All My Discus Turned White!! Completely!

[Kindredspirit]

Anyone care to venture why?

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_30_121.gif


Marie~

[pcsb23]

Marie, sometimes shock can make fish go pale, e.g. temperature shock or something banging the tank, even an electric shock, but I've never seen discus go completely white!! As always chack the water params, temp, am, nitrite and ph to start. hope they are alright.
Paul.

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Doesnt sound good Marie ............ hopefully its not nothing serious.

Run your tests on your water and check the temps ............. its about all you can do right now.

Its pretty early in the AM so hopefully some of the experts will pop on.

[White Worm]

Hey Marie, was their anything different done this evening during the feeding or different time. Did you start leaving the light off or anything different? The only time I see discus color fade to a lighter color is when they are sleeping. When you say white, is it white like snow or are we talking lighter in color like clear? Are any of them swimming crazy? Mike

[Jason]

sounds like you woke them up and they were still in their pj's

Did this happen right after you put the tank light on?

[cobaltblue]

Hopefully thats all it is Marie. My discus are definately not morning fish either. Sometimes i think they are half dead when i turn the light on the morning. Mine seem to lose some of their colour once in a while as well, but come back good as new very quickly....hope it works out for you.

[Ryan]

Usually sleeping discus go pale, including their eyes, and they sit very still near the bottom (mine always camp out near the heaters and sponge filters).

Leave the light on for a bit and they'll slowly wake up.

Ryan

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Hope everything is OK Marie.

Im wondering why your turning the light on at 3:42 am? ;)

[Kindredspirit]

Well~


This was a test! lol! Not really. I came home from work around 11pm last night and I came into my office, took one look at the 55gal, and I thought that my daughter had left the tank lids open when she fed them around 9, and perhaps one of our cats had swiped my Blue Snakeskin! He wasnt anywhere, guys! Then upon looking more closely, he was there, but , I swear, as white as a snowball! I could see his lil bones and thingys inside... All of them were, except Ms. Pringles had some color~

Needless to say, I totally freaked...Black discus, okay...but only the White Thing could happen to me! Candy was on line, she popped over here and found Ryan H. and Jason! I was definitely trippin~

Thank God!! In the meantime I did a wc and added salt... I actually thought of that one all by myself..... proud of me?? Carol had posted once: First Line Of Defense...do wc, add salt.... But the entire time I was crying I will admit~over fish. Fish....I do not even cry at work, for goodness sake!


To make a long story short, Ryan allowed this whacked blonde from Cali to call him at 3AM, his time, and he was soooooooooo sweet and calm and told me that I probably just woke them up....and if they were black, then we could worry~add salt, and chill~

Jason you are exactly right and Ryan what you said below is correct too~ but you two knew that...lol!

But the issue I have with all this, Is I am up at all hours in the night, as I work and get home really late at times....and every time I come in my office in the middle of the night, I check them out and they always look fine, guys.

Never have they turned white while sleeping. Completely. All colors gone...nada. zip.

The only thing I did different was, turn off their lights at 2pm, when I left for work, as opposed to 4pm.. but I left my office lights on. Sooooooooo, I guess they crashed early? Ya think? My daughter said they were fine and colorful at 9ish...


She had left quite a bit of BH on the bottom as well, and I had told her to feed flake. So I thought that did it~ In one ear, out the other, I'm tellin ya...I went off on her for many momeentoes!!! She cried too~ I felt like doo doo~


All is well now~ The lil shyts have all their color back as they did within an hour last night....


Ryan H.... WAKE UP! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_11_1.gif Thank you so much for allowing me to call you last night at 3AM. A night owl , you are, thank goodness!

oh, and I did test ammonia and nitrites while the wc, but my hands were like shaking i couldnt fill those dayum lil test tubes...!! and those readings were 0 ~



Marie~



I have learned much. Candy, YOU TOO, WOMAN! And Jason for always being around when this girl is trippin!

I wish I could have taken a picture, guys. In retrospect, they looked pretty dayum cool! Are there white discus??


Wake em in their pjs, and see~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_30_3.gif


Marie~

[tpl*co]

You had me scared too! I'm so glad they are OK. There are white discus, I think they are called white diamonds? I have some whitish discus that you'll see if you come over tonight :).

My red line shark is pale (should call him pale pink line) in the early morning before he is completely awake. Haven't had any of my fish go completely white though (except the whitish ones).

Tina

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Glad to hear they ........... and you .......... are all doing fine now. :D

[Kindredspirit]

You had me scared too! I'm so glad they are OK. There are white discus, I think they are called white diamonds? I have some whitish discus that you'll see if you come over tonight :).

My red line shark is pale (should call him pale pink line) in the early morning before he is completely awake. Haven't had any of my fish go completely white though (except the whitish ones).

Tina


I am coming tonight! I am off to the vet with Titan! :(

[White Worm]

Glad to hear all is well, I was on here about 130 a.m. trying to let you know they were sleeping but I guess you were busy on the phone. Sorry I missed ya. When mine sleep, they just sit on the bottom, no fins moving,, eyes slanted like this \ / ,, very light in color if any at all and if you disturb them, they will swim but aimlessly and bump into things (kinda in a dream state) ( I think it is instinct to escape predators) . They also lose the color in their eyes too. In the morning though,, when they awake,, here they all come ready to eat with full color. I think the fade happens more with younger discus than it does with the older ones. See ya soon. Mike

[tpl*co]

E gads you people are up late! LOL! and I get cranky if my husband wakes me up too early :)

[April]

nothin like a worried new mother. lol. yes..sometimes you'll even find them leaning....think they are settled in for a deep sleep. glad theres some night owls around..Ryan never sleeps..that i know. Jason..has rotated his day and night...for now. That will have to change. lol. just think..a 24 hour a day wc man. Did anyone ever tell you that discus people dont sleep? just the discus try...

[tpl*co]

LOL, our fish have us trained, what do I do if I'm woken up early? Do I go back to sleep? NO, use the extra time to do a water change before work ;) :D

[RyanH]

Well~


This was a test! lol! Not really. I came home from work around 11pm last night and I came into my office, took one look at the 55gal, and I thought that my daughter had left the tank lids open when she fed them around 9, and perhaps one of our cats had swiped my Blue Snakeskin! He wasnt anywhere, guys! Then upon looking more closely, he was there, but , I swear, as white as a snowball! I could see his lil bones and thingys inside... All of them were, except Ms. Pringles had some color~

Needless to say, I totally freaked...Black discus, okay...but only the White Thing could happen to me! Candy was on line, she popped over here and found Ryan H. and Jason! I was definitely trippin~

Thank God!! In the meantime I did a wc and added salt... I actually thought of that one all by myself..... proud of me?? Carol had posted once: First Line Of Defense...do wc, add salt.... But the entire time I was crying I will admit~over fish. Fish....I do not even cry at work, for goodness sake!


To make a long story short, Ryan allowed this whacked blonde from Cali to call him at 3AM, his time, and he was soooooooooo sweet and calm and told me that I probably just woke them up....and if they were black, then we could worry~add salt, and chill~

Jason you are exactly right and Ryan what you said below is correct too~ but you two knew that...lol!

But the issue I have with all this, Is I am up at all hours in the night, as I work and get home really late at times....and every time I come in my office in the middle of the night, I check them out and they always look fine, guys.

Never have they turned white while sleeping. Completely. All colors gone...nada. zip.

The only thing I did different was, turn off their lights at 2pm, when I left for work, as opposed to 4pm.. but I left my office lights on. Sooooooooo, I guess they crashed early? Ya think? My daughter said they were fine and colorful at 9ish...


She had left quite a bit of BH on the bottom as well, and I had told her to feed flake. So I thought that did it~ In one ear, out the other, I'm tellin ya...I went off on her for many momeentoes!!! She cried too~ I felt like doo doo~


All is well now~ The lil shyts have all their color back as they did within an hour last night....


Ryan H.... WAKE UP! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_11_1.gif Thank you so much for allowing me to call you last night at 3AM. A night owl , you are, thank goodness!

oh, and I did test ammonia and nitrites while the wc, but my hands were like shaking i couldnt fill those dayum lil test tubes...!! and those readings were 0 ~



Marie~



I have learned much. Candy, YOU TOO, WOMAN! And Jason for always being around when this girl is trippin!

I wish I could have taken a picture, guys. In retrospect, they looked pretty dayum cool! Are there white discus??


Wake em in their pjs, and see~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_30_3.gif


Marie~


Hey Marie,

I'm glad they're ok.

Feel free to give me a call anytime.:)

-Ryan

[Audrey]

Hey, Marie
Glad to hear your fishies are all fine, ...whew!!!!:p Do you know what caused it yet?

All my discus sleep at mid-water level, it looks cool. At night their tank lights go off around 9:00 pm (tank lights are on a timer) and I have a small lamp with like a 15-watt bulb in it in the corner of my fish room which turns on around 6:00 pm (also on a timer). But in the morning when I come in and turn on the light switch (for the ceiling light), they all simultaneously drift to the bottom of the tank. It looks really cool, like they are doing syncronized swimming or something!

Again, glad your fish are okay. :balloon:

Audrey

[Kindredspirit]

Audrey~

Thanks! I always keep a light on in my office all night as well. Itz a lil gazebo light....I read once never to leave them completely in the dark~


It was pretty scary to say the least...


Thanks Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_12_7.gif

[grelot]

I personnally leave them in complete darkness at night with no problems. The only time I leave a light on 24/24 is when I have fries.

[candyl70]

Grelot,
So what size do you consider to be fry? I have six that are dime to quarter size and growing. Then i have two that are 2" and growing. I have been leaving the light on 24/7 because they seem to spooke easily. It is not made for a 55, it was for my 36 gal., but i put it over the center and then the sides have a little shade. They seem to like it and swim all over from light to shade. The only problem is that since i got back from Arizona (early this week) there has been some brown colored algae growing. Not in massive amounts, but enought that it makes me crazy!!! lol!! Then again, it doesn't take much!!!


Candy

p.s. Marie, I am soooo glad they are better today, you had me freaking out woman!! Weird that the diseases book fails to mention that white color can also be seen when they are sleeping or get scared!! Would have been nice to know!! lol!!

[White Worm]

I got that information from hours of watching them and their behavior at all times of the day and night. NOOOO, I dont just sit around and watch my fish 24/7,,,but I wish I could,,,HEHEHEHELOL. :D Some things you just have to experience that cant be found in a book huh candy girl! Be a night owl and you will see what I mean. Yes, I have seen them just leaning up aganst a plant or the heater or the sponge filter. They look strange and I couldnt belive they actually slept until I saw them do it with my own eyes. Mike

[AmberC]

Wow..I would have been pretty scared too! I too have never seen any of mine loose color like that. Crazy!

[White Worm]

I had 16 juvies and there was 4 different strains. The lighter the strain, the more faded or clear they look when they are sleeping. They lose their bars and most of their colors. Not all do this i'm sure but you would think someone bleached them when they are nighty. Even eye color turns whitish or clear. Mike

[candyl70]

Weird Mikey!!
I watch them all the time at all different times, and I have not seen them do that ever! I have seen the little babies loose their bars, but their eyes look normal, and they still swim around when they look like that. Sleep swimming??

[White Worm]

Do you leave them in complete darkness when they go nighty? I do, and then if i go in there and turn on a room light when they have been sleeping, they all looked like little white eyed ghosts. They still swim around a little but,,,yeah,,,kinda like sleep swimming lol. They just swim slowly and bump into things especially if you have some pretty good current in your tank. Mine look like leaves in the wind sometimes when the current hits them. They stay upright but they will even spin around out of control. In the morning,,, walla! chango presto, here they all are back to color and hungry with little beady red eyes. The 75g is in my closet so it gets dark in there when I turn everything out. Mike

[White Worm]

10596

Heres one of my newbies from kenny

[White Worm]

10597

Group shot, there is acually 4 but one is still shy. Got them home and they are already eating blood worms,,,MMMMMM!

[candyl70]

Awesome pic Mikey!!! They look great! (what are the two in the back that are whitish looking?)
I don't turn out the light at all. I thought they might get scared when they are that tiny. I am going to have to try this out and see if i can catch some ghosts!!!

[White Worm]

Kenny calls them green whites or something like that. Very cool, no bars and very clear. kenny has batches and batches. That guy is definately someone to learn from. He makes it look so easy with 5 55g tanks full of new fry and a couple pairs are carrying right now. Sheesh, i cant wait!!!

Yes,,if you turn out all lights, they will sleep. I thought it was actually better to give them a schedule so they can get some sleep. I dont know what is better. I wouldnt like it if i had to have the lights on 24/7. Mike

[candyl70]

lol! Thanks Mikey, i will try turning the lights off for them tonight and try to get a look at them tomorrow. But it might be hard to tell as two are already kinda white! lol.. but maybe the babies.

I remember seeing pics of those babies from Kenny now. I really like them too! Cool colors on them! Congrats!

C

[Jarrod]

LOL I'll be damned...never knew fish slept like this...always figured them going pale on me was a "fear factor" thing!!.....I knew stress caused em to pale out but never even thought of em sleepin!...hmmmm go figure I don't sleep all that much but then again no one has ever tole me I lost my color when I slept either lol...great thread and great info!! Thank you all!

:D
Jarrod

[candyl70]

Interesting stuff that we learn here for sure!!!
I turned my lights out a few hours ago. It's the longest that I have seen them sit still in a long time!! lol!! I can see them swimming around right now, but they were "sleeping" awhile ago. They were just huddled behind a piece of driftwood in the corner. I'm going to try and wake up early and see if I can't catch them sleeping!!




Candy

[April]

I know why Maries fish were sleeping..they heard..santa only comes when your sleeping..he knows when your awake..etc etc etc..they were waitin for a surprise net full of worms when they woke up. (insert eye rolling emoticon) like my emoticons Marie? lol.

[Kindredspirit]

What are you smokin, woman? LOL! You are too funny....


Love Your emotions....why don't we go thru it together, on the phone, April? You have had them forever....



Pm me your number if ya want!

Marie!http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_3_134.gif