white tummy!

[sharn]

ahhh, one of my baby discus' tummy has gone pale! its just so much paler than the rest of its body that i really freaked when i saw it, its moved around a bit now but its still paler than it should be. am i over reacting? cause ive had a run of bad luck with my fish and im about to throw in the towel....

all the water params are fine, ive got my kh up to 2dkh and the same with my gh. ph 6.5-7 and temp is 30C, only other tank mates in a 60L BB tank are 2 other baby discus, about 3cm long in size

[sammigold]

Can you describe it? ie.. is it furry like a growth on the tummy?
or does he look like he might have a blockage and his tummy has "stretched" to a pale colour?
or has it faded in colour with no obvious growths or ulcerations?

maybe a photo?

Just some questions to try and get an idea of what this may look like... then hopefully someone may be able to help you out...

I dont think anyone can say you are over re acting unless they can see him.... but I do know that we can tend to over analyse our fish (I know I do! :-))
but its better to ask than to not ask and be sorry later... everyone here is happy to help if they can!

[Merrilyn]

Hang in there Sharn. If your baby has just been eating, he may simply have a full tummy and the skin is stretched tight over the bulge. Nothing to worry about.

If he starts to show other symptoms, like looking really sick, or not eating then let us know.

[sharn]

its not furry, it just pale... he doesnt look fat at all, hes sitting on the bottom with slow breathing

[sharn]

ok heres a pic.... http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/Sharn_S/lighttummy.jpg

its hard to see but you can JUST see it... i have been wanting to treat for hex (re post 'feeding flagyl') but i got no answers, maybe this is a stupid secondary thing if its got it?

does he look stunted at all to you guys? hes approx 3cm and probably around 6 months old at a guess

[sharn]

phew, he lasted the night and seems to be back to normal today, i have no idea why that happend but it gave me one hell of a fright thats for sure!

[Merrilyn]

Sharn, that's great news. Sounds like it was just a digestive upset of some kind. I'm sure they do get a bit of a pain in the gut if they overeat or something. Main thing, the little guy is on the road to recovery, and yes I can understand how you feel.