bad discus mommy :-(

[luvmydiscus]

Hi all. I am here again with some very much needed help. My Discus is not eating and has not eaten in a couple of weeks. I really need help but will tell you the story how this came about and hopefully somone can help me out here...... :lol:

I have had this discus for 8 months now. Everything has been going great until two weeks ago. First off I noticed that my angel and discus had a but of velvet disease. Instead of adding meds I used salt.... :?

Two days later when I thought my bristlenose had bit the dust and I was so upset my hubby bought a new baby "regular" pleco. I should have never put it in the tank as I was positive there were signs of ick on it. But being an armoured fish I thought maybe it was just stressed in the new home and those bumps very few of them were just part of the armour. "Quaratine folks if in doubt"..... :D

So the next day the Angel and Discus had ick, doing a water change and adding more salt did nothing. I went and bought the good old Methylene Blue and the next morning all was fine. But I did another water change and put a bit more in to make sure all was gone.

So now it has been 6 days plus and all is fine. The only problem is the Discus will not eat. Hides in the corner, the colors and the body are in great shape. No signs of illness at all.

Two nights while sitting in the dark and just watching the tank I noticed the Angel and Discus at one end of the tank. Well low and behold it was my 1/2" Dwarf Puffer dude causing chaos in the tank. I put him in there about 2 months ago as he never bothered anything except the snails. Did a fine job of cleaning those up. For those of you who don't know about the Freshwater (yes totall freshwater not brackish) Dwarf PUffers they are adorable. They only get to 1" when full grown but let me tell you. They are worse than a Pirana in the tank. While watching the tank this little buggar would be nipping at the Angels fins never did that before and I think really stressed out the Discus too. I even witnessed him grab one of my danios and in seconds that fish was dead. So, yes these little bundles of dinamite will kill anything bigger or smaller than itself. Don't ever put them in with your community fish or you will not have any left.

One thing I have learned is that all puffers (marine, brackish, freshwater) all are very very aggressive and should be kept in a species tank of their own kind...... :wink:

Now back to the Discus, I have moved the fish to the only tank I have as a quaratine tank and it is a cycled 5 gal. I know this is quite small but I really need to get this fish eating again. I have offered bloodworms, krill, brineshrimp and flakes. Nothing.... :( I am really hoping that being in this 5 gal it will know it is safe and nothing will harm it. The angel fish is going nuts in the main tank. It is looking for the discus and will not eat this morning now since I have moved it. This is a night mare.

Should I maybe have left the discus with the angel in the main tank and take out all the other fish in that tank and hold them in the 5 gal for a couple of days? I know the Discus feels better in the larger tank and that angel tries to get it to move and follow it to the food. It is amazing to watch this as these two are the best of buds.

My water checks out all fine, water changes have been done and the carbon put back in the tank after all the meds.

The bristlenose is alive and well also, I now have a pleco that I really don't need but as it gets warmer my pond would love this addition....... :)

I think all the fish are on edge thinking that this little devil..... :twisted: puffer is still in the tank.

Tank size is 25 gal
2 bolivian rams
3 baby cory's
4white clouds
2 danios
1bristlenose
1 baby plec (going to the pond)

Any adive or help greatly appreciated..... :D

[Merrilyn]

This is the type of story that you hear often. A discus tank (or any tank for that matter) can be going along fine for months or even years, until a new fish is added to the tank. Then - disaster!

Unfortunately you've found out the hard way, that all new fish must be quarantined before going into a stable and established community. It's something we all have to learn.

I think your discus is probably still stressed out from the nightly attacks of the little puffer. (Have you removed him from the tank now?) Added to that, being moved to a strange tank on his own has made him reluctant to eat.

I'd be putting him back in his old tank with his buddy and give him a chance to settle down again. He obviously feels safe with the angel, and you should see him eating again a few days.

I wouldn't necessarily remove any of the other fish from the tank, unless you see problems. Given time, everything should return to normal. Your little plec will be okay for a few months, but they have been known to suck on the sides of discus as they get bigger. They are very active at night, and that could add to a stressful situation.

[luvmydiscus]

Thanks ladyred, things are not any better this morning. I did put the Discus and Angel back in their main tank shortly after removing them. This has been a horrible learning lesson one that I will not forget..... :(

The little puffer is in a new home and he has been out of the main tank for 4 days now. The Discus is withering away day by day........ :( How I have always wanted one of these fish and to be so dam stupid on my part I will never know...... :x

These fish deserve a quiet nice tank and I know that I will never have another one again if I loose this one. They are so expensive here and the boss (husband) has already said he will not pay the price we did again for another one....... :cry:

At the moment the Discus is still in the same corner, floates up and down in the same place. Sometimes it will swim the tank but very rarely. I have noticed the past while the shape of the head is getting pointy and this is not good as it was nice and full before. I know it has not eaten in quite a few weeks. I am saying a prayer that this fish pulls through for me..... :oops:

Two other things I have noticed is white poop and rapid breathing, but not to the point of being really fast. The angel keeps trying to get it to swim and be more active, it is amazing how animals communicate and know when each other is sick.

I have always had my bristlenose in there do you think he is okay with the discus? What type of tank cleaners do you people all use in your tanks?

In the meantime, I am going to spend time watching the actions in this tank. I will keep you posted.... :)