Discus Eating Plants

[Neutbar]

Hi, I am new to the SimplyDiscus forum. First off, I think this is by far the best, most caring group of people I have ever seen. The amount of information and solid advice being given is staggering.
I have a question relating to some new discus I purchased from a local fish store. They appeared to have slimy white feces when I got them home. It took about a week to get some Metro as I couldn't source it locally. Before treating the tank the 2 discus were not eating any of the frozen blood worms or flake or discus pellets I fed them. They did however strip the leaves from a hygrophylia polysperma plant I had in the aquarium. I added more of the same plant and they continue to feed on it while mostly ignoring the other feed I offer to them.
Should I go ahead and medicate them with the Metro? They appear to now have a green coloured feces (I assume from the leaves they are eating). Should I remove the plant to see if they will eat more of the other foods?
I have them in a 20 gal tank with a sponge filter and an aqua clear filter, at 86 degrees, 20 to 25 % wc per day. The water is conditioned overnight, heated to the tank temp. The water is moderately hard, pH 7.9, nitrite at 0.3 mg/L and ammonia at 0.6 mg/L or less.

[White Worm]

Welcome!!!! I agree, there are many people on here from experts to those who just want to help out just by being a friend. I first want to address the 2 discus in a 20g....they may be having problems because they normally do better in groups around 6-7 in larger aquarium....if you are seriously considering keeping discus and keeping them healthy, you may want to think about expanding in the near future (55-75g-6-7 discus). With 2, there will be bullying by one eventually and it could lead to death of the less aggressive fish. You may want to provide a little more info like when you got the fish?did you cycle the tank?other community fish? substrate you have, etc. A cycled tank should have 0 ammo, 0 nitrite and 5-7 nitrates. i dont know too much about the plant but I know that discus will eat flower petals and plants in the wild. Ask the person you got the discus from and find out what they fed them, try that and then add other food. Depending on how long you have had them, they may just need some more time to de-tress and settle in to their new surroundings. If they are not dark, clamped fins or breathing hard, I would delay med treatment, white/clearish poop is not always a sign of major illness. 1 tbspn of non iodized salt per 10g, clean water and a close eye for a short time may be what the doctor ordered.

[candyl70]

Welcome to Simply!
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_204.gif

The white feces could have been stomach lining, which I understand is sometimes shed if the fish haven't eaten in a while. Mike is right about the tank being too small, and about your tank not being cycled. What or how did you cycle your tank, and what were your readings before adding the discus.

What do they look like now?

You'll find alot of great people here that will come along and help you out, way more than I can. :D So in the meantime, water changes with dechlor, if you can, age it. And adding salt is a good idea. 1-2 tblspoons per 10 gal.

Good luck and welcome!


Candy

[pcsb23]

Whilst there is no harm in discus eating plants, the real problem here is your uncycled tank. As the others have said ammonia and nitrite should be 0 and at your ph the ammonia is quite toxic.

I would remove all plants at this stage, particularly if you have added salt as salt will kill your plants and conseuently make the ammonia/nitrite higher.

I note you age your water which is good. Up your w/c to nearer 50% daily and until nitrite reads 0 keep salt in there at 1tblspn per 10 gals. The salt will mitigate the nitrite poisioning.

You don't say how big your discus are, if they areover 3" and are still fat then don't feed them for a day, maybe two. This will do 2 things 1) help the filter catch up with the bio load, 2) make them hungry so when you feed frozen bloodworm tehy'll eat it.

Discus often go off their food when tank conditions are poor.
hth,
Paul.

[Neutbar]

:)
Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it!

I have removed everything from the tank except the discus (2-4" Golden Pidgeon Bloods). I have added salt (1 tbsp per 10 gal) and increased water changes to 50% per day.

It appears to be working. 1 is now eating every time I feed them but the other continues to just pick at the food.

I am feeding frozen brineshrimp and frozen blood worms twice a day(which they are eating), flake and discus pellets (which they aren't eating) alternating between the foods.
Any uneaten food is removed after 10 mins.

Neither fish appears to have clamped fins, any sign of darkening or of breathing stress.

The fish that isn't eating stays mostly at the back of the tank facing the back wall of the tank. I will continue with this course of action and let you know how everything goes.

Thanks again, Jeff. :)