Discus appetite decreased.

[Mep1127]

I have 7 discus, out of the bunch 2 are not eating. They had good appetites at first and ate all the food i put in the tank. Now they dont eat like the used too. I do notice they only attack blackworms though. I'm not sure what happened all of a sudden, maybe it is one of those "hunger strikes" ive read about. Not sure what to do at the moment any help would be nice.

[Skip]

live black worms?!

[Mep1127]

live black worms?!

no freezdried

[damba]

Can you get tetra prima in the US. mine go mad for it. My two non eaters were gorging after three days.
Tom

Sent from my GT-I5800 using Tapatalk

[Mep1127]

Can you get tetra prima in the US. mine go mad for it. My two non eaters were gorging after three days.
Tom

Sent from my GT-I5800 using Tapatalk

i dont know if a new food would do the trick..they seem to have no interest in food.. i was told to treat with metro, but i dont feel its necessary

[Mep1127]

I have a hunch it is a social problem rather than disease, but anyone can correct me if im wrong. I believe the 2 that are not eating as before is because i recently added some discus that are much bigger than them. The little ones are about 2.5 - 2.8 inches while the others are all 4+

[PAR23]

Please fill this out so as to not miss anything

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?38545-Disease-Questionnaire-please-complete

[YSS]

I have a hunch it is a social problem rather than disease, but anyone can correct me if im wrong. I believe the 2 that are not eating as before is because i recently added some discus that are much bigger than them. The little ones are about 2.5 - 2.8 inches while the others are all 4+

Or it could be that the new discus brought some bugs with them.

[PAR23]

Or it could be that the new discus brought some bugs with them.

Exactly.......Hence filling out questionnarie would be very helpful

[Mep1127]

Or it could be that the new discus brought some bugs with them.

I doubt it, they are from kenny..but you never know

[Mep1127]

Please complete the questionnaire if your fish are sick (copy and paste)

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started

I have 2 juvenile discus that are not eating like they used to. They ate everything from flakes to bloodworms when i first had them. I divided them for a while until i had the proper number of discus in my tank. Until recently i put 4inch discus in the tank and since then they dont eat with much enthusiasm or spit food out alot. They manage to get a few bites of freeze dried blackworms but thats it. I see one of them has his stress bars constantly showing compared to before.



2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)


Nothing physically severe....just slightly dark at times



3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.


None


Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish


55Gal, 2 months old, 7 discus ( 4 of them 4in+, 3 of them 2.8 - 3in )

5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?

20% after every feeding = 80 - 100% everyday/ 2 months/ bare bottom/ no aging - straight tap treated with prime

6 Parameters and water source;

- temp __88__ ( to increase appetite)

- ph __6.4___

- ammonia reading __=< 0.25ppm__

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading __0__

- well water __no__

- municipal water _yes___

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

4 new discus

[warblad79]

I increase my temp between 86-88F and add epsom salt.

[Mep1127]

http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/discusfdgfaqs.htm

If anybody wants to read that link...the post that talks about garlic juice 3/6/11 i think that is whats going on. I had another discus that came from the same supplier as the 2 that are not eating right now. He was kept alone in a tank for a week or two. Hes the most aggressive eater now.

[PAR23]

His temp is already 88F. I would defer on the epsom salt, not helpful here.

It looks like your tank isn't fully cycled. Should never have ammonia although some may argue at your pH, it is ammonium and not ammonia. Your nitrate is also zero making me think your tank is not cycled.

[Mep1127]

His temp is already 88F. I would defer on the epsom salt, not helpful here.

It looks like your tank isn't fully cycled. Should never have ammonia although some may argue at your pH, it is ammonium and not ammonia. Your nitrate is also zero making me think your tank is not cycled.

yea i dont know why my tank isnt registering lower ammonia levels.. its been a while now. I have purigen and matrix in the tank..thought that was supposed to keep ammonia in check. Guess ill buy the ammonia foam cut out and clean the filter out. But i dont think thats the main issue here. Like i said the 2 discus arent eating like they used to with the exception of blackworms.

Now if anybody can reassure me on this i believe it is due to stress and the fact they are on the bottom of the chain. My reasons are

-barebottom tank : light reflects too much (will spray the bottom of the tank )

-They are the smallest in the group

I'm hoping it is a social thing and not a true disease as i emailed kenny he recommended to use metro. I wont be able to get metro anytime soon. That is why i need someones take on this.