Discus Itchy/Scratching

[jeff12]

I have started using age water about 2 days ago but the day before switching to age water, I did a direct water change and noticed the discus was doing this peculiar thing. They would swim up to the airline of the sponge filter and swim fast against it to maybe scratch itself. I thought it was gonna be fine because they probably didnt like the direct change. Today, I saw one of them do it again not during a water change. I notice that maybe only 1 or 2 of them do it not all. They don't do it all the time.

This has been happening before I introduced the plant. The plant was introduced yesterday.

What is causing them to do this? Maybe its the fresh rain water that California is getting LOL

[warblad79]

Oh no, why did you put plants

[jeff12]

Oh no, why did you put plants

The tank was looking kind of boring so I wanted to add something to make it more interesting.

[Filip]

They ussualy scratch ,dart etc. when they are irritated by the water. Maybe the tap water you used for WC bothered them in some way ,or maybe the water quality (bacterial load )wasn't perfect for them in this past couple of days .

[jeff12]

There isn't anymore itching or scratching but they continue to dart. They get scared very easily. We have been getting a lot of rain lately so does the water company add anything to cause this? Water is aged and aerated for a day.

[DISCUS STU]

A little scratching or darting may be just a temporary problem and often it's from a small irritation due to a temporary water quality issue. It may must just go away. Keep on top of it and if it gets much worse then you may have to take some other measures. In nature fish normally do this from parasites or gill irritations but it's too early to say if the plant you introduced brought anything in with it or if this is just normal behavior that will pass. Did you wash and quarantine the plant, always a good idea.

I wouldn't recommend throwing any meds at the problem, it may be something relatively minor that will pass soon.

[Cosmo]

The chemistry of your tap water changes with the external environment such as rain and snow, winter weather, summer weather. Sounds like the heavy rains may be the cause (if you live in Calif). Both well water and city water can be effected, well water by nature, city water by what is or is not added by the city. Do you check your ph and tds - could be a change in either they weren't prepared for. If it persists, fill out the form and let the med experts guide you through treatment for external parasites, though it sounds like a water issue.