Discus In Distress!

[tetraqueen]

Hi what is happenning now ? Has the Discus survived

 

[kribensis12]

He is still alive and swimming but is still not eating and you can still see his stress bars and his head has alot of "peppering" on it.

 

[WILDER]

When you say peppering do you mean a dusting on the fish.

 

[kribensis12]

I mean alot of black dots, like a dot from a inck pen, I was told that this means that the discus is stessed.

 

[Marshall..]

You must use water that is run through a water purifier or RO unit with minerals added afterwards.In the short term you could collect rainwater
providing it has not run off a roof etc. Concentrate on getting the water right and forget all the medications for now.
The worming tablets you can get from a vet it should be pure "metronidazole".I have used this on my discus with great success.
I am sorry I can not remember the dosage as it was a long time ago when I did this but I am sure someone can help.
But firstly I would suggest getting that water right and removing other medication.
Hope this is of some help to you.

 

[kribensis12]

I took the meds out and dont have the money for any meds and I do not posses a RO unit at this time.

 

[Marshall..]

Rainwater will be fine for now providing there is no pollution from factories etc nearby,an investment in a good water purifier is essential really for keeping discus,you may be able to buy one second hand.There is little hope for your fish otherwise.In the long run it is cheaper than buying a dechlorinator that you have to replace regularly and the dechlorinator does not remove heavy metals in the water.Good luck.

 

[crazie.eddie]

STOP!!! No need to use rainwater or RO water!

If it's tank bred discus, then more than likely, it's growing in regular tap water. Discus have been bred/raised in various water parameters, including tap water. I know many discus keepers who raise and breed discus in regular tap water. Wild discus come from softer waters, but can easily adapt to regular tap water.

I have never seen peppering AND stress bars on fish. Discus that do not display stress bars have peppering and visa versa. Peppering or stress bars become more prominent with fish become stressed. Some discus display this even when not stressed. Can you post a pic of the discus?

The discus may feel scared, since it's the only discus in the tank. Plus buying already sick from the LFS doesn't really help. I have seen some discus have a change of appetite.

I would remove the discus and place it in a hospital tank, preferrably 20 or 29 gallon tank. Increase the temp, slowly, to about 86°F-90°F. Perform frequent water changes, making sure you add dechlorinator. Feed frequently, with frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, etc. You may try to soak the food in Garlic Guard (garlic extract).

 

[kribensis12]

I will turn it up to 88 and could I just shred some garlic and coat the food in it?

 

[crazie.eddie]

Squeeze the juice from the garlic and soak the food in garlic juice.

 

[kribensis12]

I will try.

 

[WILDER]

Good luck krib.

http/p103.ezboard.com/fthegoldfishandaqu...opicID=26.topic

 

[Marshall..]

It is up to you whether you take my advice but personally I have only experienced success with discus in purified water,
forget the hocus pocus remedies.

 

[kribensis12]

He still will not eat it but has the same behaviour as desribed last time. I think that the next time I get discus I will get a job first( only 13, cant wait till I am sixteen, wages are officially up to 7 dollars and 50 cents!). I dont know what to do with the baby discus!!!!

 

[crazie.eddie]

You can try to sell it or maybe just give it to a local breeder. They may be able to get it's appetite going.

As I mentioned earlier, make sure you buy healthy fish. Sick fish maybe cheaper, but trying to bring it back to health with meds, lots of care, etc. may not be worth it and may cost more to nurse it back to health.

If you live in the Chicago area (Illinois - USA), then I can try to nurse it back to health to you if you like.