Possible Problem?

[Squidward]

Right.
After a bit of advice here.

2 1/2 weeks ago I got my 12 new Discus. About 7cm or so.
Took a day for them to settle down.
All excpet one.

They are all eating like pigs. And have grown noticably in the short time I have had them.

Except one.
It is dark, but not shedding slime.
It eats but barely picks at a morsel or two of food.
I haven't noticed any poop, but I haven't seen any white stringy.
It's not pinched or razor back.

I don't think there is a problem in general with what I am doing as the others are doing really well.

I have contacted the seller (a very reputable supplier) and he has told me that it is just nervous and taking a bit longer to settle in.
He told me not to start with meds, and just continue with water changes and feeding and it will come round in due course.

I am just worried that it will end up stunted.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[DiscusLoverJeff]

His advice is good for now. Just keep doing your water changes as that is the key to good health and growth. If you do not see a difference in a few days, post in the disease section and fill out the questionnaire and lets see if we can find something wrong.

[Gorf]

So 7cm as in about 3"?

The breeder is correct, nothing concerning at the moment. A photo would be good.

[Squidward]

Any ideas why just the one fish is struggling?

Is it not going to be stunted unless it starts eating properly soon?

Any way i can help it through this?

I need to work out how to post a photo. Will do so soon.

[Gorf]

They are individuals, this one is not happy. He may end up a little stunted it depends how he pulls though.

[Squidward]

They are individuals, this one is not happy. He may end up a little stunted it depends how he pulls though.

So, Is it just something i have to accept as part of discus keeping?
Anything i can do to make it feel more relaxed in the tank?

[Gorf]

Indeed, you have bought young fish which have not been completely through the growing-on process.

You can ease things for him by ensuring he has somewhere to hide, such as behind a large plant or decor item. Give him a shady area from the tank lighting & feed in a way that gives every fish chance of food. For instance dropping in one lump of beefheart will give the more aggressive fish more food. Breaking the beefheart into several bits & dropping it in several parts of the tank will give them all more chance. Regular feeding of bloodworm for instance will also give the timid fish chance to eat more.

[Squidward]

Indeed, you have bought young fish which have not been completely through the growing-on process.

You can ease things for him by ensuring he has somewhere to hide, such as behind a large plant or decor item. Give him a shady area from the tank lighting & feed in a way that gives every fish chance of food. For instance dropping in one lump of beefheart will give the more aggressive fish more food. Breaking the beefheart into several bits & dropping it in several parts of the tank will give them all more chance. Regular feeding of bloodworm for instance will also give the timid fish chance to eat more.

How can I be sure it's not worms, internal parasites or flagellates

Yup,
I do this already. There is wood in the tank
And at feeding time I try and distribute it so that not only the aggressive fish get.

[Gorf]

How can I be sure it's not worms, internal parasites or flagellates

Without going through the disease diagnoses we can't be sure. It would seem unlikely. Assuming you have good quarantine procedures at home, you say you bought from a good source, therefore I would expect your fish not to carry any passengers. You've not seen white poop & the other fish are ok.

If you want a diagnoses, post your water test results, some photos & your water change size & frequency.

[Squidward]

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?

Started when I got the fish 3 weeks ago

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).


As above.
1 of my 12 youngsters is barely eating, just pecking at the food
It is dark, but not slimey
Is swimming around
And not clamping fins
I haven't seen any poop but certainly no white stringy poop.
Has stayed at the same size that I got it.

The other 11 fish are doing well.
Eating like pigs and have shown significant growth since I have gotten them.

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

No treatment/medication yet

Tank/Water

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

5 x 2 x 2
Roughly 550L before displacement

12 Discus - 7 cm approx when I got them, now about 9/10 cm

Other fish - a few Sterbai Corries and 6 Bleeding Heart Tetras

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


10% daily

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

Tank been running for a year
Substrate - fine gravel

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

No
I don't have the facilities to age water unfortunately. Treated with Prime before I put it in the tank

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 _____30*C

- ph _____7.8

KH - 5
GH - 9

- ammonia reading ____ 0

- nitrite reading ____ 0

- nitrate reading ____20

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 ____ No

- municipal water ____Yes

- RO water ____ No


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

Nothing aside from the Discus
Other fish been in the tank for a year

10. 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.

Will try take a photo soon

[Madaboutdiscus]

Change a bigger % of water get rid of that gravel to start.

-Victoria

[Squidward]

Change a bigger % of water get rid of that gravel to start.

-Victoria

Fair point about the gravel.

I don't have anywhere to age water.
So I can only do smaller changes. Otherwise the ph and temp swings will be too great.

[Madaboutdiscus]

Unless you can start changing more water your discus arent going to be healthy. How much of a ph swing is it from your tap to your tank? Your nitrates are very high for discus you need them under 10 for healthy discus. Have you seen any strange poo?

-Victoria

[Madaboutdiscus]

As far as temperature you can run your tap water to match your tank temp. Do you have a thermometer?

-Victoria