healthy fish not eating strong!!!

[cn84]

i have 7 young discus that are 2" for about a 4 week now...i feed them bloodworm "discus love bloodworm!!!" they would swim to surface of the tank asking for food, but when i feed them..each fish nipple on 1 or 2 falling worms and thats it....they all have skinny somach...at this age i believe that they should be searching for food, but not these guys. i try reducing the number of feeding time, but nothing is working...i have discus before and when i feed them...the eat all day and they all have big fat stomach like its going to pop. is there anyway i can make them eat more?

cn

[Carol_Roberts]

First line of defense is to increase water changes and temperature. What is your temp and water change schedule now? Are the discus passing strings of mucus instead of dark feces?

[cn84]

the temp is at 83 and i do 50% w/c every night with age water....tank is barebottom and No discus is not passing strings of mucus.

[classicdiscus]

In all due respect - i think the conventional advice here to "increase water changes to 50% to 100%" everyday and every time something is wrong is getting alot of newbies to the discus world in alot of trouble. For many beginners this is simply stressing their fish out more and more. Instead the advice should be stop overfeeding your fish, keep tanks lightly loaded and let your tanks biofilter stabilize. This is especially true with babies and young discus. Siphon the bottom every few days and "top off" the tank instead of these drastic aged water changes day in and day out. Leave the tanks alone, let your fish settle in and alot more people will be successful keeping discus. Discus do not need a "sterile" environment to thrive.

[fish_maniac]

I am kind of new to discus as well but I do think a raise of temperture here should help. When you change the water, make sure the temperture of the new water and the characterics of the water is similar to the tank to avoid unnecessary stress during wtare changes.

Hope your fishes are doing well soon!

Kam

[alpine]

Classic, what kind of Water Change routine do you recommend with Juveniles ?


Thanks,
roberto.

[kodiak]

Anytime I have discus that stop feeding the first thing I do is test the water. If all is good next step is to wipe down the sides and bottom of the aquarium and do a water change. Third step is to raise the temperature to 90F. This almost always works for me. Also watch their poop for signs of hexamita or other internal parasites.

[funkyfish]

if the filter is not fully cycled that can cause probs ammonia and nitrite is very bad. if u don't change there water for a few days to let them settle just to lower stress when u start to do daily w\c's that will keep them stressed
for even longer! I start the w\c's the day after i get them and they always eat the next day. they mite not lik it but they will thank u in the long run.
i'm not a expert but one thing i know is w\c's =health fish and less probs
good luck with ur fish

ps do u use a dechlorinator
i keep my tanks at 86
have u tryed salt?
ur w\c's sound fine
mine are 30% daily on juvs and adults

[aggie_67]

cn84,

If you want good advise listen to Carol. There are different points of view, but when the fish get sick everyone seeks Carols advise!!

[cn84]

thanks for all the info.. i just don't want these discus to be stun....

[Howie_W]

Hi cn,

What size is your tank?

For starters I would bump the temp. up to 88F, keep up your daily water changes, and make sure any uneaten food is removed and not left in the tank. Also be sure the fish have an adequate supply of oxygen...if you are not currently using one, I would consdier adding a hydro sponge. Check to make sure filters are clean and free of uneaten food and debris. Keep tank walls and bottom wiped down.

Monitor your water conditions to make sure ammonia and nitrates are zero.

Please let us know how they are doing.


Howie

[NatakuTseng]

The water changes are critical to the health of Discus, especially young fish. Not changing the water and just "topping" it off can cause a number of problems. The first is a build up of nitrates in the tank to a very high and unhealthy level. When this happens the disease resistance of the fish goes out the window and they become much more prone to getting parasites and/or diseases. Bumping the water temp up allows the metabolism of the discus to function better and fight off things much more easily, also many of the parasites and diseases don't do as well at the higher temps also making it easier for the discus to rid themselves of them. Like the others have said the first thing you do when the discus start showing signs of distress is check the water parameters, IE test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Then step up your waterchanges 50% or more daily, which should be getting done with smaller fish anyway. Then bump the temp up between 88 and 90. For me when I start seeing the signs you have mentioned I'd also start treating the tank with Metro. Its a fairly effective med, almost impossible to overdose with it, and relatively inexpensive. You haven't mentioned the tank size the 7 discus are in, this could be a huge factor, especially for us to give you advice on what to do. If you have the 7 juvis in a 20gal thats way too many, but if you have them all in a 75gal its gonna make a difference. The water will foul much quicker in a smaller tank than it will in a larger one simply because of the volumes.