aleksamrki
01-15-2021, 09:44 PM
Hello. I am new to discus and to this forum, as i got them as a gift after a few years pause in fishkeeping. Couldnt let my girlfriend down so I decided to keep them and in the past few months they really grew onto me. Currently Im keeping them in a 30gal tank, and when the finances of a college student allow it I plan on upgrading. They are about half the size of adult, maybe a bit more. At first I had 4, 3 were from a LFS that is absurd and were stunted and sick so I lost 2 until I finally got my hands on some metro (here you cant buy it without prescription from a doctor, so it was v hard to get it). I finished the treatment on the 1st of January and the remaining two were doing great, the red melon that is slightly bigger from a local breeder my girlfriend found and the surviving turq from the 3 turqs she bought at LFS. The turq wasnt affected before treatment, and was eating fine before and during, but when the red melon healed and started eating again it got very aggressive. I decided to buy a blue diamond so the red melon wouldnt be focused on the turq only. it was all well until a few days ago the turq stopped eating. He was always a picky eater, but would ALWAYS take food if hand fed. Needless to say I bonded with him so this is very hard for me. Today he refused hand feeding, picked at tubifex cube but seems he spit it all out, hes hiding between driftwood and glass and I think he is slightly darker than usual. Last night I also noticed a strange head and fin movement the red melon displayed when he was sick before metro treatment. Any help would mean a world to me.
DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE
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?
last couple of days the turq was eating less and last night he was displaying odd head and fin movement. Nothing unusual happened that could cause it.
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).
slightly darker than usual, barely eating, hiding between wood and glass, i am not sure what a clamped fin is but he is keeping his right pectoral fin along the body and it has a strange white spot on it(not ich), but he uses it from time to time, and I also notice him vibrating/flicking/rapidly moving his fins from time to time, and moving his head to one side(dont know how to describe this better). He does cheer up and come out when I come near the tank, but ignores the food unless its hand fed, and even then eats only a few granules.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
I have used metro until 1st of January but he was well before and during that. Havent yet used anything for this.
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
30 gal, 1 red melon, 1 blue diamond and 1 turq, 3 panda cory cats, juvenile twig catfish, juvenile l333 pleco, 5 horned nerite snails and 2 kuhli kuhlies.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
30% at least 2 times a week, sometimes more, depending on my studies.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
the tank was running 2 months with above mentioned fish and 5 neon tetras before discus, the neons were killed when discus were added and its running about 3-4 months since. About 2 centimeters of sand as a substrate.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I age it at least a day
8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
sera aquatan, I add it to the aging water. I use a bit more than the instructions say.
9. 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 __30-31C___
- ph __7,5___
- ammonia reading _0___
- nitrite reading _0___
- nitrate reading __10__
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 __X__
- RO water ____
10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
i added more snails and the twig catfish a few days ago.
11. 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 Tetra discus, Sera discus granules nature, dried tubifex cubes and beef heart mix, all daily. I dont have a set regime but just add in a bit of food whenever I can during the day.
12. 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.
DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE
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?
last couple of days the turq was eating less and last night he was displaying odd head and fin movement. Nothing unusual happened that could cause it.
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).
slightly darker than usual, barely eating, hiding between wood and glass, i am not sure what a clamped fin is but he is keeping his right pectoral fin along the body and it has a strange white spot on it(not ich), but he uses it from time to time, and I also notice him vibrating/flicking/rapidly moving his fins from time to time, and moving his head to one side(dont know how to describe this better). He does cheer up and come out when I come near the tank, but ignores the food unless its hand fed, and even then eats only a few granules.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
I have used metro until 1st of January but he was well before and during that. Havent yet used anything for this.
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
30 gal, 1 red melon, 1 blue diamond and 1 turq, 3 panda cory cats, juvenile twig catfish, juvenile l333 pleco, 5 horned nerite snails and 2 kuhli kuhlies.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
30% at least 2 times a week, sometimes more, depending on my studies.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
the tank was running 2 months with above mentioned fish and 5 neon tetras before discus, the neons were killed when discus were added and its running about 3-4 months since. About 2 centimeters of sand as a substrate.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I age it at least a day
8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
sera aquatan, I add it to the aging water. I use a bit more than the instructions say.
9. 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 __30-31C___
- ph __7,5___
- ammonia reading _0___
- nitrite reading _0___
- nitrate reading __10__
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 __X__
- RO water ____
10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
i added more snails and the twig catfish a few days ago.
11. 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 Tetra discus, Sera discus granules nature, dried tubifex cubes and beef heart mix, all daily. I dont have a set regime but just add in a bit of food whenever I can during the day.
12. 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.