Discus acting wierd HElp Im worried!!!!

[mpayjr]

Recently (about 2 weeks ago) I bought a blue cobalt discus. I added him to my tank, but he was being picked on alot. So i moved him to the other tank, but everyone picked on him again. SO i moved him back to the old one and still he was picked on. So later on I bought a 65 gallon tank for the 5 of them (counting both tanks). I put them all together at one time but he was still picked on. Now he is looking skinny and seems to want to eat but won't. Even when food passes their faces, all of the others eat, but he sits back. Sometimes he will go to eat, but he he sees another discus out the other eye and swims away. There are no problems with the others. And there is only normal discus aggression in the tank. He now looks skinny and has dark stress lines, which I know are bad. Please Help! :cry: :cry: :( :? :?:

[m.ingram]

Sounds like your fish might have worms.That might be the reason he is getting picked on as he is sick.i would put him in a another tank and treat him with big L then do a prazi.I think u can do the prazi treatment a week after the big L treatment u can find instructions how to do this on this site.i would also treat the other fish as they too may be affected now.

[mpayjr]

what is a big L and a prazi?

[mpayjr]

Also are you sure these are the symptoms, before I spend alot on just this discus and find out he is just sacred to eat.

[hvt200]

you can find all these information on the sticky page of Illness & Medications....
i had the same problem as you, try adding a few more discus, this would break the bullying.
Now this new tank has it been cycle? and what are the parameters?

[mpayjr]

Yes, it has been cycled, I bought the two around the same time. The perimeters of the tank are 29 width 23 height and 18 depth. It's a pretty tall tank, good for discus. I think one problem may be there seems not to be enough hiding places. I think there are not enough plants to hide behind. Maybe? :?:

[Hollowman]

When we ask for parameters, we are asking about the test results of your water. We need to know how often you change the water, and how much, how you prepare the water change water. We also need the temperature. You need a test kit (liquid ones are best) for Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and Ph

In my opinion, if you give a fish a place to hide, it's going to hide! A sick fish, which is what you have, will always be picked on. To get it well again, if it is possible will probably mean you put it in a hospital tank until it is healthy enough to be with the others.
Photos will help here, take some of the fish in question, and the tank. We can recommend how you can approach the issues you are having and hel pget things right for you. BUT we need you to help us first ok.....water parameters first.

H :)

[mpayjr]

ok im soooo ignorant! lol :P
ok evrything's all as it should be tempertaure is 82 degrees
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
hardness -hard (need to fix that) do a few water changes
yikes! my alkinity is a little high
ph 7.6

I already see some problems with myself
pics will be coming

[hvt200]

i would adjust the temperature to 30-31 C for young discus

[mpayjr]

anything else you might recommend

[Goerge_of_the_Jungle]

how many times have you moved him around? Some Discus take longer than others to get used to their new surrounds - if you have moved him around alot it may not have given him enough time to get used to his new home.

If it was my fish - i would try taking him out of the discus tank and putting him in with smaller - less aggressive / territorial fish - feed him up a bit and once he has some energy up and meat on his bones - try to re-introduce him again - having said this - as you may know discus are school fish - this MAY do more harm then good.

What foods have you tried to tempt him with?

Also - you may benefit to ask the place where you got him - what the pH levels were - if they were in the low 6's- and you put him in the high 7's - could be shock?

He MAY have worms as previously mentioned - check around his gills for fluke - or check his poop for internal worms - if you don't know what to look for - google it - sometimes images are easier then to explain.

Lastly you could risk it and try feeding live foods and he may eventually take - depending on how he was when you got him - discus can go several weeks without food - eventually they will bite the bullet and feed - maybe see what the seller was feeding him before you got him and grab some of that for the time being.


thats all i got - sorry if its no help

[Hollowman]

Only raise your temp to 30C / 90f max for now. We still need to know your ammonia level.

[mpayjr]

I have moved him from the store to a new tank 3 weeks ago and last week to the new tank I just got. He does not seem to have any worms his poop is fine. Nothing that seems to have any sense of sickness is seen on him. I buy all of my discus from my LFS right across the street from my house. And they have the same ph as me. At the store there were three others like him (siblings). They all swam to the top to eat and were excited to see people. I don't think its the food either. I've tried frozen discus food (two of them hog it all), but it seems they other two ignore that kind. So I gave them flakes and they all eat them (except the one I'm worried about), sometimes he may go try to eat one, but when he sees another discus turn to him he scrams :roll: . Then I tried sinking pellets (he swalloed one once but spat it out and didn't go back. Do you think he is to intimidated by the larger fish? The two are only 1/2 and inch bigger. :?: The other two are a 1/2 inch smaller.

[Hollowman]

He does not seem to have any worms his poop is fine. .

What colour and texture is it's poo ?
Have you tested for Ammonia level yet?

[mpayjr]

I'll have to see about his poo. I have not seen it in a while. And i dont know how I test the ammonia levels. I dont think i have the right equipment for that. Also I dont know if this is important. But he now guards a territory , and he will slowly go to food. But everytime he does he rushes to his territory and snaps at others. This was a very sudden change in his behavior. His lines disspiear until that other fish is gone. He seems normal like at the store. All I need him to do is eat.

[Hollowman]

Testing for ammonia is about one of the most important tests you have to do, just buy a test kit in a lfs.

As for feeding, feed in different ends of the tank.

[mpayjr]

Thanks so much for your help!
I tried that , but it's still scared to eat (it seem to be that).
I'll keep a look out for anything that may help.

[mpayjr]

Well my blue cobalt is doing better. I just think he was shy and a little scared. He is coming out and swims with everyone else. But now my red dragon discus is acting funny. Tonight I just found him lying on the bottom of the tank. Maybe it's exhaustion? Please help

[mpayjr]

Sorry to say he died. It's deppressing loosing a discus. It's my first to die.

:( :( :cry:

[mpayjr]

I meant my red dragon. The cobalt is doing great lately.

[Goerge_of_the_Jungle]

sorry to hear that he/she died - As H-Man has said - you MUST have a Ammonia test kit - you will also need a pH test kit as well - but the first Ammonia is the most important - If you have one - what was your reading?

Also make sure there is plenty of oxygen in the tank - if your not sure - ask.

For a healthy discus to die - there is something wrong - Most discus will chose to eat rather then starve to death - they aren't dumb fish - this is why it is vital to test your water. When the water is in good condition - you will know because your Discus will show you - their fins will be completely flared - their color will be bright and beautiful (for colored fish that is) and they will never shy away from food - unless their stuffed - in that case their being over fed.

I would also drop your pH from 7.6 - Discus prefer more acidic water - Though i have never 'healthily' kept them in water above a pH of 7 - so i will need someone to confirm it is ok to keep them in this pH range please?

[mpayjr]

Does anyone know how to make a discus eat?
Try to convince it I mean?

[Melsy]

something about spraying the food with garlic spray...maybe...i could be wrong...im sure someone will correct me!

[mpayjr]

he has opened up more, but he still either spits his food out or ignores it. I have tried frozen, flakes, and pellets (whatever they are). Is there something else besides live food. I heard live food is sometimes dangerous.

[Hollowman]

he has opened up more, but he still either spits his food out or ignores it. I have tried frozen, flakes, and pellets (whatever they are). Is there something else besides live food. I heard live food is sometimes dangerous.

Live brine shrimp are fine as they are in salt water and do not have parasites.
Live food cultured in fresh water can harbour nasty parasites which your fish can suffer from. Top of the NO-NO list is Tubifex....Never feed these, even if they have been nuked.
Some live foods are fine though, it is just finding a reliable source, try here http://www.blackworms.com.au/

H :)

[mpayjr]

i moved the cobalt to a new tank and hes doing better. he loves it so much and even eats.

I tested the ammonia and it was way high, so I quickly added the decreasing stuff to lower it and the nitrite down. Also doing a water change of 25%.

The others are so happy now. Also another problem is that someone had turned the heater the wrong way so the temp. was 60 degrees.

[mpayjr]

my cobalt is doing fine he swallows something then spits it out

maybe in soe time he will finally eat
does anyone else have any cobalts so i can compare behaviors?

[mpayjr]

where i got my discus they kept their ph about 6.8 to 7.4 for their discus tanks and they showed no signs of stress

i lowered my ph now it is 7.3

[TW]

In my opinion, stable pH is more important than the fluxuation that is hard to avoid when you play around with it. My water from the tap has a high pH of around 7.5. Even my wilds are kept at this pH.

My only tank that has a lower pH is the one that is planted & has presurrised C02, which is pH controlled.

[rwel4809]

my cobalt is doing fine he swallows something then spits it out

that is a symptom of parasites...

[mpayjr]

guess what!? he ate, my blue cobalt ate one flake and then sam away from the others! :lol:

[mpayjr]

is it good that lately the main concentration of my blue cobalt is its territory

it is more worried about that than eating

it becomes really angry when others come near it

once in a while it will come and eat one or two flakes then hurry back and protect its area

[mpayjr]

is there anything wrong w/ it tht may be cauing this

[mpayjr]

Ok to tell the truth my discus never ate I just really wanted it to because im so worried.

i have not seen his poop so i have no idea if he has worms

but just in case im doing the treatment.

i will be adding th de-worming stuff to the tank once i buy it today

if any other opinions for this are out thre please tell me ASAP