Discus Swimming Upside Down?

[Mr Melt]

Allright lads;

I woke up this morning to find my Discus swimming upside down throughout my tank; I've no idea what caused it (whether it be bacterial or trauma inflicted) nor do I know how to treat it.

If anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate it - he's my favourite fish and I've lost far too many to this bloody disease in the past to lose another one again ¬_¬

 

[ZoddyZod]

please complete the form pinned at the top of this section so others can help identify the issue.

 

[Mr Melt]

The tank is a Rio 180; the PH was originally 7.1 (but for some reason the recent PH test shows it at something like 6.4.....)

Seems to have a small ammonia burst (1ppm; currently doing a large water change).

Nitrite/Nitrate unchanged.

I tend to do a 25% water change every week to keep the water clean (I don't do it often as I have the tank overfiltered, with an Eheim 2215).

Up until yesterday he appeared to be absolutely fine; he came up to swim beside the glass as I was checking on my molly fry.

I honestly have no idea whats caused the PH to change; last time I checked it was at 7.0-7.2 (which admittedly was a few months ago; reason I haven't checked since is because all my fish appeared to be fine with no issues or problems).

Also within the past 3 days I have been treating the tank with Melafix (to treat a bit of Cloudeye my Fighter appears to be suffering from).

Also just tested the PH of my tapwater; its 7.6 for gods sake - what the hell is going on with my tank =/

UPDATE - If its worth mentioning, I have been treating my tank for the past 2 months with Stress Coat (rather than what I originally used); could that be a factor?

 

[Mr Melt]

After doing a large waterchange I have noticed no difference; he is directly upside down, with his belly floating above the water surface. I had a look, and it seems to be quite swollen; I'm thinking maybe constipation?

If that is the case I was going to starve the fish for a few days then try to feed him either mushy peas or (failing that) brine shrimp to clear his stomach.

 

[ainsy]

Got a pic?

I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like that before!

If it is constipation then greens/brineshrimp should help.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I doubt it is eating, so you need an alternative plan jik. Do you have an H tank? Also, you will have to decide what the cause of swelling abdomen is:
An eggbound female.
A constipated fish- which requires determining the reason- plugged digestive track, parasite or worm related or else infection. Then you would treat accordingly.

I recently lost my final discus due to a loss of balance issue which was the result of a traumatic encounter with the glass. It lived face down for some 6 months or a tad longer after the injury. There is no way to treat for this as its likely a brain injury. However, the swollen belly would suggest it is not this as a head Bashing should not cause the belly swelling.

If the pH is 6.4, then even 8 ppm of total ammonia is not a big concern. At pH 7.1, total ammonia is not a real problem unless nearing 4 ppm.

I kept discus at 7.4 pH from my tap easily.

I would not put stress coat in my tanks ever for any reason, but this is just my opininion

 

[Mr Melt]

Hes too well hidden; I can't get a photo.

Interestingly he now appears to be under a swordleaf, swimming upright (by that I mean properly oriented, but shimmying underneath the leaf and constantly "swimming in place" - something tells me that if I were to remove the leaf he would float to the top again.

Either way its a good sign; suggests he isn't brain damaged or too stressed to keep fighting to stay upright.

I'll continue with small water changes and see about getting a new dechlorinator for the tank water (used to use Tapsafe; it worked well).

Fingers crossed we fight this off =/

UPDATE - as of going to bed I now notice he IS swimming upright, without support! Mind you hes got some clear stress bars but it seems the waterchange helped do the trick =)

Thanks for the advice!