help asap anyone???

[CN]

right now i have 10 baby discus at 1 - 1.5 inches....yesterday they were all eating fine with fat tummy ( fed BH) and they were swimming everywhere in the tank. this morning they didn't bother eating BH and was hiding together and dark....after hours seeing none of them eat..i did a quick 50% waterchange...2 hrs later they are swimming and floating togehter at the top..what can i do???

[Anonapersona]

Check your filtration, sponges may need to be squeezed. I have air driven sponges, the air bubbles reduce a lot when it needs to be squeezed out.

Hanging at the top indicates oxygen. Or gill damage. Are they scratching?

[CN]

no they are not scratching...i use an aqua clear and it clean filter every week ..and i clean the sponge filter by sucking it with the tube when i do w/c... temp is at 84 degree, bb

[jeep]

..and i clean the sponge filter by sucking it with the tube when i do w/c... temp is at 84 degree, bb


Not sure exactly what you mean. If you're not sqeezing the filter out you could have a big bio load. I would sqeeze the filter out in clean dechlorinated water.

What size is their tank? Is it gravel or BB?

Can you check for nitrates or nitrites? Ammonia? Hanging out at the top can also be a sign of ammonia poisoning.

[Condor]

How long since you introduced them? did they have to go through any significant temperature/ ph or other chemistry changes on introduction? I have seen fish go into delayed shock in new tanks, especially if some of the factors that Jeep mentioned are responsible(like amonia) Is your water stable? Hope your fish are ok

[CN]

the tank i'm using right now is a 20 gallon, barebottom. the tank was setup a week before introducing the babies. so the sponge has been in there for 4 week and never been clean. i have had these fish for 3 weeks aready..and everything was just fine till today...ph is at 7.4...so far 4 have die...yes they do look shock...they have been hitting the glass...

[Barb Newell]

Hi CN, they could have gill flukes. Many young fish have problems with them. Are you sure there is no ammonia or nitrites, it usually takes 6 weeks+ to cycle a tank.

Clean the tank (spotless), rinse the sponges in a bucket in tank water (siphoning the sponges only gets about 1/3 of the dirt (I tried it) -- you'll be amazed at what comes out of them once you start squeezing them), wipe the sides down, do a BIG water change with aged, dechlorinated water (70 - 80%). Temp below 84, treat with formaldehyde 37%, add salt 2 tbsp/ 10 gals for 8 hours, then do a 50% water change. Repeat in 24 hours if they're still having problems.

Barb