what is this on my discus?

[rorie87]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pHosting/f/5888_photo-21c.jpg

[TURQ64]

Photo's a bit fuzzy, matey, but it looks like an abrasion or wound to me....Gary

[rorie87]

yeh its just an iphone photo. It looks similar to a pimple! I have seen them scratched before, but was not sure about this. Is there anything like a parasite disease or anything i should worry about?

[TURQ64]

Well, if it's like a pimple, they usually come and go, but are a generally a result of nasties hiding in planted tank substrates...(that makes it a water quality issue)....Gary

[rorie87]

:( Things look to be getting worse. I just did my weekly 50% water change, all went to plan as normal, and all the fish seem fine, other than this one who is now hiding and on his side. He is not totally on his side - he can still hold himself up, but he's lying there. Once every 20 mins he comes out, swims fine, but goes back a coupel mins later to adopt the same position :(

[TURQ64]

You might want to set up a hospital tank and see if he'll respond to an antibio....Keep an eye out for any sign of redness at the base of fins, or streaking....

[roundfishross]

you may want to think about uping the water change amount and frequaency as well

[rorie87]

upping it from 50%?! NOthing has changed with my tank - everything has been the same, same routines etc. So it upsets me to see the discus in distress! Any idea what it could be? All the others are fine. Could he be hiding due to bullying? One of my largest discus (just slightly bigger than him) chases all the other discus. I have a few 3 inch ones which hide a lot from him.

The one that does the chasing is always trying to be with one of the other discus. The one 'he' chases does not hang out with him, but rather swims away while being chased. This has been going on for about a month. Do you think they could pair up, or is the 'male' just being a bully?

Hopefully this discus will come to again!

[Skip]

upping it from 50%?! NOthing has changed with my tank - everything has been the same, same routines etc. So it upsets me to see the discus in distress! Any idea what it could be? !

thats rite.. NOTHING HAS CHANGED.. so you NEED TO CHANGE! UP THE WATER CHANGE TO DAILY and watch progress.. 50% weekly is NOT enough..

most problems disc get is poor water quality
most solutions to discus problems.. More water changes

what size tank are they in.. how many?

[rorie87]

360l tank, got two at 6 inches, 2 at 5 inch, and 3 at 2 to 3 inch. The 2-3 inch ones are hiding a lot just now which is a new thing.... I'll do daily water changes and see how i get on

[Skip]

rorie.. i had some fish that started acting funny.. kind of hiding and not attacking or each other .. so i was up the percent of water change and i may not been doing it daily.. but once i did.. it took about 4 days before they were normal again..

hope it works.. that is the best first thing to do :)

[rorie87]

Sounds promising! Thank you for your help everybody