5 week fry, problems starting

[pete_lockwood]

Hey..

Well, I have some fry @ about 5 weeks. Hadn't lost any since the second day of taking 'em from the parents, but now a few are showing signs of trouble.. Laying on the tank bottom for a while, then getting back up, eating a bit, then going back to laying down. Their bodies seem to be curling up too, nose to tail.

What would this be a sign of?

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't know, Pete.
You are sure ammonia is 0, no pH swing, plenty of water changes to lower bacterial count. Are you feeding clean food like cbw rather than beefheart? Have you treated for flukes recently? I've not had sick babies before - so hope some one else can help you

[pete_lockwood]

Plenty of water changes, no ammonia/nitrite, they're happily eating flake food.

[Carol_Roberts]

I'm bumping this back to the top.

Do you see any scratching or heavy breathing? You may want to put half the fry in a Qtank and try 90 degrees + 2 tablespoons salt per 10 gallons, if no improvement in a few hours try treating with formalin 1 cc per 10 gal. (This is a fluke treatment posted by JimmyL)

If it's bacterial the high temp may make it worse . . .

could it be that the flake food is disagreeing with them?? ie. causing a little bit of bloating or blockage because they're eating too much?? i've seen fry do this...when i decide to cull them and put the net in the tank, good luck trying to catch them...eventually they were indistinguishable from the other fry...
I've seen this happen with larger fry also when i've fed flake...never happens with bloodworms or beefheart...

what's the temperature at?? maybe try just raising the temp. and adding salt(as carol suggested) at first to speed up their metabolism if it's low(the temp, that is)...

[pete_lockwood]

I haven't seen any scratching. I guess I don't know if their breathing is any heavier than would be normal since they're my first batch of babies.. It's not adult discus breathing speed but I wouldn't have expected it to be. What's the norm?

Temp. is 86f.

I wonder if it is just possible that it's a little bloating. They've been eating crushed flake since they were a week old (I like to fly in the face of convention), but it would be true to say that recently I've crushed it less (cos they're gettin' bigger of course). If that's it, I feel like a total idiot.

I think I'll adjust the flake preparation and see where that gets us and if that doesn't work, try the fluke treatment.

Just to be clear, the fluke treatment is 90f, 2 tbsp salt per 10 gals and leave for a few hours? The treatment is that rapid?

Thanks for the ideas guys

[discus_nw]

I woukd try something other than flake food. Perhaps some intestinal blockage is happening. Try some ONF 1 and ONF 2. Nothing wrong with using beefheart. The pro's have been doing it for decades.

[OEG]

I agree with discus nw but i would caution you to make sure that you keep your tanks clean, Carol is right though you cant go wrong with feeding something like live black worms, this keeps your tanks much cleaner, i heard that feeding beefheart is not bad if you use the right recipe. Key to this is using gelatin to keep the beef heart together and easier to clean, that comes from a very good discus keeper and a great guy hunterbeav.
Oscar

[discus_nw]

Pete,

What's the current status of your fry? ???

[Arnie Astazanthin]

Hi Pete,
When you say a few are doing this do you mean a few as in 2 or 3 out of say 50 .
I believe what you have described is simply the weeker ones that some people get from time to time.
Nothing to worry if this is the case for 2 or 3 fish .Simply cull or enjure this problem.They are tipically weak fish and will probably die before they reach 4 inch.
I know this sounds abrupt but this is simply what I believe is life.
KR A A. : :-\ :'(

[aloha_discus]

Aloha Pete, I agree with Arnie, I would cull them. I also have fed my fry flakes but I soak them before feeding.

Hope this helps.

Mahalo, Ike ;D

[pete_lockwood]

I think things have chilled out again.
Thanks for the ideas guys