Bloated, head-standing discus!

[jaydoc]

Help!
I have a nice 4" Alenqueer that waas doing fine when I went to bed last night. Now his stomach is very bloated and he is either upside down or headstanding. He is very actively trying to swim but can't right himself presumably from the bloating. I feed him a little flake, frozen brine, mysis and frozen bloodworms. He had one feed of beefheart a friend gave me a couple of days ago. The temp in the tank is 87, ph8.42 but always is. His 15 juvenile tank mates all look fine and I haven't noticed any abnormal stool. I do at least 50% wc at least every other day and usually daily. My quick ammonia tester on the glass reads safe. Can any body help me?

[tony1313]

Hi Cary,
It sounds like bloat, try this.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=15060;st art=msg156334#msg156334

HTH,
Tony

[Carol_Roberts]

First thing you want to try is epsom salt at 1 or 2 teaspoons per 10 gallons. It won't hurt the tank or fish or filters.

[jaydoc]

I will give it a shot. Do I want epsom slt specifically or can I use the aquarium salt I have? Why does Salt help bloat? Will it hurt my Plecos? I have a BB tank 75Ga with 16 3-4 inch juveniles and two small plecos. The 175 ga. is ordered. Thanks for the help

[jaydoc]

How long does it usually take for them to get better?

[Carol_Roberts]

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate - totally different than table salt. It allows the discus to draw water into the intestine. You should see improvement in about 4 hours. Repeat if no improvement tonight. IF doesn't work by tomorrow you have a bacterial problem.

[jaydoc]

Carol,
Ijust got home and my boy is a little listless, not eating but swimming normally. I think he is on the mend. Thank you. I forgot that i put some Algae wafers in the tank last night just before going to bed. ( for the Plecos) I had never done this before. Could he have snarfed them up and then had problems? Is bloat just from eatiing too much or being constipated? Thanks for the help.
Cary

Hi, Carol:

How can I tell if the discus is not prowling for food? I mean since most of mine enjoys eating from my hand, occasionally I find them head down looking for morsels! Sometimes for long periods they do this. I see that eventhough they have bloating, they still at times continue to eat. What differentiate the two situations?

Thanks. **Angie**

[Carol_Roberts]

They turn dark, shimmy and look uncomfortable when they are constipated. I think yours are just gluttons ;)

Yep! I believe you're absolutely right. Of lately I had to up their feedings to double. I used to give four cubes of frozen b/w, now it's 8 cubes! They don't like the flakes I used to give them. I think they realize it causes them to scratch all the time. ;D [Just imagine, I swore for those flake foods. My aweful experience and mistake at believing they're correct in nutrition.]

Thanks for posting. **Angie**

[jaydoc]

Carol ( or any one else who cares to respond also)
Just an update and some questions: My Alenquer is swimming normally, and has been ever since I treated with epsom salt. He still is not his usual piggie self though. He eats but not agressively like before. Color looks fine. Eye is nice and red. He does have a little fraying of his fins that he has never had before. Is there any thing else I should do?

Also, I have a 3.5" turq that I bought from a local hobbyist. He bred the fish and I have been watching the group since nickel size. They all look great, eat great and are growing like weeds. I finally took 2 home, quarantined them for 10 days then put them in with my other juvies. They were both dark and didn't eat the first day but then seemed to lighten up and eat fine. Today though one of them has dark color, frayed fins and I think his slime coat is peeling a little. I added aquarium salt at 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons and stress coat per the directions on the bottle tonight. Anything else I should do? I haven't put him back in quarantine but may tomorrow if not better.

Lastly, I recently added a beautiful 7" Wattley sunshine to my adult tank. I watched him eat in the tank he came out of and he did great. He is a big beefy fish. Looks very healthy. Since he has been in my tank he looks and acts fine but won't eat. When I add food, he just swims around and bullies averybody else in my adult tank. I have tried to feed him brine shrimp, flake, color bits, blood worms and mysis with the same results. Also beef heart. My order of black worms doesn't come until tommorrow. I confess I didn't quarantine him because he looked great and came out of the same tank as all of the rest of my adults who are all healthy. My mistake. Any ideas?
Thanks all
Cary m

[Carol_Roberts]

I think the bloating may hurt the stomach (or maybe something hurts the stomach so they bloat easier) Either way feed easily digestible foods and don't overfeed for the time being.

With the turks - frayed fins could be from pecking order or with a slime coat problem they may be getting sick. How long have they been with your discus? Don't add stress coat - just salt.

Adults take longer to settle in than juveniles. It's hard on a fish to be the only one added to a tank of established discus - especially with no time to adjust from transport to the new water conditions. You may want to put in a divider and give him a chance to settle in. Do you know what he was eating before?

[jaydoc]

Turks have only been in my juvie tank for about 2 weeks. Why not use the stress coat for a slime/ fin problem? I have noticed that I don't see it mentioned as a treatment on this board but don't know why.

The sunshine was getting color bits, beef heart and CBW total of 5 feeds per day. Is it odd that although he is new he is the bully? He is the largest. Everybody else is around 6 inches.

Thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't think the stress coat does much but gum up the filters. Two weeks is about right for them to get sick. Watch them carefully and lets us know if more symptoms develop. I wonder if your filter is over worked with the extra couple of fish. Sometimes frayed fins and illness are due to water quality. Are both the turks eating normally?

It's not at all odd for a big male to try to dominate the tank. New kid on the block. I bet once you get the cbw he starts eating - if not I'd try the divider and if that doesn't work QT and heat.

[jaydoc]

The turqs eat pretty well. The tank is a 75ga with two eheim wet/ dry filters that are rated up to a 90ga capacity each. The setup is only two months old though and I have been adding discus fairly regularly so the system may not have reache equilibrium. I have gathered that some discus folk are not fond of wet/dry filters but I already had bought the set up before I found this forum. They do have pre-filter sponges and I plan clean the media in aged water as needed. I will keep you posted. Going to bed now though. It is midnight in Kansas.
Cary