Discus Help

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thecoolguy

thecoolguy

Candiru
MFK Member
Apr 6, 2007
460
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46
Irvine, CA
background:

265gal, 3 fx5's filtration, fully cycled

temp 84, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20-30 - changing 30% every other day

diet: flake food, frozen bloodworm fed 3-4 times a day

duration: have had them for only 4 days

- despite the strong flow of fx5's, i have put in enough driftwood and artificial plants to break up a lot of the current, and the discus can pretty much swim any where in the tank without stressing at all

alright - now the behavior i am concerned about.....

- fins not as spread out
- swimming up and down the front glass
- huddling together near the surface

is this just stress from the new environment?

as for oxygen levels - i have all 3 fx5's output's pointed toward the surface so there is a decent amount of turbulence up there, but is it not enough?

tank mates (tetras, cory's, rasbora's, etc....) all doing fine....

i also think their strange potentially sick behavior may be due to the fact that some consumed perhaps 1 to many cardinal tetra....

thanks for any advice
 
How many discus are in the tank and what age are they? Where did you get them from? Do you quarantine?

The swimming up and down and huddling together is normal discus behavior in younger discus, the fins may be an issue of having too much water flow in the tank.

EDIT: Don't be so quick to fuss over their behavior, either. It's only been 4 days. Discus are timid fish - give them a month.

Watch out for bloated stomachs and white feces.
 
I agree, give them a few weeks to get a pecking order, and figure out the tank. You should have plenty of oxygen. My discus aren't fond of too much current. 3 FX5's is a lot of current, they'll find their spots. Keep an eye on them though.
 
Clamped fins are a sign that your parameters are bad. From what you showed, your water change schedule is far too little. With discus aim to stay at around 5ppm nitrate, and definitely under 10ppm. How many discus do you have?
 
well, things got slightly worse - but finally a definite sign of what is wrong...

90% sure it is fungal/bacterial

treated the tank with maroxy and added a tad bit of salt....

will continue treatment for 3-5 days....lost about 6 discus so far.....

again, this 265gal had about 35 to start with ---- unfortunately, didn't have the luxury of a q-tank for the second batch, and it looks like some may have brought something over......if not....it could be due to the larger ones eating some potentially sick cardinal tetras....

we'll see where this ends up after 3-5.....temp at 86
 
3 FX5!?! Discus don't like a lot of water movement...what about getting a Spray bar for each of the Fluvals. They drastically cut back on the water flow.

Have you heard about 'discus plague'?
 
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