discus still not eating.........?!?!?!

[nick swope]

I have had this discus for a little over a month. I havnt seen him eat once. Ive tried multiple frozen foods, flakes and pellets, he just wont eat a thing. I have moved him to a 10g quarantine tank and have been using different medicines for external parasites. I dont know if that is the problem but it is the kind of medicine i had laying around so i tried it. I have noticed that his poop is kinda whitish. He is not active, and even hangs out with his belly on the bottom of the tank. I have the water temp at about 84 degrees and i have things set up aroubd the outside of the tank so that he isnt disturbed as easily. If anyone has anysuggestions I would deeply appreciate them. Thank you all very much!!!!!!

 

[hillbilly]

White feces are a sign of internal parasites. A white, slimy feces indicate hexamita. The treatment is generally Metronidazole (Metro). A white, segmented feces is a sign of tapeworm. This is treated with Praziquantel. What were the conditions of the fish's environment prior to the illness? Was this the only discus in the tank? Unfavorable conditions, which causes stress, often lead to parasites overtaking a fish's immune system.

 

[Pellegrino80]

You should use Metro-Pro it's safe to use on Discus and will work within a week. It'll help with the HIH, and other diseases it that it has. If you can't find Metro-Pro you could for now use Parasite Clear Tank Buddies from Petco or any other fish store for up to 3 weeks.

You can look on this link below about how to treat Dieases.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]http://www.archersdiscus.com/disease_21.html

 

[Kastor48252]

Use the above suggested treatment for 7 days or untill 3 days after the poo returns to normal, whichever is greater and abstain from live feeding for 3 weeks till the fish's GI system returns to normal. Daily 30% water changes ( siphon out all the poo ) are desirable along with addition of aquarium salt.

 

[GeorgeG]

Nick you don't say what size this discus is but since he is in a 10 gallon tank I am guessing small. I would bring the temp up to 88 to get his metabolism working a little more. I hate that you are guessing an just throwing medications in the tank and that goes for any fish. If he is not skinny he may be eating but just not in front of you. If you can get a small portion of California Black worms put those in the tank for him to eat. California Black worms are not Tubifex worms so stay away from them. Just put a small amount in the tank and don't worry they will not die. I feed this to my Discus all winter long getting them nice an fat as they get closer to spawning age.

George

 

[nick swope]

White feces are a sign of internal parasites. A white, slimy feces indicate hexamita. The treatment is generally Metronidazole (Metro). A white, segmented feces is a sign of tapeworm. This is treated with Praziquantel. What were the conditions of the fish's environment prior to the illness? Was this the only discus in the tank? Unfavorable conditions, which causes stress, often lead to parasites overtaking a fish's immune system.

He came from a breeder who really seemed to know his stuff. He was in a tank with one other discus. My roomate has him and he eats well and seem fine. I run a pretty clean tank, water changes every other day at least, and have been keeping fish for a few years. All of my fish are healthy and eat fine. Im not sure how my discus aquired this disease. Thank you so much for your help.

Thanks to everyone for all your help. I really dont want to lose this little guy. And he is about 2.5 inchesright now by the way.

 

[msjinkzd]

Are you planning on adding more discus? They are social creatures and its usually best to have a minimum of 4 of them. I would assume he is stressed from being alone in addition to have some sort of intestinal parasite. I would also recommend using garlic treated food. The garlic is a natural appetite stimulant and if feed for several weeks changes teh pH of the gut making it inhospitable to parasites. The elosyn in garlic is most effective in fresh or jarred garlic, its the oil from the garlic that is desirable. You can press cloves or the jarred variety and allow it to soak into the food before feeding. Best of luck with your discus.