Discus hiding at back of tank

[BGK]

hi
i bought 6 discus like 2 months ago
they were all eating fine untill 1 of them started to go off to the back of the tank for no reason and stopped eating
that one dies
but the others were still very healthy
now there is another one not eating
he's been straving for weeks now but is not getting slim or dark
the others are still very healthy
the one that's not eating hides when i am near the tank and comes out a bit when i am not so i can't feed it or else it will hide
it is not being picked on or anything
plzz help me i don't want this one to die like my other one!

[Larry Grenier]

Tell us more:
1) water change practices?
2) abnormal feces?
3) temperature?
4) what are you feeding them?
5) used any meds?

[Carol_Roberts]

I'm guessing a water quality issue too. Please respond to Larry's questions and we'll have a better idea.

[BGK]

i change the water every 2 days
i have never seen him poo since he has been hiding at the back of the tank.. it's kinda dark underneath the drifwood where he hides so it's hard to see him at all
my temperature is between 28-29degrees
i feed them frozen bloodworms, beefheart mix, flakes, frozen scollaps sometimes
i havn't been using any meds at all
but a few weeks ago before he kept hiding i had to keep my tank completely dark to kill of this bacterial "cyanobacteria" or something which is also known as blue green algae i believe.
The bacteria did all die but then the discus started to hide..
cpould this have been anything to do with it?

[nokoto]

I had a problem with my female not eat though the male was fine... I spoke to a breeder with 25yrs in discus keeping...

He advised uping the temp to 95 F which kills the bug that's in the stomach though the fish don't always pull through though mine did and is having babies now... ;D

I would wait to see what the others have to say like carol, as I'm no expert on disease though this worked for me I hope it works for you should you do it only have the tank at 95 for about a week you may lose your plants due to the heat... I ran that risk it was worth it...

Wayne

[Carol_Roberts]

How big is this tank?
How many fish?
How much gravel?
When is the last time you cleaned out your filter and what type is it?

When discus get sick one at a time and start dying like this it is usually a water quality issue. You may need to raise the temp and add metro, but lets get the water squared away first.

[BGK]

it's a 60 gal
5 discus at about 3" and 4 clown loaches at about 4-5"
the gravel is about 1.5" thick
i have 2 filters
a aquaclear 300 and a eheim 2222 pro
i cleaned the aquaclear last week and the eheim filter like 3 days ago

[BGK]

i see the discus comming out to the middle of the tank but still at the bottom sometimes when i feed the flakes
he faces down and looks like he's gonna peck at the gravel where the flakes fell down but does not maybe because i'm there
then he hides again..
i guess it's an improvement cuz he's dones this like 3 times now and he also pecks the driftwood
he still hides most of the times though

[Carol_Roberts]

4 are eating and healthy - one is sick.

Put the sick one in a 20 gallon hospital tank. Raise heat to 92+ add extra air. dose with 400 - 500 mg metro per 10 gallons everyday after a 50% water change with 92 degree water for 3 to 5 days. Feed sparingly of favorite foods. After treatment leave temp up for another week, then slowly lower temp 1 or 2 degrees per day back to 84/86 (whatever main tank temp is)

the loaches are bigger than the discus?

[BGK]

well the clowns are longer
but the discus get to the food 1st usually while the clowns are still hiding