Are my discus going blind?

[used2bBubbles]

I have 3 BDs that I have been watching carefully over the past 3 weeks and notice that when they get pellet food, they can't get it into their mouthes. They snort at it, try again and again, and finally give up.

I've tried feeding them frozen homemade foods, which I will hold while they tear into it, but once it hits the bottom of the tank, they don't see it.

At first I thought they were being picky and just wanting meat, so I let them miss a few meals. Gave them pellets and they still missed them.

I got all 3 from the same breeder, and I've been told that this problem can be a result of inbreeding. I've also been told that the problem doesn't get better; they eventually starve.

Has anybody else ever had this problem? I'm really upset about this...

[used2bBubbles]

Anybody?

[Timbo]

hi

in my experience, this usually does not correct itself. it seems like a vision perception problem, the food morsel is not where the fish's eye says it is and, again in my limited experience with this, they never learn to adjust and slowly waste away.

wish i had better news...maybe somebody else can add their experience with this as its been reported many times.

[jeep]

This sounds like a genetic problem and will not correct itself. While I don't think your fish will starve to death, I would not recommend breeding these fish. That would only pass the defect on to the offspring...

[used2bBubbles]

Thanks for your response, Timbo. It is kind of what I was expecting but hoping I was wrong to think that.

Jeep, thanks, too, for your input. Yes, I've been warned not to breed these fish, and luckily I hadn't planned to. A few discus people have told me they wouldn't waste any more time or money on these fish, knowing what I know now, but I am hopeful that if I continue to hand feed them, they will do ok.

[pcsb23]

Sometimes using a worm cone feeder can help in these cases, provided they don't get out competed at feeding time. That way they learn where the food is and feed almost by touch as it were.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[used2bBubbles]

Thanks, pcsb23! I'm new at discus, and am not familiar with a worm cone feeder. Can you tell me more about it?

[marilyn1998]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4450&N=2004+112972


These are found on many online stores and LFS as well as the fish chain stores.
The link shows what they look like and how they can be used.
Good Luck!!

[used2bBubbles]

Thanks, Marilyn, I appreciate the visual. And if I buy other stuff at Drs F&S, the price is right, too!

I appreciate your help!:)

[kaceyo]

I have a fish that had the same prob and was on his way to being the runt because of it. Since I feed frozen foods I tried leaving the pieces unthawed and fairly large, which it could eat from without having to do much aiming. It worked great and today he's one of my nicer looking fish and is as large as most of the others.

Kacey

[used2bBubbles]

Oh, kaceyo, that is the kind of reply I was hoping to get! That gives me some hope for the future with these guys. Is yours a BD?

[kaceyo]

Glad I could help. Mine is a leopardskin, but I seem to remember someone saying it's common in BD's. Mine is a great fish for a show tank, but, as stated by others, I'll never breed it.
Good luck with it,

Kacey

[used2bBubbles]

So you've got a leopardskin that has the problem, too. I sure wish I had known about the possibility of this kind of problem before I bought them.

Thanks for your post!

Kathi

[Kindredspirit]

Hey Kathi ~

I wonder if the place you got them even knew? Is it something that is prominent right off or do they grow into it? I wonder!


Well ~ Kacey has given hope which is a good thing!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_4_10.gif

[traco]

Kacey, I do the same as you with the frozen chunk food. My little turq is first there and grabs it and runs (well, actually swims)!;) He is one of the smaller ones but he is improving as he ages. I don't think mine were as bad as your blue diamonds, Kathi. They are in their own tank right now, right? Maybe see how they do in the next month or so with weight gain and feeding?

[used2bBubbles]

No, Marie, I'm sure the breeder I got them from didn't know for sure at the time I bought them; that was 7 months ago and they were fine then. Since this has come up, I've been told this is something that becomes prominent with age and gets worse. But I know BDs were bred there and I've been told it is the result of inbreeding. I did notify the breeder, since it was suggested to me that I let him know for future breeding, but he never responded to my email.

Yes, Barb, I do have them in a tank by themselves now, and hopefully I can at least fatten them up by feeding them the beefheart mixture and the chicken/shrimp mixtures.

Kathi

[candyl70]

Good luck with them Kathi... and let us know how the cones work for you.
You could even get two of them and place them on opposite sides of the tank if they do decide to start fighting for food. I had to do that with my first discus because I had gravel. :o

[used2bBubbles]

Thanks, Candy, I will. I really appreciate your help and your concern.

Kathi

[used2bBubbles]

I'm sad to report that I had to put the littlest BD down today. It was a very hard thing to do, but he was starving.

I separated the 3 BDs from the 4 PBs a while back and decided to try to fatten the BDs up. But after a while, the other 2 BDs started picking on the smaller one to the point where he didn't even come up to me when I hand-fed them, which he used to do. They'd pick on him constantly, so I moved him to a 20 gal tank.

He stopped eating altogether, so for 2 days now I've gotten some homemade beefheart mixture and sometimes the chicken/shrimp stuff, which they all love. I held the food in the water and he didn't even come up, so I put the food right in front of him. No response. Frustrated, I pushed the food under his mouth and he took a few bites but spit the food out.

Today I couldn't take it any longer. To see this beautiful fish wasting away. . . his eyes were so very dark--like the pupils were dialated. So I decided to put us both out of our misery.

[Roost426]

:(

R.I.P little guy, at least you took some initiative and didn't let him suffer.

[used2bBubbles]

Thanks, that's the way I saw it: no more suffering. But it still was hard.

[used2bBubbles]

I have given my 4 remaining discus - 2 PBs and 2 RPs - to a good friend. I am pretty busy trying to get these BDs healthy and it takes more time.

I'm sad to say that my first experience with discus has been very disappointing and depressing, to say the least. I thought I was getting good stock. I had a hard time getting a response to my emails/phone calls from the breeder. Very disappointing when I see all these beautiful discus on this forum.