kmckim
03-01-2010, 09:11 AM
I've just had my first discus scare, and I thought I would share the problem, and the resolution (yay!), and hopefully help someone else.
My smallest (and the pickiest eater) gorged himself on his favorite flake and some new food late Saturday, and by Sunday morning he was floating in the tank, head down. Despite his very vigorous efforts at correcting his balance, he kept drifting towards the top of the tank, head pointed straight down.
At first I feared some sort of infection had grabbed him, so I checked my water chemistry, etc and did the first response water change I always do, and everything came up clean as usual. I considered the food, but it was newer flake, and new frozen. Add to that, the other 3 discus and their tankmates (cardinals, cories, rams) looked great.
Being a child of the modern error, I ran to the internet. After some searching I found photos of discus with infection of the gas bladders, and they ended up on their sides more often than not, not head down. I read some more very scary conversations about the possibility of an infection of the poor critter's inner ear, causing him to not know up or down, like vertigo. The fishes panicked attempts at self correction seemed to rule that one out.
Eventually I found out that discus, like goldfish, can just be too piggy and eat too fast. Sure enough, within 8 hours, he had leveled himself out and was cruising his usual haunts in the back of the tank like nothing had ever happened. Seems like I will have to make sure I soak my flake foods a bit before feeding the tank, since the silly fish ate so fast he filled himself with air, and was swimming funny because a bubble was working its way through his system.
My smallest (and the pickiest eater) gorged himself on his favorite flake and some new food late Saturday, and by Sunday morning he was floating in the tank, head down. Despite his very vigorous efforts at correcting his balance, he kept drifting towards the top of the tank, head pointed straight down.
At first I feared some sort of infection had grabbed him, so I checked my water chemistry, etc and did the first response water change I always do, and everything came up clean as usual. I considered the food, but it was newer flake, and new frozen. Add to that, the other 3 discus and their tankmates (cardinals, cories, rams) looked great.
Being a child of the modern error, I ran to the internet. After some searching I found photos of discus with infection of the gas bladders, and they ended up on their sides more often than not, not head down. I read some more very scary conversations about the possibility of an infection of the poor critter's inner ear, causing him to not know up or down, like vertigo. The fishes panicked attempts at self correction seemed to rule that one out.
Eventually I found out that discus, like goldfish, can just be too piggy and eat too fast. Sure enough, within 8 hours, he had leveled himself out and was cruising his usual haunts in the back of the tank like nothing had ever happened. Seems like I will have to make sure I soak my flake foods a bit before feeding the tank, since the silly fish ate so fast he filled himself with air, and was swimming funny because a bubble was working its way through his system.