Discus red flared gills or worried for nothing?????

[Andrew watson]

Hi I may have an issue with one one my discus.
75g planted tank.
Set up over two months before fish introduced.
Tap water treated with water conditioner.
WC 40% every 2-3 days. ( might have to increase if this is the issue)
Ph 7.0
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.0ppm
Aqua clear 110 HOB
S132736132737ponge filter
Of my 5 discus one seems to breath faster and harder then the rest and today I noticed the gills maybe flared or red. Don't want to jump to conclusions and blame gill fluke or throw meds in the tank if I am jumping as ghosts here. I have only had them just over a week and for the most part they all seem to eat and school well with each other with the common sparing that cichlids usually do.

Sorry I have no clue why the pictures are so big and sideways but at least they are on here to see. :)

[LizStreithorst]

There appears to be more wrong with your fish than the flared gills. But we will deal with the gills and possible worm infestation first. Put the fish in a BB QT tank and add Absolute Wormer according to label directions. The fish looks like it has been sick for a while because it's obviously stunted.

[Andrew watson]

How can you tell it is stunted? Only had them a week and I would like to know what I am looking for in the area. All the discus I bought are this size as my local fish store brings in juveniles a lot from local breeders. Is absolute worm a product that is allowed to be sold in Canada?

[mleibowi]

I agree with Liz. I’m terms of stunting- look at how large their eyes are compared to the body which is typically a sure sign if a stunted fish. I suggest watching Al Sabetta’s talk on discus which you can find on you tube. It’s a great resource.

[bluelagoon]

Here are the eye size for stunted discus. 132738. Notice the length of the space between eye and forehead. A lot of stunted discus come from pet shops because they usually not fed nor WC's preformed enough. IMO, not many nice looking discus in the pet shops here in Halifax (most are Stendker) that I have seem. Most will stay in the tanks for weeks and when you go back 3 weeks later they are still there and haven't grown any, sometimes there, even longer. They seem to never get that growth back once stunted.

[Andrew watson]

Thanks. I did watch the video and it was great. Only having them 8 days they must have been stunted upon purchase. I do know they are happy and schooling and eating well and I will be deworming as soon as possible. I have noticed that to me they seem to be growing since I got them so I will take that as a good sign.

[jeep]

Thanks. I did watch the video and it was great. Only having them 8 days they must have been stunted upon purchase.

Absolutely they were. You did nothing wrong. Give them lots of water changes and good foods. The type of substrate you're using is not ideal for discus because it will trap waste, but vacuum often and hopefully your discus will turn out nice...

As far as flared gills, it's kind of hard to tell in the photo. If the gill plate is flared it was probably their care before you got them. If they are breathing heavy then there could be fluke or some infection.