Discus Help

[laurajulian1984]

Hi Guys,

i'm at my parents house and there is a big problem with one of their discus.
it keeps swimming all over the tank doing sumersaults and also floating to the top on it's side.

it's in a 320 litre tank with small community tank mates. there is no water testing kit here so i can't test that. all the other fish are fine including another discus.

any ideas?


eta: it seems to be having trouble swimming to the bottom of the tank, swim bladder problem maybe?

 

[WILDER]

Ok first thing to rule out is bad water quality.
Dosn't sound good if i'm honest it sounds like he's dying.
is she also bloated.

 

[laurajulian1984]

thanks for the quick reply.

it doesn't seem bloated. apparently it had a day like this a week or so a go and then recovered.
it does look on it's way out, spending more time at the top than struggling now

 

[WILDER]

You need to get water stats checked out.
He sounds to far gone to save really.
Swim bladder can be caused by many things like bad water quality, bad diet, injury, birth defect, bacterial, internal parasites.

 

[Tolak]

What's being fed, how much & how often, and what is the tank temperature?

 

[laurajulian1984]

they azre fed on dried discus food, tank temp is 26.

it doesn't seem to be moving now not sure if the poor thing is dead or just exhausted

 

[WILDER]

To many dried foods need more varied diet of frozen foods and veg.

 

[Tolak]

Discus like it warmer, 29-30C is better. This is why a species only tank is often recommended, as many fish don't do well with the higher temperature.

Lower temperatures slow metabolism. This means digestion. A bit of constipation will cause swim bladder issues, and you would see flotation problems come & go. This can lead to a bacterial problem.

Warmer temps, feed something with more roughage, fresh or frozen brine shrimp might help.

 

[laurajulian1984]

ok, thanks for that info. i will pass it on to my dad, weather he will listen or not is another matter! you can't tell my dad anything

 

[Tolak]

I would go that route before trying any meds. If you have a separate tank for the sick fish you could go a bit warmer than that, it would also leave you the option of using some antibiotics if needed, without medicating the well fish.

 

[petertr]

I'd certainly warm the tank up.

A mix of foods would probably help in the long term, too. Although I'm guilty of relying on dry too much myself

 

[Jim Curtis]

I dont know if its too late but add some epsom salt to the water. It will help the fish pass whatever is plugging him up so to speak. I had this problem a few months back with a discus that tended to over eat. She is still alive and doing well.