Upside down leopard skin?

[Webby]

I found my biggest leopard skin upside down at the top corner of my tank this afternoon. Thinking he was unexpectedly dead I went to remove him, but he backed away and gingerly swam sideways and upside down around for a while trying to turn himself around but came to rest in some plants upside down?

Does someone know what is going on. I did a 30% water change yesterday and now notice that there is nitrate in the take so I have done another 30% water change.

I did introduce a school of cardinals (12) and 2 corydoras yesterday as well.

I have also read that this could be constipation or gas that the discus can pass and I read this can be treated with Epsom salts as it acts a a laxative, does this sound right? I am not sure.

Lost.

[swifto]

Sounds like swim bladder disease,in which case it will die.

[scott bowler]

hey there webby you read right it maybe just some gas built up in its gut i would try the epsom salts and see how it goes , do some water changes after the teatment it may come good , if not swifto could be right too it may be swim bladder disease with isnt to good but work on one thing at a time . give it a go and keep us posted .

[Webby]

Thanks for your replies Swifto and Scott.

I did 30% water changes every other day this week to ensure the water was the best it could be, it took all the nitrates out which is what I was aiming for.

I am pretty sure it was indigestion. He has flipped around now and is swimming fine with the rest of the gang, still a little skiddish and hasn't really gone at the food yet, but seems to be coming good. He did suffer some tail fin damage as a result and it looks like he tried to get it out as he has scratches on his body where he was bloated. I will keep and eye on him.

I didn't try the epsom salts as I wasn't sure what it would do to the other fish and I didn't want to risk them all.

As a result of this I will be setting up a hospital tank in the event anything like this happens again, so I can treat the one sick fish independently.

I'll post a few pick up shortly when I can catch him out and about.

Cheers

[Webby]

In addition to this when i spoke with my LFS they asked if I had fed them beef heart, which I recently started them on only a few days before. Apparently they struggle to digest the fatty proteins as well. So in the event of not risking them again I will stop feeding "Discus Dinner".

[swifto]

Good to c u r on it straight away.hospital is the best place 4 sic fish.epsom salt won't hurt other fish just give them a clean out.

[scott bowler]

that is good news , like Swifo said the salts wouldnt hurt anything else,its always good to mix there diet up try difrent things every night over a week not just the same thing . good luck with it all

[FinVision P/L]

In addition to this when i spoke with my LFS they asked if I had fed them beef heart, which I recently started them on only a few days before. Apparently they struggle to digest the fatty proteins as well. So in the event of not risking them again I will stop feeding "Discus Dinner".

The beef heart was most likely the problem , if you have been feeding them dry food , the enzymes in the gut don't have to work as hard to absorb the nutrients , so as a result the population of enzymes equal the fuel type (dry food) Beef heart is very high in protein, and requires a good furnace to burn that fuel, so beef heart is great food , just next time introduce beef heart slowly to increase the necessary enzyme population to equal the the fuel load (high protein). Beef heart is used because of its high protein properties and its low fat content, so unless you didn't cut all the fat off on the outside of the beef heart then the fat could be an issue , or you may have purchased some frozen pre made at you LFS, if so i would suggest buying your own beef heart and cutting away all the fat on the outside of the heart before mincing it up . Beefheart will make your discus grow faster in the right water condition's Also it may be that your fish just has a pre disposition to beef heart