Discus help

[cracker1440]

I have six discus and they all have been doing very well until the other day one seem to be getting very timid and now has stopped eating and hiding all the time. They are in a 125, tested the tank water and all good there. I have not changed anything in the tank and always do my weekly water changes. I am on well water but it has always tested very good. I have had the discus for about 5 months now. Oh and the lower fins seems to twitch every now and then. Any ideas what may be up with this fish. I find it hard to treat my tank for anything unless i know for sure there is something wrong.:nilly:

[paopanlilio]

have you checked your temp ?

[cracker1440]

81.5 degrees as always

[fishyjoe26]

I'd bump the temp up a little to 84f% check for illnesses?

[crashwl21]

temp needs to be around 85 if you have a small tank take the discus out and use quick cure it will be better in a day or two it is what i use all the time if they stop eating. and get your self u.v sterilizer

[cracker1440]

I have a uv sterilizer on my house water. Do you mean transfer my discus to a small tank then treat that tank. I have prazi pro would this be the same as quick cure. Also having the temp up that high will it not hurt my other fish in the tank. i have cardinals, gromies, clown loaches, and a few pleco's.

[Lupin]

temp needs to be around 85 if you have a small tank take the discus out and use quick cure it will be better in a day or two it is what i use all the time if they stop eating. and get your self u.v sterilizer
Are you suggesting his fish has ich? I find it ridiculous to remove all the fish from the main tank and treat there. Even if there is ich, the main tank should be treated. Isolation is pointless.

The main issue here is temperature. 84-86 degrees should be the appropriate range. Lower than that, discus become more vulnerable to health issues.

Quick Cure is formalin and malachite green combination. It is not the same as prazipro. You could simply add prazipro and garlic on the food to entice the fish to eat but do not treat your fish with Quick Cure.

What species are your plecos and gouramis? Your other fish will be fine.

[Sab_Fan]

I know you said your water was "all good", but obviously different parameters are "good' for different fish, and discus can be mighty particular

what's your PH? what's your hardness? ammonia/nitrites/nitrates? have they changed at all over a given time?

I'm no expert on discus, but I'm hoping more information will help (?)

[Bobears]

Yes, get the temp up a little. If you see any jerking, shaking, or rapid quick swimming then it is an assumption you have the early stages of flukes. May also be some sort of external parasite. Lifebearer is the only treatment to use here. Of course this is only based off the info given. Good luck.

[hillbilly]

With only 6 young discus in a 125 gal., your timid fish may have found itself on the bottom of the pecking order. The stress of being chased will drive a fish to stop eating and seek shelter away from the group, which will cause it to stunt, and become more susceptible to parasites. Note: I doubt that treating your tank for parasites will solve your problem. The reason is only one fish seems to be stressed enough to be overcome. Treatment will only stress this fish more. Barring a huge stressful disaster in your tank, it's unlikely any of the other fish will be affected at all. Only stressed and weakened discus usually fall to parasites. Carrying parasites is natural for discus and most other SA fish as well. They usually do no harm to the fish. Only when the fish is weakened by severe stress do they become a problem. I think people freak out and treat discus for parasites unnecessarily. They think since they have treated for parasites, their fish do not have them. After the treatment ends, the parasites return. They don't even know it, since the parasites are not harming the fish. The side effects of the treatments often stress the fish worse than the parasite. There is usually a runt in every smaller group of young discus. If you remove the runt, then the next weakest fish will become the runt. Only in tanks with adult fish does this never happen. You can minimize this in young ones by keeping only large groups of little ones together. This spreads the behavior out so that it does not become a problem. When I buy young discus, I usually get a group of at least 12 fish to grow out together. They do much better this way.

[revkkoolaid]

From my exp. a discus will just mysteriously "fall out" and wither away. Sometimes from social stress but many times for no apparent reason at all. Sometimes fish just don't fit in to a group for one reason or another. That being said I wouldn't rush to medicating your tank if the other fish are in good health.

Hate to say it but usually the best course w/ discus is to maintain optimal condtions and hope for the best and these things work themselves out. . . one way or another.

I think Hillbilly has a tank full of discus that didn't "fit in" in other groups. Remember discus are still cichlids. I'm not pointing the finger at pwn-age being your culprit, but it's something to be aware of. In small groups you end up with a "runt" at the bottom of the pecking order many times.

[revkkoolaid]

With only 6 young discus in a 125 gal., your timid fish may have found itself on the bottom of the pecking order.

LOL. I started typing before you posted. . .but yeah what he said.:ROFL:

[hillbilly]

Yeah, I do have a "runt" tank with about 20 discus in it. Some people would just cull them, but I can't throw a discus out. :grinno: They can make a decent display on their own, once they are no longer under stress, filling out and eating well.

[revkkoolaid]

Yeah, I do have a "runt" tank with about 20 discus in it. Some people would just cull them, but I can't throw a discus out. :grinno: They can make a decent display on their own, once they are no longer under stress, filling out and eating well.

I know you have some sweet fish in that tank! I was impressed when I found out their origin. I don't like giving up on fish either.

As you mentioned before though removing them often gives way to another filling the social bottom rung. To me it's just kind of part of the territory in dealing with discus. You just have to roll with it.

[cracker1440]

Thankyou for all the info i will keep an eye on this fish for now and i wiil keep you updated as to how it is doing. I Have had this discus for almost 7 months now and it is the largest one i have. I have been doing alot of reading this week and i found the the jerking and twitching could be caused from her wanting to mate. Well i guess time will tell thanks again.

[hillbilly]

Well, all I can say is good luck to you. Yesterday, you had the fish 5 months, it was timid, had stopped eating, and was hiding all the time. Today, you have had it 7 months, it is your largest fish, and it is trying to attract a mate. Very confusing! :screwy:

[cracker1440]

Sorry for the confusion it is 5 months old I guess it was a late night lol. Well i have had it for five months. I dont really know how old it is. It is my largest though I have a pic in my gallery of it along with a few others. Most of the time it is hiding in a rock fomation. It will not come out even when the food hits the tank. But when it is out it seems to be tagging along with my snake skin. I was just trying to state yesturday that i had read that the twitching the fish is getting could be related to
it wanting to spawn. I am new to discus and still learning thier habbits. I have never liked putting a treatment in my tank unless i really really have to. The biggest problem i have is trying to figure out what is really wrong with them if anything. I was looking for different stuff to look for maybe to help me further my knowledge with theses fish so i can maybe have them for many years

[cracker1440]

Thanks for all the info