help! Discus not eating but seems to swim happily..very confusing

[plakadista]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started

about a month or so ago, i bought 3 Discus. they were all doing fine! they are in a planted tank. last week, I got 2 more blue snakeskins (not sure what the exact name is) because the owner was closing down his store and moving it to a new location and he sold me 2 for 70 bucks! all the discus in my tank is about 4-5 inches in size. now one of the blue diamonds just bullies the 2 new fish which makes them hide.

now i already took out the bully and put him on a separate tank. I am selling him and now trying to find a buyer. now all of my four discus in my main tank is swimming happily and schooling together and i couldnt be happier.

My problem now is that the 2 new discus are not eating what i give them. the other two are eating great! i feed them colour bits and some flakes. the store owner said that they feed them the colour bits and flakes and the eat them happily so now i dont know why they are not eating them.. I havent tried feeding them any frozen food yet. im planning on getting some tomorrow. should i buy some frozen blackworms or freeze dried?


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)

Not eating, slightly pale in color but sometimes show its dark stripes and its blueness. Swims happily and plays around..i dont know if thats a symptom..




3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.

only tried feeding tetra color bits and tetra flake food.. havent tried feeding them frozen foods or freeze dried foods yet.



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish

72 gallon bowfront. 5 fish and about 4-5 inchers


5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?

30% water change every 3 or 4 days.

6 Parameters and water source;

- temp __about 86 degrees___

- ph _7.6____

- ammonia reading __0__

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading __5-10 ppm__

- well water ____

- municipal water ____

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

nope

[Chicago Discus]

Welcome to simply,
1, Ok part of the problem is that you really need to quarantine new fish when you get them you said you had the first set of discus for about a month and a couple of weeks ago you bought two more discus and put them with your first set.
2, But since they have been in the tank for a couple of weeks together what ever is wrong with the two new discus has already been exposed to the first discus.
3, It could be many things maybe the other discus in the tank are bullying the new one during feeding time or it could be parasites.
4, How is there poo is it black clear stringy or Are they just not eating
5, I would start by doing a large water change about 80% with aged aerated water at the same temp. And see what that does sometimes that's all it takes to stimulate them to eat, also try moving things around in your tank (rock, plants etc...) what that does is make the discus start over with territories in the tank and should help with bullying........hope it helps

[Chicago Discus]

Son you have a few threads going with basically the same problem..........Josie



Ohhh I see why you started a new thread ok sorry......

[plakadista]

Welcome to simply,
1, Ok part of the problem is that you really need to quarantine new fish when you get them you said you had the first set of discus for about a month and a couple of weeks ago you bought two more discus and put them with your first set.
2, But since they have been in the tank for a couple of weeks together what ever is wrong with the two new discus has already been exposed to the first discus.
3, It could be many things maybe the other discus in the tank are bullying the new one during feeding time or it could be parasites.
4, How is there poo is it black clear stringy or Are they just not eating
5, I would start by doing a large water change about 80% with aged aerated water at the same temp. And see what that does sometimes that's all it takes to stimulate them to eat, also try moving things around in your tank (rock, plants etc...) what that does is make the discus start over with territories in the tank and should help with bullying........hope it helps

1. i do want to quarantine them but the thing is that i live in a very small apartment with now space at all for anything. i set up a 10 gallon quarantine for the bully and my mom freaked..so yeah..

2. i dont think it has..the other 2 is fine and eating whatever i give them..

3. i already took out the bully and now they are swimming actively. i tried feeding them some freeze dried brine shrimp and one of the 2 new discus seem to like them and eats them but really slowly..its like theyre very skeptical about the food..i also tried feeding them frozen blood worms..they dont like it..they just try to eat them and spit it back out..same with the original ones..i feed them color bits but the 2 new ones just do the same thing with the bloodworms..tries to eat them but spit them back out..

4. well i have not seen any poo from the 2 new ones..but the original one's poo is usually black. sometimes i see a little bit of red..

5. well i cant age water because again, i dont have the space at all and not enough buckets.. i cant move things around cuz its only a half planted tank and the rest is open space with sand as a substrate..i dont think territories are an issue anymore because the bully is out and they are schooled together already..its just the other 2 are not eating..should i put something like discus essentials or something like that to the water??

i dont get these fish..(siighh) please help

[Skip]

all you can do now is just water change daily.. 50% EVERYday

and see what happens.. no need to add anything.. just observe, feed and WC>. don't over think nor react..

[plakadista]

all you can do now is just water change daily.. 50% EVERYday

and see what happens.. no need to add anything.. just observe, feed and WC>. don't over think nor react..

but wouldnt that remove the good bacteria in the water if you do WC everyday?

[Skip]

but wouldnt that remove the good bacteria in the water if you do WC everyday?

nope..

think of the Good Bacteria as a clam.. they need a surface that has a lot of water flow.. ie filters with good filter material *sponges, bio media*.. thats where they are..

you are removed WASTES from the water and keeping it as clean as possible..

[plakadista]

nope..

think of the Good Bacteria as a clam.. they need a surface that has a lot of water flow.. ie filters with good filter material *sponges, bio media*.. thats where they are..

you are removed WASTES from the water and keeping it as clean as possible..

oh okay. i have read that some people had discus that did not eat for like 1 or 2 weeks and they said that its because they are still acclimating. i hope that that is just the case and they will eat soon within 3 or 4 days.. im going to try to do WCs everyday..

[Skip]

my hans discus took almost two weeks to settle in.. so it happens

[plakadista]

my hans discus took almost two weeks to settle in.. so it happens

really? that kinda gives me a sigh of relief..

[Skip]

really? that kinda gives me a sigh of relief..

they are tougher then we think... just do the water changes

[plakadista]

well...i just noticed this morning that one of the new discus has a white and stringy feces..its so small but its there..and the other one now is hiding and is dark in color..ive read the sticky for possible treatments and looks like that metro is the way to go..should i treat the whole tank? is this going to affect the plants?

[Skip]

RELAX!!!!!! Stop SHOTGUNNING every little thing

did you do your water change yesterday?! are doing one today?

[plakadista]

RELAX!!!!!! Stop SHOTGUNNING every little thing

did you do your water change yesterday?! are doing one today?

lol yeah i did my WC yesterday and i am doing one today..ok ok ill stop..damn its hard

[Skip]

lol yeah i did my WC yesterday and i am doing one today..ok ok ill stop..damn its hard

it takes time to recover from illness/damage..

if you were in a car wreck.. would you drink a Magic bottle of liquid and jump out of bed.. nope..

same for fish..

time.. patience.. clean water..