How long to fatten up a thin discus?

[craniac24]

Hi all,

I have an adult Heckel that has been pretty thin for quite some time. He's active, and otherwise shows good color and behavior. He's a little bit more timid than the other discus and therefore doesn't get quite as much food as everyone else. I've spent the last few weeks feeding 3 times daily as opposed to the usual two, in the hope that he'd fatten up a little. Some days I look at him and it seems like he's putting on a little more mass, other days I'm not quite so sure.

Anyway, I think the time has come to seperate him for awhile. So I was just curious...how long would it be before I should see some obvious growth on this guy? 2 weeks? A month? Longer?

By the way...all of my fish have been dewormed a couple of times in the last year, so I'm pretty sure his being thin doesn't have anything to do with worms.

[RyanH]

Fish that are removed from the tank for long periods of time tend to fall to the bottom of the heirarchy once they are reintroduced IME.

If you really don't think he's sick, I would try a divider made out of drop ceiling light covers or something similar and keep the Heckel partitioned off but in the same tank. Then try feeding live foods like CBW to get him going.

I would also raise the heat to 90 for a few days to speed up his metabolism.

hth:)

Ryan

[craniac24]

Here are some pics I took last night. How thin do you guys think he is?

[craniac24]

Fish that are removed from the tank for long periods of time tend to fall to the bottom of the heirarchy once they are reintroduced IME.

If you really don't think he's sick, I would try a divider made out of drop ceiling light covers or something similar and keep the Heckel partitioned off but in the same tank. Then try feeding live foods like CBW to get him going.

I would also raise the heat to 90 for a few days to speed up his metabolism.

hth:)

Ryan

Ryan...I really don't want to start feeing him CBW again. For the time that I was feeding CBW they all got very spoiled and wouldn't eat anything else. Now that they're eating other foods, I'd prefer to keep them off the discus crack!:D

Wouldn't raising the temp be counterproductive? I wouldn't think I'd want to raise his metabolism, as that would make putting on weight even more difficult...is my thinking flawed?

[FishyMatty]

He doesn't really look emaciated to me. He could just be a thinner fish. I have two full grown adults and one is definitely larger than the other.

Does he eat at the same time as the others? Or does he just pick off the bottom when everyone else is done? If your concerned that he is not getting enough food but you know he is eating you can just scatter the food and put more then usual. Also supplementing with some vitamins too.

[Polar_Bear]

Ryan...I really don't want to start feeing him CBW again. For the time that I was feeding CBW they all got very spoiled and wouldn't eat anything else. Now that they're eating other foods, I'd prefer to keep them off the discus crack!:D

Wouldn't raising the temp be counterproductive? I wouldn't think I'd want to raise his metabolism, as that would make putting on weight even more difficult...is my thinking flawed?

You make a good point but raising their metabolism will also tend to make them eat more. Your fish doesn't look too thin to my eyes, but neither is it fat. If it were me I would seriously consider worming them since I would expect a bit more bulk, and worms would be my first suspect for not being fatter. CBW is a hard one I agree, although I do feed them blackworms I no longer give it to them every day for the very reason you have a problem with them. If given every other day or every third day only this will help mitigate that problem. Also feeding them as the very last meal of the day also seems to help. Perhaps use it as a third meal only? Kind of like a dessert.

[pcsb23]

I wouldn't be happy with this fishes coditioning if it were mine. I know you dewormed them, how did you do this? Parzi? if so I would consider using something like panacur (fenbendazole), flubenol or levimasole. The pics are not very clear but its eyes look quite dull.

[craniac24]

I wouldn't be happy with this fishes coditioning if it were mine. I know you dewormed them, how did you do this? Parzi? if so I would consider using something like panacur (fenbendazole), flubenol or levimasole. The pics are not very clear but its eyes look quite dull.

I've used both Prazi and Levamisole on two different occasions in the past year. What do you feel like his eyes are an indication of?

[Kindredspirit]

What do you feel like his eyes are an indication of?


Dull eyes/cloudy eyes can be a symptom of many things ~ dirty water ~ or internal parasites, usually roundworms ~ I think....

Paul can correct me if I am mistaken and best advise you further:)


Good Luck!

[pcsb23]

Dull eyes/cloudy eyes can be a symptom of many things ~ dirty water ~ or internal parasites, usually roundworms ~ I think....

Paul can correct me if I am mistaken and best advise you further:)


Good Luck!
No correction necessary :)

In addition it can be some latent bacterial infection, given your treatments so far it may be this, but with all things like this it is speculation.

[peewee1]

I brought this old thread back because the title asks my current question. Like Crainac I too have a little think Heckel. Slow to grow, eats slower than the rest, is picky about the food, does not have worms, evidenced by poop. What food is good to add fat to a thin fish? I don't expect to see him grow much more. He's grown maybe 1/2 inches since October from 4 to 4.5 inches. I have been feeding fdbw, TetraColor, Bug Bites and occasional frozen shrimp and blood worms. How about beef heart?