I.D. Us Please

[Erica & Robi]

Sick discus seem to be falling at my door step. I bought a 120 gal from someone who threw in the three discus he had been keeping in there. They have been QT for 3 weeks now, and given the condition that I found them in, the will be QT for several more weeks. They were extremely emaciated when I got them, and so have been treated for intestinal worms and flagellates. They are finally starting to put some weight on and regain a bit of their color. I am hoping someone might be able to help me ascertain what strain these guys are (all different). Any and all comments and/or suggestions are welcome. Thanks everyone!

Maybe some sort of Brown & Blue Turq.?








Might be a Blue Checkerboard?

[Dying for Discus]

Hmm...they look like blue turquoise to me.

Does that one on the left always have the vertical black stripe going down its eye, even when the rest of the bars are not showing??

[Erica & Robi]

Yes the brown colored one always has a fairly prominent bar going through the eye.

[korbi_doc]

Hi, Erica & Robi, the two do look blue turq to me, the other may have pigeon blood...more importantly whatever, your pics show a very nice trio, seems whatever you have done/treated with, you've done a great job bringin'm back to good health & good color....you are to be congratulated for doing so well, not always easy with sick discus....keep up the good work & enjoy that 120g....JMO Dottie

[Erica & Robi]

Thank you so much for the kind words Dottie. It is so horrible coming upon discus that have obviously been sick and neglected for a while. The brown colored turq. wasn't too bad off, but the others were in pretty bad condition, as you can see from the photos below taken (when I first took them in). There is a fourth discus in the second pic that the original owner of those three's brother gave to me two weeks later (mouthful). That one is in the worst condition. He is being treated, but I doubt will ever fully recover.

The sickest of the original three:


You can really see how skinny these poor discus were:

[aquaticplantman]

Wow, you've done a great job with them. I'll bet they're happy they found you guys.

-- Matt H.

[Erica & Robi]

Thank you aquaticplantman. Still never feels like enough. I can't believe anyone would just let it get so bad. The darker turk in the first 4 pics (1st posting) and first pic (2nd posting) still shows some signs of emaciation, but has vastly improved. I don't know if his body will ever fully recover the shape it should have, but as long as he is healthy and happy, I'm happy. As for the poor little guy in the back of the 2nd pic (2nd posting), I just don't know. Too soon to tell. He is so skinny and scared all the time. I will continue to give them treatments, until we are sure there no traces of parasitic eggs in them. Also, making sure they get plenty of good food and as much TLC as possible. Thank you again for your comment.

[Dying for Discus]

Aww...they are very pretty with some really neat markings even though they had those issues. I've been a sucker for "rescuing" discus too. I've rescued two so far.

As for the really shy one...My current PB was just like that and had been in very bad LFS conditions when I got him. Patience was the best medicine. I spent an hour or two in front of the tank, just getting them used to motion and people. He went through some hard infections but now he's much better and his growth finally picked up.

I have a fish with a stripe that's always visible too. He is my shyest one. Someone told me that when the first, fifth or ninth stripe remains (or all of them remain), it is considered a "Heckle" strips and just means that the fish is closer to the wild discus. So he might just be a first or second generation non-wild discus!

Good luck and good job!!

[Erica & Robi]

Thanks M. I'll keep my fingers crossed and that little guy is welcome to take all the time he needs to get better. Nice to know there is some light at the end of the tunnel. I just get so worried, since the others have noticeably put on wait and that one remains so skinny. Probably, just having a harder time dealing with the parasites. We intend to continue medicating them until there are no signs of illness and hopefully, he just needs more time and, as you put it so well, patience. Good idea on spending an hour or two in front of the tank. I normally try not to spend a lot of time at that QT tank, because I feel it scares or upsets him. It is more logical, however, that the more time I spend with them, the sooner they will adjust and feel comfortable. Thanks again.