Discus breathing a little faster - not eating

[Timinator]

This is my first time having discus so i hope someone can help. I purchased 6 discus about a week ago and everything looks good. i've been doing water changes frequently and such.. but just yesterday i noticed one discus was breathing quite fast and did not eat at all at feeding time. I added some airation to the tank with one of those grey cylindrical filters and today i noticed his breathing a little slower and when i feed them he looks like he is going to gobble up some food (he even chases the food) but does not eat it.. he just looks at it and sure enough another fish will come around and eat it in front of him... should i worry at all? any comments or suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks

Tim C.

[angel12]

are these adults or juveniles ? were they shipped or did you buy them from a LFS are there other Discus in your tank ? other than the breathing through one Gill does he look healthy no slime coating .. no sign of bacterial infection on the Gill or skin is his poop white or dark (thats if you have noticed it) .. what was the Breeder or LFS feeding him on when You got them (Have you tried feeding the same food as they did?)

also what were the water perams of the Tanks they came from ... It might be just me but as ive just found out my adults have taken over a week to get to the point were they have settled in and are actualy feeding for the first 5 days they wouldnt touch a thing and they were also breathing through one Gill and showing barring.... I did dose them with a suspended formula Given to be my the Breeder I got them from (However I think that Giving them plenty of fresh clean water and making sure it was constant in ph and there was no ammonia nitrite and very little nitrate) They got used to it

so basicaly if they are adults I woulndt worry to much unless there are visible signs of disease (no doubt other members will advise you further)

HTH

:)

[crazy4discus]

i got the smae problem my discus is breathing hard and not eatting it is an adult but i dunnoe wat to do

[Carol_Roberts]

First line of defense is daily water changes of 30% or more and salt @ 1 or 2 tablespoons per 10 gallons. Then if no improvement you have to narrow down what to treat for - is it flukes, bacterial gill infection, intestinal flagellates . . . even constipation will make a fish breathe heavier and turn dark. . . .