the hospital tank this morning. Well, I guess it's best if I try to rehome the other angel before he kills himself by overeating too. They are much more aggressive eaters than the discus so it's probably just a matter of time...

[gimaal]

Sorry to hear about the angel. FD tubifex does have a nasty reputation for causing constipation/bloat/dropsy. Are you soaking the cube before feeding? If not, the purported solution is to reconstitute it--soak it-- before feeding. I don't use the stuff but I did read a few labels for different commercial brands and they now do suggest soaking before feeding. (They didn't always.)

[Johanna]

I haven't soaked them but I usually cut the cubes in half and stick them on the glass. Pressing them against the glass seems to squeeze the air out of the worms... but I guess not all of it. Thanks for the advice, I'll switch to soaking them like I do with granules and frozen food.