Discus refusing to eat

[jimmyd]

Hi all, i'm a new member desperately seeking some guidance. i have 5ft tank which housed rainbows, neons, albino cory's, 1 bolivian, brussled nosed cat. I traded the rainbows,and kept the rest, adjusted water to suit discus and three weeks ago purchased 6 discus. One 10 cm turqois, 10 cm yellow, 5cm blue diamond, 5 cm pidgeon blood, and 2 5cm reds.

I am terribly worried about the 2 reds. They are both extremely thin and not going for any food (except last two days, 1 red has had small amount of beef heart & red 2 showed some interest but didn't appear to bite).

I've tried a variety of foods, blood worms frozen and live, beef heart, frozen brine shrimp, dried blood worms and tetra bits. The other 4 discus seem to go for the food enthusiastically. The blue diamond seems to chase one of the reds when food is near. This red seems to hide in corner where plants are. The tank is decorated with two large pieces of drift wood, fake plants, and gravel floor. Eheim 2217 canister external filter.

My water readings are as follows;Do weekly 40% water changes.
Ph 6.4
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Gh 0
Temp 29

Not sure whether to treat with any medicine. Any advice wood be appreciated. Thanks

[Bill T.]

Not sure I can give much advice except to say that with new & relatively young discus, you win some & lose some. The 2 reds may still come around, but if not, consider taking them back to the supplier - especially since all the others are doing fine.
Perhaps they have some intestinal disorder getting in the way? In which case the supplier needs to know.
Maybe the reds came from a different supplier to the others & weren't quite as good stock.
Good luck & be sure to enjoy your healthy fish.
Once you get a stable population and everything settles, you should have a marvellous time getting to know these king of the aquarium fish.

[Merrilyn]

Welcome to the forum jimmyd.

Sounds like a case of the smaller fish being bullied by the larger ones. Is it possible for you to put the two small red ones in a tank on their own for a week or so, and feed them up. Even a small tank would be ok, so long as you did daily water changes.

These guys need a bit of building up, and might need some medication. At least in the small tank, you can observe them properly, and see if they actually are eating, and see what colour their droppings are.

White droppings are a sign of problems.

Please keep us posted.

[jimmyd]

Thanks for your replies. Bill the two reds came from the same supplier as well as the blue. The bigger fish do not bother them and they came from a different supplier.

Ladyred, i feel bad, but i donot really have the resources at this stage to place in another tank. I did observe redish dropping on one but nothing for the second. Given they will stay in the tank, should i opt to medicate or chose the return option. much appreciated.

[samir]

its probably internal parasites,wait for Ladyred's opinion.till then they should be okay. meanwhile keep your water A+++ :)

[Merrilyn]

Don't worry Jimmy, we all know just how expensive this aquarium hobby can be. From the symptoms you mention, I think I'd be inclined to treat them for pinworm and threadworm, with Levamisole in the water.

It's used as a pig and poultry wormer, and it's water soluble, so ideal for our needs. Get it from a Feed and Grain Merchant, or a big Pet Supply shop. The brand we mostly use is "Sykes Big L Pig and Poultry Wormer" and it will cost you about $16 for a big bottle that will last for ages.

The dose rate is 1ml per 7 litres of tank water, for a once only treatment. Leave it in the water for 3 days, then do a big water change.

In the meantime, I'd let the supplier know that your fish haven't eaten since you got them, and ask what his refund policy is.

[jimmyd]

Merrilyn, i've bit th bullet and set up a hospital tank, but unfortunatley lost one of the reds.
I noticed white stringy droppings in the tank and one of the fish was breathing heavily.Also noticed one of the fish rubbing against plants, the one breathing heavy. Not eating still. Went to local aquarium. They felt it might be flukes. Treated both tanks with expensive Praziquantel. Will the Prazi treat for thread and pinworm. If not do you advise to treat soon after. Thanks Jim

[Merrilyn]

Sorry to hear you lost one of your babies Jimmy. Prazi is good stuff, and will treat for gill and body flukes as well as tapeworm.

Unfortunately it doesn't treat for threadworm and pinworm. You need the levamisole for that. Wait a week after the last prazi treatment, and then use the levamisole.

[jimmyd]

Gee, this is a great site. I'm impressed with the passion and committment to this cause. It's really inspired me to keep trying and being passionate about this hobby.
One last question i hope Merrilyn. Do i keep the red thats left in hospital tank until it gets better. And i was recommended to retreat with Prazi in 7 days. Do i treat with Prazi and Levamisole together as i am aware you have encouraged Levamisole in 7 days. A bit confused. Is there merit in assuming all fish have been effected so treat them all in the same tank. Thanks Jimmy

[samir]

just keep an eye on the fish when using praziquantel. sometimes the fish can react badly to it

[Merrilyn]

Might be an idea to put a couple of the smaller discus in with the little red fish, just for company. Prazi needs two treatments, a week apart, to catch the flukes that have hatched during that time, and before they are old enough to reproduce.

Don't treat with Levamisole during that time. Wait a week AFTER the last Prazi treatment before you do the levamisole thing.

Thanks for the nice comments. The members make this forum what it is. So thanks to all of you.

[Inspiringfish]

Sorry for the late post. Listen up Jimmy, these guys are awesome. I had issues with worms and took the advice from the forum. The result (levamisole)= 12 thriving healthy discus!!!

Sorry about the red one. :(