discus not eating

[Discus man]

It was nasty of me to say that but i was kind of upset as a few of my things have died and not all of themaree fish so i am sorry for that. i have researched before i gat the discus they are only small same for the rest of the fish. The plecs is ansistrusand the only fully grown things in the tank is the corys so you cannot realy say as it is over stocked. I am going to add a fluval 202 when i get some money for the valves and pipe. Another discus died today but hopefully i am going to rectify to problem today by doing a 50% water change.
The amonia is fine but that is all i can give you as it is given off a seachem amonia reader.

I am sorry for my ignorance i hope you can understand.

Discus man

 

[Paul_MTS]

first off get your self some proper test kits, how could you tell us the water params were fine without any other test kits apart from a ammonia reader which aren't always accurate.

with discus you should be doing 20-30% water changes twice a week not doing 1 large water change, they can't handle the stress.

froozen bloodworm is very good for discus, i use Ruto froozen discus mix which is also good as it's a high protein mix.

You are over stocked what ever you say.

oh and what advice did you get some another forum?? to be honest once a discus stops eating, goes dark and hides in a corner it's a goner, i see this week after week at work with new arrivals all the time.

once this does happen though turning lights off and keeping the area around the tank quiet as possible can help a bit.

Instead of a Fluval go for a ehiem classic 2215.

 

[abstract]

also make sure that your temperature is in the discus range (i belive 80/82-84 degrees F)...this is extremely important

 

[Discus man]

to be honest once a discus stops eating, goes dark and hides in a corner it's a goner,

To be truthfull thats not true. My other discus went dark and not eating but they pulled around. My water is at 86f so it is ok at that. I have no money i cannot buy what i have not got i can only afford fluval parts.
and i am not been awfull but how do you know that by reading your tank stats i can tell you dont even own discus.
the fish have whitespot or ICK i am going for treatment. i also did not tell you i knew all the water perimiters i only told you the amonia was fine.

 

[Paul_MTS]

Most of the time it is true, I have seen some pull through but the majority die even with our best efforts.

half that that didn't make sense...but I own fish as sensitive and probable more sensitive than discus so consideing mine are still alive I reakon i have useful advice to pass on, if you don't want it fine though.

In your first few posts you said your water was fine meaning that nitrates, nitrites and ammonia are all in check.

Before spending all your money on expensive fish maybe you should of kitted out your tank to keep the fish in better condition.

 

[Porthious the Gourami]

Hi Discus Man,
let me just mention here that my water conditions where optimal, temperature was perfect, nutritional fish food excellent, and still they got sick because they have a weak immune system because of inbreeding and pampering for profit from the fish breeders and shops. This had nothing to do with my ability to raise and keep tropical fish.
I'm not sure whether I have mentioned this before on not, but what I did when my fish were sick is give them salt bath (not recommended for corys as they are not very tolerant of salt) of 3 to 5 percent salt solution. This means adding 3 to 5 grams of salt per litre of tank water to the tank, and introducing the solution slowly. Also, increasing the temperature to 32 degrees Celsius for a two to three days was extremely beneficial for my pet gourami, however, another not of caution as I do not know what the salt tolerance of discus are.
Good luck,
Porthius the Gourami

Hi Discus,
Im hoover a fantail golden goldfish a friend of Porthius. I might be a bit tougher than most of you tropical guys but even I lost five of my best friends 3 other goldfish and two sucker fish. For ages I grieved and wonder why we all got chemical burns. Finally after an emergency tank change and some new friends when my scales had healed I figured it out. Having a responsible keeper she always put the tap water into buckets and let it age in the sun for a least two days and generally a week which naturally removed chlorine and other toxins without the use of those expensive chemicals which always make me feel woosy anyway. However at this particuar tragic time our neighbours had sprayed round up outside which blew into the water buckets and caused the terrible losses. What I am trying to say is that water can often be naturally aged outside however it is most important to make sure that it is not in reach of any chemical activity.
P. S. I hope the #### throwing comes to an end soon it is starting to be very boring.
Cheers
Hoover

 

[Discus man]

thanks for the advice it has been the best in the whole topic i know you can naturalize the water but i chose not to. I also came on here to be helped not be be lectured about what equiptment i have.

 

[Paul_MTS]

P. S. I hope the #### throwing comes to an end soon it is starting to be very boring.

There is no chucking going on just the bare truth here.

and in your reply there is alot of bull ______

First off tank bred discus are a hell of a lot stronger than wild caught discus.

As you have plecs in the tank DO NOT add any salt at all.

which naturally removed chlorine and other toxins without the use of those expensive chemicals which always make me feel woosy anyway

maturing water in this way only removes chlorine, if the water company use chloramines this stays in the water and heavy metals which discus don't like are also left in the water, and as you have found out there's the risk of injection not just from chemicals but things like bird poo, rat poo and other diesease riden materials. Also a good water condition does the exact oposite of "making me feel woosy" you have no proof to say that anyways, products like stress coat help the fish and can be used for it's medicinal purposes aswell, so if your discus start getting ill you can chuck in a double dose, i have done this in the past and it helps alot.

lectured about what equiptment i have

i was not lecturing you more advising you whats the point in buying expensive fish then after having a couple of them die think " oh, my fish might have a better chance if i upped the filtration!!" Before i bought my sensitive fish i made sure i was happy with how the filtration was going which meant buying a couple of powerful pumps first, then bought my stingrays.

and sorry but it's simple not good enough to not own a descent liquid test kit if your keeping fish as sensitive as discus.

You HAVE to keep tabs on the water quality as the smallest chemical increase is going to make them keel over.

It's not often i bother with the emergency section and now i do i get all the advice chucked back in me face......

 

[Discus man]

I am not chucking it back in your face i already said i am skint i was skint when i bought the tank it was a xmas prezzy i will buy the addapters and pipe for the fluval when i get some money.

 

[Paul_MTS]

yes u did.....

thanks for the advice it has been the best in the whole topic

and from all that great advice in there i have just corrected

Seeing as you said you were going to buy a Fluval 202?? not heard of that model i then suggested you get a ehiem instead as there alot better or maybe even go for a test kit instead.

 

[Discus man]

i said get the equiptment for the fluval 202 i have NO money to buy a new filter.

 

[keane]

Without trying to sound too brutal.....

...if you do not have the resources to properly care for your fish you SHOULD NOT be keeping them!

steve 8)

(did that sound too brutal??)

 

[Discus man]

i deserved it. I have just won some test kits so that has took alot of my mind i will be getting some things for anougher filter soon hopefully (as you know fluval 202)

 

[abstract]

just a suggestion...you should take in a water sample to your local fish store somteime if you cannot afford to buy the tests themselves (they can get expensive, no doubt about it)...every single store in my area will test your water for free...just an idea

 

[Paul_MTS]

is this fluval 202 a internal or external filter?

i'ved truly never heard of them!!

i know there's 103, 203, 303, 403 which is the last models which are like green cannister i look with very basic functions.

then ther'es the 104, 204, 304, 404 which are the latest external models with a few more functions.

then the internals i know of are the 1, 1+, 2, 2+, 3, 3+, 4 and 4+.

with the pluses being the newer models which i like and use in some tanks.