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Thread: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

  1. #1
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    Default Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    I have had my system up and running for about 2 months (after 6 week fishless cycle) and now one of my discus seems to be a bit out of sorts this morning. I noticed last night that it was acting a bit lethargic and was a lot darker than usual. This morning it seemed even worse, had NO interest in food, was swimming slowly and listing to the side slightly. I don't really see any outward signs of illness, though in the video i attached it looks like there might be a small white spot on it's side.

    I have a 10 gallon tank that I can set up this evening as a hospital tank, but I am not sure how to treat this guy. He is probably the smallest if my discus at ~3.5". I perform daily 30g water changes using RODI, with 1ppm TDS, with ROright added in. Here is some info on the tank:

    - Waterbox 230.6 aquarium (170 display volume w/~20gallon actual sump volume)
    - 1/2" PSF substrate
    - Manzanita
    - various seed pods

    pH = 6.4
    Temp = 88
    Gh = 6
    kH = 3
    Ammonia = 0
    Nitrite = 0
    Nitrate = <5

    Inhabitants:

    - 12 Discus
    - 11 Sterbai Cory's
    - 5 GBR
    - 3 Rummynose Tetras

    Please let me know what my next step should be and how I should handle this little guy. (just click on the image to be taken to flikr to see the video.

    20190612_054213 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

  2. #2
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Your water parameters seem fine, although I would reduce the heat a bit. There's quite a few fish in there, did you QT?

    If you could follow this link and fill out the form and paste it back here maybe we can solve this... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...lease-complete

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Here is the form, most of this was already mentioned, but here you go. I turned the temp up to 88 because I had an outbreak of ich early on and the temp help end the ich before it ended all of the fish. None of the Discus ever showed any signs of illness, but i lost a number of other fish. Also, I have been told that my tank is lightly stocked for it's size, is this not the case?

    Problem

    1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?

    One fish seems off, lethargic, not eating, listing a little bit.

    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).

    Turning dark, listing to side slightly, and sometimes a light headstand

    3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.

    none

    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.

    ~190g total volume 12 discus from 3.5-5", 11 sterbai Cory's <1", 5 GBR ~1.5"

    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).

    30g daily, ~16%

    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?

    Tank has been running for about 3 months total, 1.5-2 months with fish

    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.

    Yes, I age the water for 12-24 hours, virtually no pH swing. I use RODI water
    with pH 6.2, after 12 hours pH = 6.3 (I think RO right is raising pH slightly)


    8. Parameters and water source;

    Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.


    - temp 88

    - ph 6.4

    - ammonia reading 0

    - nitrite reading 0

    - nitrate reading <5

    What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

    - well water ____

    - municipal water ____

    - RO water 100%, with RO right added


    9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.

    None, all fish added together

    10. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can.

    I feed a homemade beefheart mix with beefheart, raw shrimp, salmon, spinach, banana, spirulina, cyclops, Cobalt discus flakes, and multi vitamin, 2-4x daily. Also FDBW every other day or so.

    11. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.

    This is a link to the video
    20190612_054213 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

  4. #4
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Not that I think this is necessarily your current problem, but I would not feed beef heart in anything other than a bare aquarium.
    I'd also stop the fdbw, if they are Bloodworms.. It's a poor food in my opinion and can cause problems if not fully hydrated prior to feeding .
    Blackworm on the other hand is good.
    Get yourself some pellet and flake food. Discus love Hikari Discus Bio Gold and Tetra Color Bits

    Good luck
    Last edited by slicksta; 06-12-2019 at 01:15 PM.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Quote Originally Posted by slicksta View Post
    Not that I think this is necessarily your current problem, but I would not feed beef heart in anything other than a bare aquarium.
    I'd also stop the fdbw, if they are Bloodworms.. It's a poor food in my opinion and can cause problems if not fully hydrogenated prior to feeding .
    Blackworm on the other hand is good.
    Get yourself some pellet and flake food. Discus love Hikari Discus Bio Gold and Tetra Color Bits

    Good luck
    FDBW are freeze dried Blackworms. I have a huge bucket of the Discus Hans Cobalt discus flakes and NLS Discus pellets, but the Discus want NOTHING to do with either of them. I have been feeding small amounts of the BH mix at any time, very little makes it to the bottom of the tank and what does is quickly cleaned up by the GBR's and cory's. If I could get the Discus to eat pellets or flakes, I would gladly feed that with the BH mix as a treat.

    Any thought on what is wrong with this particular fish or how to treat him?

  6. #6
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    I hear ya... I've been through some foods they will never accept as well.
    The two mentioned I've been using for years and it might take a week but they always accept it.
    I don't see anything wrong other than the temp is too high 82°-85° is where you should be.
    If you think it's not getting better in a day you can move him to the QT and treat with salt
    .
    And that's hydrated not hydrogenated on the worms.:-D:-D
    Be sure to do that. Blackworm included
    Last edited by slicksta; 06-12-2019 at 01:17 PM.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    I will work on bringing the temp down a few degrees and see how things go. I will also get the QT tank ready in case I need to move him over.

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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    My fish took a long time to warm up to NLS pellets. They prefer Krill Gold by Northfin.

    How long has the fish been like this? I wouldn't panic and do something drastic, you can end up doing more harm than good in that case. Any sign of bloating?

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Quote Originally Posted by JamesW View Post
    My fish took a long time to warm up to NLS pellets. They prefer Krill Gold by Northfin.

    How long has the fish been like this? I wouldn't panic and do something drastic, you can end up doing more harm than good in that case. Any sign of bloating?
    I only noticed it acting strange last night and there is no sign of bloating. I got a 29g tank and an aquaclear 30 filter so I can setup a decent QT. I figure I can easily add media from the DT to the AC30 so I don't have to cycle the QT. If he is not improving by tonight, I will take him out and put him in the QT. This way I can monitor him more easily and do 75-100% daily water changes.

    As for feeding, I may have to starve them for a couple days and see if I can entice them to try the NLS or flakes.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Quote Originally Posted by lpsouth1978 View Post
    I only noticed it acting strange last night and there is no sign of bloating. I got a 29g tank and an aquaclear 30 filter so I can setup a decent QT. I figure I can easily add media from the DT to the AC30 so I don't have to cycle the QT. If he is not improving by tonight, I will take him out and put him in the QT. This way I can monitor him more easily and do 75-100% daily water changes.

    As for feeding, I may have to starve them for a couple days and see if I can entice them to try the NLS or flakes.
    I think this is a good plan of action. You water quality seems good. The reason I suggested bringing the temp down is because of the white spot. If it's bacterial you want lower temps. If the spot grows, I would add some salt to the 29g.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Thanks Jeep, I will keep an eye on them all, but especially the sick one. I will keep you all updated, as there is anything to report.

  12. #12
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    I just saw this thread. Yes, the fish does look unhappy. It looks like an external bacterial infection to me. I'd put him in the 29 and treat with Furan II if he were mine. A salt dip might be a good choice as well, but I've never done that so I can't give you directions.

    Discus don't need temps that high and high temps make it easier for bacteria to grow. I keep the temp in my tanks at between 82 and 83.
    Mama Bear

  13. #13
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    This is correct. I keep my tanks at 82 and only raise to 88-93 if treating for hex and no bacterial issues are suspected...

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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    I just saw this thread. Yes, the fish does look unhappy. It looks like an external bacterial infection to me. I'd put him in the 29 and treat with Furan II if he were mine. A salt dip might be a good choice as well, but I've never done that so I can't give you directions.

    Discus don't need temps that high and high temps make it easier for bacteria to grow. I keep the temp in my tanks at between 82 and 83.
    Quote Originally Posted by jeep View Post
    This is correct. I keep my tanks at 82 and only raise to 88-93 if treating for hex and no bacterial issues are suspected...
    I will set the thermostat a couple of degrees lower tonight and then a again in the morning. Is 12-14 hours long enough to safely drop temps 5-6 degrees? I will have to get some Furan II, I have Prazipro, Cupramin, and Paraguard on hand, but no Furan II.

  15. #15
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus seems off, how would you recommend treating it?

    You can lower the temp several degrees daily. They don't mind a temp drop especially if it's gradual.

    I honestly don't know what is wrong with your fish. The symptoms suggest the meds I suggested are used to treat those symptoms. I'd put it in the 29 now rather than later. what ever it is being shed into the tank water. Your new fish may be immune to what the sick fish has, but still...

    I'll try to find the guy who can help you better than I can. He's the owner of the forum but he's dealing with more important problems, but I will try.

    I know what it's like to be new to Discus and have one that's unwell and not have a clue what to do. I used to freak, too. I've been around long enough to know that you caught this fast. The fish looks to in pretty good shape. Your best way forward is to take a deep breath, have a few beers, and chill while the sick fish gets rid of the mystery med in it's system.
    Mama Bear

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