Sick discus

[Peach2u]

Hello, I have a super blue discus who seems to be fading fast. His color is very dark. And, when I put live worms or shrimp in for him he suck them in and spits them back out. So he is not eating anything. But he is tring. What could be the problem. He shares the tank with peaceful fish, cory cats, gold fish, and snails. About 8 months ago I had to move him from the other tank because of an aggressive pidgeon blood dicus. But the tank he is in is a 60 gal tall. The 2 fantail gold fish are large but not a big as the discus. The other discus seems fine he shares a 125 with the same mix of fish. I keep both tanks at 80-82 degrees. Just did a water change 3 days ago. In all 5 tanks. But it didn't seem to help the super blue discus. He hides in the back of the tank. But will come out at feeding time. I've tried beefheart, flakes, pellets, powder I feed the frys, frozen and fresh brine shrimp, and frozen and live blood worms. He dose the same to it all, spits it back out. I have had him for 2 years. And he was about 2" when I got them. Now he is about 7" So any help would be great. Thanks Peach2u

[Cosmo]

Not sure how the others in the tank would like it, but I'd raise the temp first thing. Discus prefer warmer water in the 84/86 range. When they're ill, depending on what ails them, it's best to up the temp to 88 or 90+. You mentioned doing a water change 3 days ago... you should consider doing very large water changes daily for awhile as that and the higher temp may be all he needs. Adding 2tbls/10 gal water of non-iodized salt would also be a big help for him/her but don't know about the others..

If you can, put the Discus in a hospital tank alone, without gravel, and treat as per above. This may or may not help depending on what the real underlying illness is.

Make sure the tank is super clean whether you move him or not.. wipe down the sides, syphon the gravel very well if you have a gravel bottom and make sure your filters are clean.

Have you noticed any difference in his feces ?? Are they white, green, or normal looking ?? This could help diagnose the problem too..

The more info you post, the better the advice can be..

hth
Jim

[Carol_Roberts]

He probably has intestinal flagellates and needs to be treatd with metronidazole. Unfortunately the goldfish will not tolerate the temperatures needed to cure the discus (92 degrees+) Do you have a 20 gallon hospital tank? If yes, read the "Most Common Treatments " thread stickied on this board for how to treat intestinal flagellates