Discus Problem

[Better is Betta]

Hi all just wanted to know what may cuase the stool in a fish to hang out like a large worm. I've only had my discus for 1 and half months. Kinda nervous with these guys...but this particular one doesn't eat with the others although it use to and it was the bully of the tank. Now it just sulks under a log...it has a fat gut. Im wondering if it has bloat or parasites. I never see it eat anything so it may be a midnight snacker. I give them a variety of b/worms, heart, and brine shrimps. Is there something I can do to help this one I think he's ill.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Might need worming, what colour is it's stool.

 

[kevinjames]

how many have you got and how big are they and whats your setup/water change regime? has it changed colour? have you wormed them before?
also a bloated gut doesnt normally mean worms or a parasite, it normall could mean constipation.

 

[Better is Betta]

Thanks everyone for your reply.. The fish are just juveniles not fully grown. I have four in the tank...I did have five but one died for no apparent reason. It was healthy and eating very well one day and dead the next. It may have been spooked and injured itself I really don't know. But this one has a whitey grey sort of stool and is not very active...just sulks. I give them a water change every 2nd or 3rd day, roughly 10ltrs. I have 4 corys in the tank to clean up any uneaten food and they are thriving very well. This particular fish is the only one with a fat gut the rest look normal. The discus is an orange tiger and has been the same colour since I brought it home. If I have to worm it then the rest will need the same treatment right and what would you recommend......never had to worm a fish before.

 

[kevinjames]

how big is the tank? sounds like you are not making large enough water changes.

 

[markandhisfish]

what is your tank size and water stats? ammonia nitrites nitrates temp? . any chance of a pic of the poo? is it white/stringy/mucussy? does the fish hide away on its own ? does the fish appear to be losing weight? do you ever see it swimming with its head pointing down?

 

[Better is Betta]

Hi again...I have a 120ltr tank...the discus looks very normal to me except for its fat gut. He/she justs sits under a log and stares at the others...doesn't attemp to eat at all and I haven't seen it pecking on the bottom for left overs. I hear so many suggestions for water changes. The guy I bought them off said just a little bit off the top every week. someone else said only 50% once a week. I'm told they don't like water changes and so being nervous I opted for a 10ltr freshup every 2nd day...if Im working and don't get the chance then sometimes its on a 3rd day...but mostly every 2nd day. I've kept the temp at 28c because I have 4 corys in the same tank and was told they don't like high temp. Trying to please all of them by keeping it at 28c. I'll try and send a photo ... but the fish's stool is not hanging out now its gone. Actually I've just had another good look at the fish and I think its more pale in colour and the tips of the fins dorsal and back have turned black in colour. I don't think it was that black before. My water is a light tea colour because I have logs in the tank and peatmoss buried under the gravel The ph is about 6.2 and when I add new water I use prime. That rids the water of chlorine, ammonia and nitrates. Your advice if I've done all the wrong things... I would appreciate your help to get it right.

 

[kevinjames]

Hi again...I have a 120ltr tank...the discus looks very normal to me except for its fat gut. He/she justs sits under a log and stares at the others...doesn't attemp to eat at all and I haven't seen it pecking on the bottom for left overs. I hear so many suggestions for water changes. The guy I bought them off said just a little bit off the top every week. someone else said only 50% once a week. I'm told they don't like water changes and so being nervous I opted for a 10ltr freshup every 2nd day...if Im working and don't get the chance then sometimes its on a 3rd day...but mostly every 2nd day. I've kept the temp at 28c because I have 4 corys in the same tank and was told they don't like high temp. Trying to please all of them by keeping it at 28c. I'll try and send a photo ... but the fish's stool is not hanging out now its gone. Actually I've just had another good look at the fish and I think its more pale in colour and the tips of the fins dorsal and back have turned black in colour. I don't think it was that black before. My water is a light tea colour because I have logs in the tank and peatmoss buried under the gravel The ph is about 6.2 and when I add new water I use prime. That rids the water of chlorine, ammonia and nitrates. Your advice if I've done all the wrong things... I would appreciate your help to get it right.

firstly i think your tank is too small long term for these fish but you can sort this later.

secondly you have been given the wrong advice about water changes. with discus as long as you change the water with water of the same temp and ph you cant give them too much. i think if youn increase the frequency of water changes to 50% daily until the fish shows improvement that would help. but dont just start that straight away, ease into it so it aint a big shock.

can i ask the size in inches of these fish? if they are still small they need feeding upto 4-5 times a day (hence the water changes to keep nitrates down).

oh and prime is good but it only converts ammonia to a non toxic ammonium and doesnt affect nitrate at all.

like i said before i dont think you fish shows signs of worms/parasites. it sounds more like an internal bacteria problem. try load a photo so we can have a few more eyes look at it.

 

[Better is Betta]

Hi again...I have a 120ltr tank...the discus looks very normal to me except for its fat gut. He/she justs sits under a log and stares at the others...doesn't attemp to eat at all and I haven't seen it pecking on the bottom for left overs. I hear so many suggestions for water changes. The guy I bought them off said just a little bit off the top every week. someone else said only 50% once a week. I'm told they don't like water changes and so being nervous I opted for a 10ltr freshup every 2nd day...if Im working and don't get the chance then sometimes its on a 3rd day...but mostly every 2nd day. I've kept the temp at 28c because I have 4 corys in the same tank and was told they don't like high temp. Trying to please all of them by keeping it at 28c. I'll try and send a photo ... but the fish's stool is not hanging out now its gone. Actually I've just had another good look at the fish and I think its more pale in colour and the tips of the fins dorsal and back have turned black in colour. I don't think it was that black before. My water is a light tea colour because I have logs in the tank and peatmoss buried under the gravel The ph is about 6.2 and when I add new water I use prime. That rids the water of chlorine, ammonia and nitrates. Your advice if I've done all the wrong things... I would appreciate your help to get it right.

firstly i think your tank is too small long term for these fish but you can sort this later.

secondly you have been given the wrong advice about water changes. with discus as long as you change the water with water of the same temp and ph you cant give them too much. i think if youn increase the frequency of water changes to 50% daily until the fish shows improvement that would help. but dont just start that straight away, ease into it so it aint a big shock.

can i ask the size in inches of these fish? if they are still small they need feeding upto 4-5 times a day (hence the water changes to keep nitrates down).

oh and prime is good but it only converts ammonia to a non toxic ammonium and doesnt affect nitrate at all.

like i said before i dont think you fish shows signs of worms/parasites. it sounds more like an internal bacteria problem. try load a photo so we can have a few more eyes look at it.

I'll try and get a shot, if it would only come out for one. I have 3 fish around 3-4 inches in size and 1 little one around 2inches. I feed them in the morning before work and at night with blood worms brine shrimps and heart. They won't eat the discus flake or crumble. Is their diet ok...God I hope I haven't been starving them. I do intend on getting a much bigger tank sometime down the track. Your help is much appreciated...as I said I'll try and get a photo so you can see what is wrong and if the others look too thin.
Bev

 

[kevinjames]

Ok its not that you are doing anything wrong but you could change a few things to make it easier for you and better for the fish.

With discus they are poor sensitive souls until they are well over 4 inches. Therefore frequent feeding of small meals and daily water changes are better at growing them on quickly. For instance, at this moment in time I am growing on 6 discus in a 200 litre tank. I am feeding between 4 and 7 meals a day, comprising of homemade beefheart mix, brineshrimp, bloodworms, tetra min, tetra prima and spirilina granules. Because of the heavy feeding I'm doing daily water changes of 50%, this is needed to keep the nitrates low, some people do even larger daily water changes. With this regime my fish have grown an inch in the first month I've had them.

Like I said you are not doing anything wrong as your fish will keep growing but a lot slower and may end up stunted as a result.

 

[Better is Betta]

Ok its not that you are doing anything wrong but you could change a few things to make it easier for you and better for the fish.

With discus they are poor sensitive souls until they are well over 4 inches. Therefore frequent feeding of small meals and daily water changes are better at growing them on quickly. For instance, at this moment in time I am growing on 6 discus in a 200 litre tank. I am feeding between 4 and 7 meals a day, comprising of homemade beefheart mix, brineshrimp, bloodworms, tetra min, tetra prima and spirilina granules. Because of the heavy feeding I'm doing daily water changes of 50%, this is needed to keep the nitrates low, some people do even larger daily water changes. With this regime my fish have grown an inch in the first month I've had them.

Like I said you are not doing anything wrong as your fish will keep growing but a lot slower and may end up stunted as a result.

Can you over feed them where they end up constipated? I'm having that problem with my bettas at the moment and I don't want that to happen with my discus. I checked my orange discus this morning and took some photos she/he has that poo trail again and that beer belly. Would it be feeding when I'm not looking and pigging out? I can't get the pics to you just yet my internet is down to a crawl...but they will be coming Oh and thanks for your advice.
Bev

 

[kevinjames]

If you are concerned that you may have been overfeeding them, leading to constipation then try not feeding them for a few days. It won't do any fish any harm missing a few days of food.

 

[Better is Betta]

If you are concerned that you may have been overfeeding them, leading to constipation then try not feeding them for a few days. It won't do any fish any harm missing a few days of food.

Thanks for all your help and helpful adivice but my fish died...do you still want photos to see what he may have died from? I checked it over to see if it had any sores or leasion but it looked normal.

 

[hillmar77]

Could be alot of stuff that did him/her in. I'm not sure what your nitrates are, but I usually like to use it as my indicator for waterchanges on my Discus. Anything Over 5 on nitrates and I do a 50 percent water change, Also I like to use Purigen on my filtration just for the great job it does lowering nitrates and disposing of bio waste. Also you might want to check on your GH/KH too, and also check to see if you have any fluctuations in your PH over time.

 

[Better is Betta]

Could be alot of stuff that did him/her in. I'm not sure what your nitrates are, but I usually like to use it as my indicator for waterchanges on my Discus. Anything Over 5 on nitrates and I do a 50 percent water change, Also I like to use Purigen on my filtration just for the great job it does lowering nitrates and disposing of bio waste. Also you might want to check on your GH/KH too, and also check to see if you have any fluctuations in your PH over time.

Thanks for your input but if I had nitrate wouldn't my other 3 discus suffer the same problem? Sorry to sound naive I'm not up with the jargon GH/KH what is that?