Discus Shake

[petros]

I have two discus at the quarantine tank, where they are recovering from HITH. They eat and act very OK, considering their previous illness. The thing is that time to time they are shakinh like electric current is heating them! The w/c are carried out daily by 30%. Ah I also noticed today that some of the fins at the back of the smaller discus are missing, (I think that are battle wounds). Can anyone tell me what this shaking means? Is it the begging of a new infection?

[Bill T.]

I think it's LOVE!
Discus do this shake & dance when they are getting ready to breed.

[petros]

I wish to be LOVE as you say Billy! So you think that I do not have to really worry about any diseases? I stare at them for a long time and I do not notice anything unusual except the fin rot only at the smaller (male) one. Their colours are often changed and the shaking is mostly done while they are eating. I WISH to be love as Bill says. IF anyone has another opinion please inform me!

[Bill T.]

Well, that fin rot doesn't sound so nice!
Fins will sometimes go a bit cloudy under stress, and "bits" can be damaged often during dominance battles.
....another thought...the shaking...is it like a "shimmy" (which is love related), or more of a slow movement as if to say, "I can shake harder than you can, buster"!? This would be more anti-love, if you get my drift. It would also account for the color change, especially if they show dark, vertical bars on their body, and consistant with male turf wars at feeding time.
I love discus fish because they have such personality!

Can you get some pictures of that fin damage?

[petros]

The shaking is "shimmy" (I suppose that you mean that it is very quick) and lasts for 2-3 seconds.Concerning their colours, they change in many ways.From very dark they become very bright, they stay for some time at their normal colours, dark again and so on. This is carried out mostly during their feeding (when I observe them mostly). About the pics Ill see what I can do. Thanks for the interest Bill!

[Merrilyn]

Petros, I think love is in the air :wink:

Those daily water changes will do it every time :P

[marg]

Have to agree with you Ladyred, sounds very much like the "hippy hippy shake" to me LOL.,

Regards,

Marg.

[petros]

I wish to be as you say guys! Ill keep you informed! Do you recommend to leave them alone at the quarantine tank or to put them back at the main tank? If I let them at the quarantine tank, should I add them anything special, like a driftwood or something?

[marg]

I'd just leave them where they are if it were me seeing as things seem to be working in that tank - moving them may disturb them.

Ben or Crocky would be better qualified to advise you though, seeing as they are the Breeding Guru's.

Regards,

Marg.

[Bill T.]

Have they got something to lay their eggs on? An upside down flowerpot would do.
By the way, how is that "fin rot" situation?

[petros]

The flower pot should be ceramic or plastic? Last night just came back from the Easter vacs and I havent noticed them very well. Ill try to post some pics. Ill keep u informed

[Bill T.]

How are those discus getting on, by the way? Are they well, eating & talking to you?

[petros]

They eat OK, like pigs, but they are at the corner for long time, they are very shy and afraid very easily. We are not talking to switch on the light, its out of ques. In the weekend Ill post the fotos. Thanks for the interest Bill.

[petros]

Well here it is the photo with the rotten dorsal fin. The fins at the marked edge used to be around 5mm longer, like three thin stripes. I havent seen a discus with the fins like that and that was one the reasons that I bought him. But as you can see they have gone. I believe that I covered you Bill T. Any comments?

[Bill T.]

Always hard to get a good quality pic.
Is it only that one bit on the dorsal fin?
Any other body signs? Are their eyes nice and clear? Any smudges of grey or white on the other fins?

Males tend to develop that elongation on the dorsal fin. My two males look like they need a haircut. I suppose during life in the wild or constant handling in fish shops these features may erode - you know, easily broken or damaged.

The fact they are eating is good. Do you think the HEX is completely gone?
My experience is they can take quite a while to recover after such an episode.

[petros]

It is only that part of the dorsal fins that is missing. I believe that they are quite ok, so in saturday I moved them at the main tank, and they look very happy. They eat OK and look very strong. Ill post a new pic when I can. No spots no smudges no body signs. Do you think that this elongation of the dorsal fins will develop agian? Thanks for the response Bill.

[Merrilyn]

Petros, the dorsal will regrow. I don't see any signs of finrot on the tail or other fins, so I think it's just damage, and not finrot.

[petros]

Here they are at the main tank. They are the red and the blue turquiose one next to the other:)

[Bill T.]

You just gotta love em!