Hey, bro, no problem. I was merely stating my first impressions, is all. Sorry, if it read a bit harsh, rather it was curt.
Determining whether a fish is suffering is not easy. Even scientists appear to not agree, to not know for sure how and when fish feel pain and what kind of pain. Their nervous system is pretty primitive but their psyche, if there is such a thing, appears to be a great unknown. Pain cognition in fish is very hard to study.
IME or rather IMO, when fish eats, it's not in pain. When it does not eat, it becomes hard to say. When the symptoms of a disease are visible and prominent, it may be in pain or discomfort.
TBH though, I am probably just more cruel than you are. I almost never put down any fish, probably maybe a few times out of, say, a thousand fish I had lost, always observing, pondering why and trying to learn, and always hoping to the end it will pull through even if it looks like it will require a miracle. Often times, I am not just idling and watching a fish slowly die. I am doing something, let it be playing with water, tank mates, administering meds, etc.
My most valuable and practical experience and knowledge are paid for by thousands fish illnesses and deaths. I'm more than sure many would judge me and disagree. I just hope there is room for everyone on this great forum of ours.
Now you probably understand better why I said what I said. Just a different vantage point. No judgment.
As for your IDS, I'd not feed it for a few (haha...) weeks and see what happens.
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BTW, an English lesson for me. Evaluate my present conviction that:
a few = 2-3
several = 3-4
handful = 4-6
half a dozen = 5-7
etc.
Yes? No?
At least when I used to write scientific articles in the field of physical chemistry, this is the rule my peer scientists and I used for "a few" and "several".
