Discus Suddenly Not Eating

[ccronje]

Good day,

About 5 or 6 days ago the most eager eater of my 5 discus suddenly stopped eating and started ignoring all food. Physically he seems in good shape with no visible signs of sickness, still roaming around the tank as normal...perhaps slightly more shy than normal. The other 4 are still eating as usual and water parameters still seem perfect.

After 4 days of no eating I took him out of the main tank and put him in a separate hospital tank, where I slowly raised the temperature from the 84 in the main tank to 91. In the hospital tank he has been swimming around looking perfectly fine, curious about his environment, showing no signs if illness or stress, but after 2 days in there he is still ignoring any food I offer. Since he has been in there he as pooped once and it looked pretty normal to me (not white).

The only thing I have dosed in the hospital tank is Seachem Metroplex, which I realized was not done due to any diagnosis and more out of desperation.

I would really appreciate any advice on this.

Thank you

Chris

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Chris, since you have started treating with Metroplex best to complete to the treatment which should be a ten/12 day treatment. Next time I would suggest using pure metro at 500 grams per ten gallons which is dosed every day after a water change.
Pat

[Iminit]

Well some questions. How long have you had these discus? How big is your tank? How many other fish in the tank? How often do you change water and how much do you change. Pictures will help.

[ccronje]

Well some questions. How long have you had these discus? How big is your tank? How many other fish in the tank? How often do you change water and how much do you change. Pictures will help.

The tank is 55 gallons, with 5 Discus (of about 4 inches) and 20 tetras. Have had the discus for 3 months and do 50% water change per week...so far they seemed to be doing very well and growing, so it is not obviously why the one is suddenly ignoring food.

[ccronje]

Hi Chris, since you have started treating with Metroplex best to complete to the treatment which should be a ten/12 day treatment. Next time I would suggest using pure metro at 500 grams per ten gallons which is dosed every day after a water change.
Pat

Thank you for the reply. It looks like metronidazole is difficult to find here, so I had to settle for the Metroplex because I had no other options.

[LizStreithorst]

Do you live in the States? If so, most of us buy our fish meds from Jehmco. If not, do you know how much actual Metro is in Metroplex?

[Iminit]

How big were they when you got them? 5 discus and 20 tetras is a big group. You may need to up your water changes. 4” discus are still young discus. 2-3 times a week would be much better. Have you tested your water? How big is the qt tank and how often are you changing the water there.

[ccronje]

Do you live in the States? If so, most of us buy our fish meds from Jehmco. If not, do you know how much actual Metro is in Metroplex?

I live in South Africa. According to the Metroplex specifications : Active ingredients: metronidazole (70%), Inactive ingredients: excipients (30%)

[LizStreithorst]

Tom is right about upping your WC. 3 times 3 times a week, 50% each time.

If I have to mess with numbers, but the dosage you want is 500 mg metro for 12 days. And if one fish of the group has it they all do. I'd treat the entire tank if I were you, just not showing it yet.

[LizStreithorst]

Tom is right about upping your WC. 3 times 3 times a week, 50% each time.

If I have to mess with numbers I'll get it wrong, but the dosage you want is 500 mg metro for 12 days. And if one fish of the group has it they all do. I'd treat the entire tank if I were you, just not showing it yet.

[brewmaster15]

Just Checking in here on this thread.... Hows things in the tank and with the Fish Chris? Any Chance you can post some pics ?

We also have a questionnaire that can often help us figure out whats going on...

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?


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).


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



Tank/Water

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


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


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


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


8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?


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 _____

- ph _____

- ammonia reading ____

- nitrite reading ____

- nitrate reading ____

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 ____


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


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.



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.




-Al
Ps, ..
I know its a tad belated, but welcome to SimplyDiscus!