Lost My First Ever Discus

[Adam Robinson]

I cant believe it!!!! I had my first ever Discus die today and I have no idea why. I did my usual water change schedule 50% every other day the tank is 90 gallon with 3 newly introduced from QT Wilds 2 WIld Altums a bunch of cats and the Discus went totally black swam ina circle and died......I have been continually testing the water everything checks out......I did another 50% change thinking something might be wrong with the water any ideas?

[Dave_Discus]

I'm sorry.

[Ryan]

What are the readings for your water (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH)? Is your water from a well or is it city water? Do you age, aerate, or treat it before adding it, or do you add it from tap?

[Adam Robinson]

It's city water that i treat not with Aqua Plus and airate with an air stone and bucket.....no barrel. My PH is 6.5 Amonia is 0 let me test the others again......Its wierd the Discus went all black

[Breadhead]

I bet I've read 50+ simular posts... all with the same thoughts... The problem is not aging your water. Granted you may have always filled with treated straight out of the tap water for all this time with no issues, but the simple truth is, you never know what the water department has added to the water today.
The fact is, there could be a new guy at the treatment plant, an upcomming inspection, a broken pipe somewhere nearby, purging the lines to clear an issue, any number of things that can cause higher than normal levels of chlorine/chloramine, flouride, or a host of other chemicals normally added to your city/county water supply.
Go buy a rubbermaid trashcan, let the water sit for 24 hrs as this is enough time for most of the harmful stuff to leach out. Buy an extra heater (its good to have one around anyway) and a small pump for circulation, and say goodby to (IMHO) the biggest cause of mystery deaths of your most prized pets.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[poconogal]

I cant believe it!!!! I had my first ever Discus die today and I have no idea why. I did my usual water change schedule 50% every other day the tank is 90 gallon with 3 newly introduced from QT Wilds 2 WIld Altums a bunch of cats and the Discus went totally black swam ina circle and died......I have been continually testing the water everything checks out......I did another 50% change thinking something might be wrong with the water any ideas?
Adam, you say you have been testing the water and everything checks out. Did you test your water for chlorine/chloramine immediately after WC? Your city water may have had an unusually high concentration and perhaps the amount of water conditioner used was not enough. Anyone that uses tap should actually test their tap water PRIOR to doing a WC. Test PH, KH and chlorine levels. Also check to see whether your municipality uses chloramine and treat for that accordingly. Also test tank water when you do the WC.

[Ryan]

I recently had a disaster with chloramine in an aquarium here at our office. I did a water change one day, added some Amquel Plus like I always do, and went home. Within 2 days, I'd lost half the fish, and the rest were near death.

I racked my brain trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Then I called the water department, and they told me that a day prior to my water change they had "disinfected" their lines, which basically meant they used a much higher concentration of chloramine to flush the system.

Now I age the water I use here in the office and I add an extra capful of Amquel Plus just to be on the safe side.

When in doubt, test the levels of your water BEFORE you change it.

[Adam Robinson]

Guyz,

Thank you for the help it is greatly appreciated I however did not test for Chlorine now that I think of it (Bone Head Move) The wilds that are in the tank along with the Altums are in perfect shape. I did another water change this morning and everyone seems to be just fine. However in my BB tank i noticed this white cotton type stuff growing on the thermometer this morning never seen it b4 what is it?

[Kindredspirit]

Wow ~ very informative thread here! I use tap and have for a year with no problems...

Having said that it is always in the back of my mind ~ What IF.... So I shd test my water before I do the wc....and if it is dif than previous days ...add extra Prime? And all wld be okay?

Is that what the consensus here is? Or do not use it at all that water at all?


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

[Adam Robinson]

I can tell you that after work i am going to be purchasing a barrel to help age my water better and adding more stuff when I do the WC

[jeep]

I bet I've read 50+ simular posts... all with the same thoughts... The problem is not aging your water. Granted you may have always filled with treated straight out of the tap water for all this time with no issues, but the simple truth is, you never know what the water department has added to the water today.
The fact is, there could be a new guy at the treatment plant, an upcomming inspection, a broken pipe somewhere nearby, purging the lines to clear an issue, any number of things that can cause higher than normal levels of chlorine/chloramine, flourine, or a host of other chemicals normally added to your city/county water supply.
Go buy a rubbermaid trashcan, let the water sit for 24 hrs as this is enough time for most of the harmful stuff to leach out. Buy an extra heater (its good to have one around anyway) and a small pump for circulation, and say goodby to (IMHO) the biggest cause of mystery deaths of your most prized pets.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Ditto!!

I imagine it was the Chloramines that got them rather than chlorine. Are you sure something is growing on the heater or is it maybe the slime coat from the discus that got hung up??

[lhforbes12]

Adam,
I disagree with everyone above. If I read your first post correctly this happened to ONE FISH ONLY out of a tankfull, is this correct? If that is the case, water chemistry is almost certainly not the cause of your problem. My suspicion would be some sort of parasite, internal bacterial infection, would be my best guess without any other information. I would certainly watch all of the remaining fish VERY closely for any signs of behavioral changes.

[Adam Robinson]

My first thought was that there was something wrong with that fish individually (parasute...whatever) as of 12:00pm today all the other fish were acting normal besides on pictus cat but he's nuts anyways....Should i treat the water for some type of parasite......? How/what would i use?


The white stuff just showed up after the last water change and has begun to clud the water slightly

[poconogal]

Wow ~ very informative thread here! I use tap and have for a year with no problems...

Having said that it is always in the back of my mind ~ What IF.... So I shd test my water before I do the wc....and if it is dif than previous days ...add extra Prime? And all wld be okay?

Is that what the consensus here is? Or do not use it at all that water at all?


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

Hi Marie. Except for about 3 mos., I've always used tap water, even 15 years ago for Discus, community and salt water tanks. I've learned not to take my water for granted, and to test tap water before each WC cause you never know when that day will be that the water dept. decides to over chlorinate or chloramine and you won't be adding enough water conditioner. Test PH too, because I've seen drastic differences in tap PH in the past. Now I just test PH, and sometimes KH and GH, just to make sure (my KH and GH remain constant) since my water source is now my own.

[lhforbes12]

White stuff?

[Adam Robinson]

Yes...on my BB grow out tank found it on the thermometer this morning,,,,different tank that the tank the discus dies in

[poconogal]

Adam,
I disagree with everyone above. If I read your first post correctly this happened to ONE FISH ONLY out of a tankfull, is this correct? If that is the case, water chemistry is almost certainly not the cause of your problem. My suspicion would be some sort of parasite, internal bacterial infection, would be my best guess without any other information. I would certainly watch all of the remaining fish VERY closely for any signs of behavioral changes.
Adam, Larry has a good point. Was it only one Discus that turned dark and died, or did all the Discus turn dark and only one died? I thought all the Discus turned dark and only one died, but if it was only one Discus that turned dark and died, and the rest of your Discus and other fish were fine, then I also doubt that it had anything to do with your tap water.

[Adam Robinson]

Yes.....it was just the one discus that died and the other did not change colour or behaviour......weird!!!!

[poconogal]

Yes.....it was just the one discus that died and the other did not change colour or behaviour......weird!!!!
Then its possible that that particular Discus was ill and the stress of being moved and the WC may have pushed it past the limit. Perhaps bacterial infection, that can make them go very fast.

[Adam Robinson]

Do you think i need to do anything to treat the water as a precaution even though the other fish are acting normal...perhaps a salt treatment and if so anyone wanna help me out with how much/when

[swinters66]

Sometimes fish just die. We've kept loads of fish for years, all kinds of fish...one day...a perfectly fine fish swimming in the tank...next day...dead. In my first tropical tank I had 4 years ago...I put in 4 corys...an hour later, one was dead. No warning or anything. The others were fine. Things happen.

Sorry you lost one of your discus. I hope your others continue to thrive and be alright.

[poconogal]

Do you think i need to do anything to treat the water as a precaution even though the other fish are acting normal...perhaps a salt treatment and if so anyone wanna help me out with how much/when
I wouldn't treat for anything right now. I would just make sure to observe the rest of the fish very carefully for awhile. If you see something that's not right happening, then repost right away and someone will be along to help.