Discus cut himself?

[Pawky]

I spooked my discus the other night and one of them must have run into something and skinned his head. It looks like all the scales/skin is rubbed off of a little section. He doesn't appear to be bothered by the new scrape but it is a noticeable mark on his head.

Is there anything I should add to the water to help him heal?
Will he have a scar?
How long does it take for them to heal?

[poconogal]

You can add a little salt although its not necessary, and do a few more WCs. He should be fine, just keep an eye on the wound. They usually heal pretty quickly from those types of things.

[scottthomas]

Yes, I have one right now that looks like that. They heal quickly from minor scrapes with good water quality. I am always amazed that they can get big cuts and scrapes in a bb tank.

[Jhhnn]

Yes, I have one right now that looks like that. They heal quickly from minor scrapes with good water quality. I am always amazed that they can get big cuts and scrapes in a bb tank.

Indeed. My BS are really good at getting scraped up... I've smoothed the ends on the various pipes, but they still find a way. I think they sometimes hit the crossbar and the edges of the tank rim... I didn't think to smooth those up before the fish went in...

It seems to me that they're calmer and less prone to freaking out when I have a little salt in their water, 1 tbsp/50gal at most. Coming from the top of the watershed, Denver water has very low salinity- downstream water is generally saltier, so YMMV, of course.

[Pawky]

Thanks for the responses, I feel a little better. I think the fish actually frightened me more then I frightened him :mad:

[poconogal]

I know exactly what you mean...

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=55445