HELP with young fish...DARK COLOUR

[PopsE]

Hey boyz/gurls...

Today I joined this forum... congrats to the ppl that have formed this... looks great!

Ok..heres my problem, lately I have purchased some (well 10 actually) little discus of different varieties... all about 4-5cm in width...

The problem that I am having is that this is the first time that I have placed discus in a "display tank" with gravel and plants... I have kept discus for about 5 years now in my breeding tanks with only water and a teracotta pot inside them..... and I have never had a problem with my breeding fish.... so heres where I need your expertise with keeping discus in a tank with gravel and plants....

Ok...so whats happening is that some of my discus are healthy as and never go dark.. and theres about 3-4 that go dark.... I have lost 1 fish already and dont plan to lose any more... so plz help ppl's....

I have a 4ft standard tank, with 10 discus in it, with plants and gravel.... It is all run by a FLUVAL 403 canister filter, with foam, carbon and ceramic bits.... temp is 29deg and ph is stable at 6.2....

Why are they goin dark... plz help ppl's...

Thanks
Mark
;D

Well, there's really two things that could be causing the deaths, and it's probably a mix of the two factors: stress and disease. I'd go ahead and add some salt at 1 tbs. per 10 gallons at watch them closely. You say you've kept discus for awhile so that should help the diagnosis. Any white, string feces? Any strange behaviors? Are they eating? Just tell us anything you can. Did you put these fish through quaranteen first? Do you have a spare tank lying around that you could put these fish in that doesn't have plants and gravel? Good luck! We're all here for ya.

Brad

[PopsE]

Yeah ive kept a breeding pair of blue turqoise & snakeskin up in my breeding tanks for 4 years now... neva had a problem... really they have been easier to keep than goldfish.... all i do is a water change 3 times a week, check the PH and temp, and feed em... thats all... they have NEVER gave me any problems whatsoeva...??? no diseases, no sickness..nothin... ;D Prob cause i have got a 1K filter runnin it all... trickle style with bioballs etc etc... its a beast

So i have no idea how to treat sick.stressed fish...??

When u mean add salt, do i just measure a tbl spoon of ordinary table sea salt and drop it in???

Please advise me of what to do...many thanks..

Mark.

[Carol_Roberts]

You have 10 little discus about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in size. Some are dark and one has died.

Your pH and water temperature are stable and since you've kept fish for several years I will assume this is a fully cycled tank with no ammonia or nitrItes.

If you've had these juveniles for a week or less they were probably harboring an illness.

It is really hard to grow out juvenile discus in a gravel tank with plants. Juveniles do best in bare bottom tanks just like your breeders. If you want a show tank perhaps you could put some adults in this tank and move the babies to a bare bottoom tank. It is so much easier to keep the water clean and treat for diseases if needed.

Are your sick discus dark, hanging in the back of the tank, not eating, passing white stringy feces? or do they exhibit other symptoms?
Carol

No, not ordinary table salt. Any form of non-iodized salt, i.e. Kosher Salt, Epsom Salt, etc. What other symptoms do your fish show?

Brad

Actually Brad......Epsom salt ISNT the same thing as rock, kosher, sea, or pickling salt. Epsom salt is Magnesium Sulfate...while the other's are Sodium Chloride.

Tony

Tony,
yes, that is true. However, all the salts relieve stress and have a similar effect on the fish. Epsom does more to clear out intestinal blockages than the other salts, but they all relieve stress. Rock salt is just a less-pure form of Table salts. So while there's sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, etc, they all do pretty much the same stuff for our babies.

Not true. Epsom salts are not a suitable substitute for normal salt. In the case that PopsE is describing Epsom salts wouldn't be a good thing to use. I'd turn up the heat to 90ºF at least and add 2 TbSp salt per 10g.

Dave

Cary tells me different Dave....

Brad, is it possbile for you to post without using Cary's name somewhere in the message body?

no...




Cary

Rus,
no need to be so harsh. I just feel credit should be given when do. If I was giving my own experiences, then I wouldn't need to, but I've learned so much of what I know from him. Back off man, I'm just trying to help and I don't recall every seeing you post before.

I doubt that Cary feels that Epsom salt is a suitable substitute for normal salt. My understanding is that an increase in Sodium Chloride will kill many parasites in the tank as their bodies cannot take the change in salinity. It will also cause the Discus to increase their slime production, ridding them of many external parasites. Magnesium Sulphate on the other hand is more of a laxative and works on the internal problems that a fish faces. I don't believe it has the same effect on parasites within the tank either. So I would suggest that they are not interchangeable and it makes sense to be specific when you recommend that someone add salt to their tank. Hopefully Cary will settle this. In general I find that it is better to give advice on things that I have experienced rather then repeating the advice given by others. Miscommunication is all too common and fish die as a result of miscommunication.

Dave

I agree with Dave....100%

Tony

[April]

yes...epsom salt can also be used to add hardness...which he doesnt need with sick fish...better to leave things stable.
pickling salt at the grocery store will do. cheap and easy to get. id put them in a smaller tank and crank the heat up and add salt . they feel more secure in a small tank..also.
bare bottom and water changes. hope they come around.
dont share nets or hoses or even hands from tank to tank.
if it is a virus..your breeders could get it.
let us know how it goes.
add an airstone if high heat.