Need advice,1fish not eating all other fine, what now

[rg5186]

Hi, have been lurking and learning for weeks now and have a problem I could use some help with. I have a tank with the following parameters:

155 gallons
50% to 75% water changes weekly, sometimes twice a week at 30% (upped recently due to current issue, changing about 30% every other day)
Temp 88F to 89F
PH - 6.5 to 6.7
Am-0 ppm
N02-0
N03-0
Very ! soft water straight from the tap
add some baking soda with water changes to control PH swing
Compressed C02 added to 14 PPM
Heavily planted but I don't add any additives or fertilizer as I have not needed it to this point, plant growth is crazy enough without any added help.
Tankmates include Rams, Rummy nose tetras, corys and SAE's (not over loaded)

Feeding: Frozen blood worms, live black worms, live brine shrimp, tetra bits. Mixing it up but feeding lightly in the AM and heavier in the early PM

Have had the Discus since 1/25 (8-approx 3 to 4.5 inches)

Have had two pair off and spawn every 7 to 10 days since the day after purchase...no viable eggs yet but that is not the objective of the tank at this time. All have been growing and healthy.

Personally I have been keeping fish for 10 years on and off...mostly breeding angelfish. Never really had much in the way of disease issues.

So to my problem - I have one marlboro red that has not been eating and is hiding in the plants for about two and a half weeks. This change was very sudden...one day eating and playing with the others the next day...nothing. This is not a dominance issue as I do have one fish that takes the brunt of aggression from everyone but keeps on fighting and is growing and eating fine...no one had any issues with the marlboro, in fact it was starting to pair off with another marlboro in the tank. I did have some occasional flashing/scratching from one or two of the fish but the fish in question was not one of them

So I tried treating the tank ( no I do not have a hospital tank at this time...space is a consideration but will be buying one soon if I can't resolve this in a community situation). Initially I treated with Hex-a-mit...one capsule per 10 gallons, temp at 90 degrees. Did this for the time frame recommended on the package with water changes between treatments and a 75% change after the final day...no change. The fish did eat a few brine shrimp but basically would attempt to eat and then spit the food out and go back to hiding...now it doesn't even bother to come out. Next I treated with Prazi and got good results deworming one of the fish for tapeworms but still no change for the marlboro.

So now I am wondering, do I retreat with Hex-a-Mit a higher dosage level as some have done on this board, do I try pipzine for capillaria, or maybe disco-worm by Marc Weiss( does anyone know anything about this stuff ) ?? I have not seen any white feces, the fish is not clamping it's fins, not turning dark, actually seems paler if anything, it faces the front of the tank most of the time and is not "hanging" at an angle, just stays close to the bottom and breaths slowly...It occasionally picks at the substrate but I can't believe that it's getting any real food that way...just stays hidden all the time.

Any help you can provide would be welcome..I don't want to shotgun a bunch of meds in the tank but I have to believe that what one has others might get, although there have been no signs of that to date......

Sorry for the length of the post, I wanted to provide as much info as possible. Thanks in advance for your help

Roseanne

[Carol_Roberts]

To be very honest with you I believe it is nearly impossible to treat sick discus or maintain discus health over the long term in a graveled, planted tank with CO2, etc. The problems you are seeing are exactly what happens to discus over time in a planted tank.

My advice would be a bare hospital tank of 29 to 55 gallons for ease of treatment - which you have stated you don't have room for. I have posted how to use metro in "most common treatments" stickied toward the top of the disease board. Perhaps someone in the planted tank section can better advise you.

[Dane]

I agree with Carol. Don't treat the whole tank when only one fish has a problem. All meds are stressful and you could end up with a tank full of problems rather than just one.

Here's where I catch flack... Not all Discus are worth trying to save. You can spend a lifetime worrying and medicating rather than enjoying a tank full of healthy and beautiful Discus. I learned the hard way that successful Discus keeping means culling the weak ones and enjoying the rest.

We pay a price for our beautiful Discus other than just $$. The selective breeding that creates the wonderful colors sometimes has a downside. The blue diamonds often have very poor eyesight. The marlboro reds and yellow strains are more susceptible to intestinal infections.

If you must try and save the Discus in question get it to a hospital tank and feed it live brine shrimp soaked in a 1% solution of Metronidazole once a day for three days. Use a fresh batch of Metro each day.

[rg5186]

Thanks Dane and Carol,

I'll set up a hospital tank and try feeding the brine shrimp. Funny thing is the fish doesn't look sick at all and is not losing any weight. Actually had normal brown feces last night but still not eating, that I can see anyway, and will not come out with the others. Thanks for the input.