sick discus help

[y020103]

i have recently bought 3 discus 2"-3" in size and two are really well , but theres one that is inactive and will not eat anything, even if it goes in front of it. all water parametres are fine as i have tested them. please give me some advice thankyou

dom, :(

[y020103]

i would like a reply asap

[aks]

Kindly post the water parameters...

And give few more details like any thing unusual on the body colouration a pic can do wonders...

[y020103]

i will try get a picture asap
, nitrite 0,
nitrate tiny bit,
ph 7, (i know it is high for discus, but they seem to be fine)
water hardness very hard

i have noticed i slight buldge forming, with a couple of faint markings on the side. very strange. it looks fine but will not eat at all it swims a little bit but most of the time sits behind the wood

[y020103]

my tank setup is

180 litre eheim tank

eheim 250 watt heater

1x eheim external proffesional filter

1x eheim external canaster filter, classic

8 watt vecton uv ( due for a new bulb)

1x marine blue light (30 watt)

1x daylight bulb (30 watt)

1x onion bulb plant

2x bits of wood

sand on bottom.

[aks]

water hardness very hard


I bilieve there is your problem discus require soft acidic water... now for remedy i am not qualified enough so a senior member can help better by the way a pic can help them understand an illness.

[goldenpigeon]

you need to lower the hardness. put in more driftwood or get some peat.

im interested to know what kind of sand you have because it may be buffering the hardness cause its pretty unusual to have very hard water and a ph of 7.

test you tap water and let us know the results.

[y020103]

the sand i have in my aquarium is proper aquatic sand bought in a sealed bag, costing around £18.00,

the water round my area is very hard

the other two discus i bouhgt with the other one are doing fine and are eating and swim all over the tank.

[Merrilyn]

Welcome to the forum y020103.

There are lots of reasons why newly aquired discus don't eat. The catching and transporting is fairly stressful on fish, even when everything is done perfectly. Some adjust more easily than others. But the stress can lower the fish's natural immune system and allow it to contract some bacterial infection, which they were previously dealing with quite successfully.

A bit like us, when we feel a bit stressed and run down, we are likely to catch a nasty cold or 'flu.

There are a few possible problems here, the first one that comes to mind is that the fish may be suffering from a worm burden, in which case you need to go to your local aquarium store and purchase a remedy for round worms and nematodes. Ask specifically for that, as some medications will only treat tape worm, and I think it's more likely your fish has round worm, and not tape worm.

Have you seen any droppings from this fish, and is it a normal dark colour? If the droppings are white, clear jelly like, it could be an internal bacterial infection in which case you need to get a broad spectrum antibiotic. The one we use in Australia is Metro or Flagyl. In Australia you have to go to the vet to get a prescription. Not sure what the rules are in your country, but the aquarium shop should be able to give you correct information.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[y020103]

thanks for the information keep you updated