Sick? Dark and concerning

[Discus-n00b]

Hey all, i was away this weekend for Drill, came back and noticed one of my Penangs i got from Kenny back in early September was real dark. Kind of concerning. Not sure whats going on. Its a 40gal and has 4 3.5"-4" Penang Eruptions. Only this one is dark, the others are perfectly fine, rushing the glass waiting for food very bright colors, acting normal. The dark one isn't sulking like a black LFS discus or anything, no white poo, no external injuries, but does seem a little bloated?

The fish does not have clamped fins, the others arn't picking on it, not shunning it away, they are all hanging out together for the most part.

I did a water change right when i noticed it but it hasn't seemed to have done much. I'm using plain tap water/city water, have been for years.

Tank Params:
pH - Just about 6.6
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - 0
Ammonia - 0

Just not sure what it is, or if i should panic yet. Here are some pics.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/Discus/sickdiscus3.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/Discus/sickdiscus2.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/Discus/sickdiscus1.jpg

[susantroy1]

Hey Matt,

Thanks again for your service brother, Mine did the same thing as you mentioned and actually went off the feed for a couple of days. I added Gel Tek Ultra Cure PX to my feed and within a week or less he/she is practically jumping out of the tank to get to the BH Flake or whatever I toss in:D. He/she is always one of the first ones to the front of the glass now. I did in fact buy a microscope and was scoping the feces and did in fact see a worm within it (wasn't a tape worm so i figure is was another type of intestinal worm). only one mind you, but that is what caused me to use the Gel Tek. Hope this helps.

All The Best

Troy

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Troy. He seems the same today. Not really showing any normal sickness signs apart from being a bit dark. I feel its something internal so i will look at my options for that. Thanks for you suggestions on the Gel Tek.

I forgot to add that i feed BH mix (basically beefheart and some spinach/flakes), frozen bloodworms, and sometimes misquito larva.

[Discus-n00b]

Well i lost him. I'd like to know what caused it in the first place as the others are looking awesome. Bad luck? I feed a pretty balanced diet, do water changes at least once every other day, most of the time its daily. Not sure. Oh well, live and learn! Always have a pharmacy on hand so you arn't scrambling when something does happen.

These things always seem to happen when you arn't home don't they?

I guess this means i just need more to "cope" with my loss. ;)

[susantroy1]

Matt,

Man I'm sorry to hear that:( By the looks of your tanks in other photos I'd say it just was a fluke (no pun intended) When we consider the $$ we spend on quality fish I for one added the microscope just to KNOW what I might have to deal with. For the money it was one of my best decisions I've made sense taking up Discus. Like you said live and LEARN.

All The Best

Troy

[Discus-n00b]

Well i spoke to soon i guess. He fooled me, started spazzing out and i thought it was over. Did a water change and he seems to be stable now, but not any better in condition. I got the medicine so i will start dosing it and see what results i have.

The microscope sounds like a good idea.

Thanks again

[Yassmeena]

Well i spoke to soon i guess. He fooled me, started spazzing out and i thought it was over. Did a water change and he seems to be stable now, but not any better in condition. I got the medicine so i will start dosing it and see what results i have.

The microscope sounds like a good idea.

Thanks again

Hey Matt,

Just wondering, how's the fish doing now? I ask only bc I have a penang that is also exhibiting the same darkness, except he is now also spending all his time alone in a corner and hasn't eaten in 3 days.

[Discus-n00b]

I lost all (3) but 1 of my Penangs to this mysterious darkness. Nothing seemed to help, not sure what it was. I'd definently try and sepearate them if you havn't already from any other fish. Not sure if one passed it to the others but they died one at a time one after the other. I think i caught it to late. The one remaining fish is doing very well now.

[Eddie]

I lost all (3) but 1 of my Penangs to this mysterious darkness. Nothing seemed to help, not sure what it was. I'd definently try and sepearate them if you havn't already from any other fish. Not sure if one passed it to the others but they died one at a time one after the other. I think i caught it to late. The one remaining fish is doing very well now.

Sorry to hear about that Matt, that blows. Wishing you well and your survivor too.

Eddie

[Discus-n00b]

Thank Eddie, we are all doing good here now. :)

I wish i had a microscope when those died i could of investigated further. Oh well live and learn.

[dalejrinc]

Gosh, the same thing happend to me, I had (3) Eruptions doing great 3"-3.5", eating great, and then I took them out of QT, moved them into my grow out and bam it happend, one went dark on me, then another, they both died, and now I am down to my last one, which seems to be fine. I spoke to the guy I got them from, and he says it happened to a couple of people that brought the same group, that they also said to him when they moved their fish to another tank, they lost some of their Eruptions.

Does that sound right? That fish can be that stressed out, even if you aclimate them like you do with your other discus. I mean, are their certain strains more sensitive then others, or maybe it's the size of the fish that cant handle it?

What do you think?

[Discus-n00b]

Gosh, the same thing happend to me, I had (3) Eruptions doing great 3"-3.5", eating great, and then I took them out of QT, moved them into my grow out and bam it happend, one went dark on me, then another, they both died, and now I am down to my last one, which seems to be fine. I spoke to the guy I got them from, and he says it happened to a couple of people that brought the same group, that they also said to him when they moved their fish to another tank, they lost some of their Eruptions.

Does that sound right? That fish can be that stressed out, even if you aclimate them like you do with your other discus. I mean, are their certain strains more sensitive then others, or maybe it's the size of the fish that cant handle it?

What do you think?

It just feels like bad luck really. I couldn't pinpoint it to anything other then that. I got the box of 8 fish, put them all in one QT tank and just the Penangs started doing this and dropping 1 by 1 until the last one. The others and that 1 fish were fine, and are fine and starting to even lay eggs now. I just chalked it up to bad luck with spots. It is kind of weird that it only happened with the spotteds though. I'd like to know if it was a weaker strain as well. Weaker being you have to cross so many more times to get fine spots then you would a turq type of fish or even a normal leopard. Anyone have any insight on this?

I made up for it by getting more from Kenny, some very nice Tiger Snakeskins. ;) They are doing very well.

Here you can see the single Penang that i have left in the upper left corner. Fairly recent pic with the new Tiger Snakes. Its colors are great, its eating great, just had some bad luck i guess.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/Discus/group1-1.jpg

[dalejrinc]

Wow, that one is really nice. I agree, some are going to die for unknown reasons. Good luck with the last one.