Quick Discus Help **emergency**

[FishHobbyist1564]

My discus have been doing well in my tank for about two months. Now, all of a sudden, they have been behaving as if they are sick. I see some that look relatively healthy and active. I have 6 discus total in the tank, and the 7 rummy-nose tetras look perfectly healthy, and so do the six corydoras catfish look healthy.

One of my discus is pretty sick, and it has a whitish color on some parts of its body (which is usually a dark blue/green color). He is sitting in the corner of the tank and not swimming all that much.

I always give two water changes each week, which are about 25% each time (adding up to 50% each week)
I have put methylene blue in the tank, and it is currently working in the tank, just so it can help fight off any fungus if there is any. It is sort of a quick cure thing that treats ich, fungus, skin flukes, etc. and it has always worked for me so far.

I am pretty nervous, and i don't know what to do. I can't bear to see them die

All of your replies will be 100% appreciated

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

My discus have been doing well in my tank for about two months. Now, all of a sudden, they have been behaving as if they are sick. I see some that look relatively healthy and active. I have 6 discus total in the tank, and the 7 rummy-nose tetras look perfectly healthy, and so do the six corydoras catfish look healthy.

One of my discus is pretty sick, and it has a whitish color on some parts of its body (which is usually a dark blue/green color). He is sitting in the corner of the tank and not swimming all that much.

I always give two water changes each week, which are about 25% each time (adding up to 50% each week)
I have put methylene blue in the tank, and it is currently working in the tank, just so it can help fight off any fungus if there is any. It is sort of a quick cure thing that treats ich, fungus, skin flukes, etc. and it has always worked for me so far.

I am pretty nervous, and i don't know what to do. I can't bear to see them die

All of your replies will be 100% appreciated

We need some water stats. Temperature?
A clear picture would good too if possible.
That white stuff could be excess mucus. I would switch the med over to a product called "General Cure" It has copper sulfate/metrondiazole which will kill off a broad spectrum of external parasites/internal bacterial infections (which could be causing the mucus build up.) I have once read someone who's Discus where turning black and had huge amounts of excess mucus (no not Discus plague.) They treated with General Cure and it worked wonders, nursed the fish back to health and they are all doing fine to this day!

P.S. I started treating all my tanks with this med, today, as some of my fish stopped eating. Still can't figure out why as all of them look okay and stats are fine.

 

[Loony Fish]

your on the right track. i'm new to discus too.
i love mine.
goodluck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

My tank is 75-gallons. My temperature is 82-83 degrees Farenheit. Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites are perfect. As i have said, i give them water changes twice a week, 25-50% each change (i make sure that i give them at least a change of 50% or more total each week, preferably more)

As I write this, 4 out of 6 of them are at the front of the glass and are staring at me, they all look very healthy. They know that it is time for the last meal of the day lol

But the blue-green one is still in the back of the tank and is possibly looking a little better, i see that he is at least attempting to swim now. It is ironic, because he is the one who is usually in the front of the tank! The last of the 6, however is in the corner at the top of the tank. Although he looks healthy and has nothing on his body, i am still concerned about him very much, since he has not moved much today.

Thank you for your advice DiscusLova! I am so happy that you told me about "General Cure", and i will try to get my hands on it. I think my medication is working for now, so i'll just see what happens.

Also, I have live plants in the tank, do you think they have something to do with this?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

My tank is 75-gallons. My temperature is 82-83 degrees Farenheit. Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites are perfect. As i have said, i give them water changes twice a week, 25-50% each change (i make sure that i give them at least a change of 50% or more total each week, preferably more)

As I write this, 4 out of 6 of them are at the front of the glass and are staring at me, they all look very healthy. They know that it is time for the last meal of the day lol

But the blue-green one is still in the back of the tank and is possibly looking a little better, i see that he is at least attempting to swim now. It is ironic, because he is the one who is usually in the front of the tank! The last of the 6, however is in the corner at the top of the tank. Although he looks healthy and has nothing on his body, i am still concerned about him very much, since he has not moved much today.

Thank you for your advice DiscusLova! I am so happy that you told me about "General Cure", and i will try to get my hands on it. I think my medication is working for now, so i'll just see what happens.

Also, I have live plants in the tank, do you think they have something to do with this?

I am glad the fish seem to be doing a little better. The plants shouldn't be causing any problems.

Sometimes fish can switch through the hierarchy and boss the others around a little more until they sort things out. For about a week my one Discus wouldn't let the other one come out of the corner of the tank no matter what. But as I said, after a while though it went back to normal.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

I woke up this morning to see that they are in the front of the tank, all looking healthy. And the one that was in the corner is now in the front also! And the blue-green one has no more white marks on his body!

I am so relieved and excited that they are all doing okay!

I am thinking i should still medicate the tank for a few more days, just to make sure all of the disease is put to rest, would this be the good thing to do?

Also, i am still going to see if i can get my hands on "general cure" for future problems.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I woke up this morning to see that they are in the front of the tank, all looking healthy. And the one that was in the corner is now in the front also! And the blue-green one has no more white marks on his body!

I am so relieved and excited that they are all doing okay!

I am thinking i should still medicate the tank for a few more days, just to make sure all of the disease is put to rest, would this be the good thing to do?

Also, i am still going to see if i can get my hands on "general cure" for future problems.

Good to hear. Probably just a switch in the hierarchy then. Methylene blue isn't a very strong medication, so you should be fine treating the tank for a few more days.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

Oh no, they are still doing pretty bad!!

And one of them has died it was the little red one that was in the corner of the tank.
I have been treating the tank with methylene blue, and i have put aquarium salt (the recommended amount for treating fish disease) in the aquarium. The other fish dont seem to be all that sick, but i dont think they are getting any better. None of my medication is working on them. I have tried 4 different things. Aquarium salt and increasing the temperature (to highten their metabolism rate), water conditioner, methylene blue (quick cure, which treats flukes, parasites, ich, fungus, velvet, and other diseases), and a fungal treatment. I have also been giviing the required amount of water changes, before adding more doses of medication.

I dont know what else to do, and I cant stand seeing them die!!

 

[cheesy feet]

Are there any more visible signs of illness?
Rummy noses are usually a good indicator if the water stats aren't up to scratch, and so their red noses go pale, how do they look?
I would stick to one medication, mixing them can cause undesired effects

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Oh no, they are still doing pretty bad!!

And one of them has died it was the little red one that was in the corner of the tank.
I have been treating the tank with methylene blue, and i have put aquarium salt (the recommended amount for treating fish disease) in the aquarium. The other fish dont seem to be all that sick, but i dont think they are getting any better. None of my medication is working on them. I have tried 4 different things. Aquarium salt and increasing the temperature (to highten their metabolism rate), water conditioner, methylene blue (quick cure, which treats flukes, parasites, ich, fungus, velvet, and other diseases), and a fungal treatment. I have also been giviing the required amount of water changes, before adding more doses of medication.

I dont know what else to do, and I cant stand seeing them die!!

You need to switch onto another med. Obviously the ones you are doing are either not strong enough, or aren't fighting the right thing. My guess would be something internal. Like I said, if that white patch was excess mucus it is a good indicator there is something internally wrong.

This is the hard part though, it could be internal parasitic, or bacterial. These are hard to tell the difference unless you can draw blood and can a vet to look at it under a microscope


I would start with 1 of these 3 meds. Metrondiazole, Praziquantal or Kanamycin. Metro is pretty good for bacterial and so is Kana. Prazi is better for parasites.

General cure is a good one too, as I said. I finished treating my fish with it and guess what, they are all eating again. (repeating myself agan here) this med has Metro, Copper, and Trichlorfon (the missing ingredient I forgot.) Trichlorfon, which is good for different parasites too.

I would forget the salt, and Methylene blue. Keep the temperature up though, and start doing 25% daily water changes.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

Thanks! It must be only a discus disease, because the rummy-noses have bright blood-red noses. And the cories are fine.

Although, i have noticed one bold cory that will go from one discus to the next and it looks as if it is eating something off of them. Do you think it is eating the excess mucus or the disease, or do you think this is bad, and that the cory should not be on all of the discus?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Thanks! It must be only a discus disease, because the rummy-noses have bright blood-red noses. And the cories are fine.

Although, i have noticed one bold cory that will go from one discus to the next and it looks as if it is eating something off of them. Do you think it is eating the excess mucus or the disease, or do you think this is bad, and that the cory should not be on all of the discus?

The cory might just be hungry. Are you feeding them sinking food? I doubt they could eat the excess mucus, because they don't have the right type of mouth. Pleco can do it because they can suck onto the fish.


Discus are just more senstitive to this type of disease, especially parasites. Some fish can live with stuff like this their whole life and it not have any negative impact on them. Take Capillaria for example. Angels can live with it, but it will kill Discus.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

oh ok i think i understand a little more now. Yes i feed my corys sinking food, and they are always eating it very well

I will search for the meds you told me about earlier, and i hope they will be ok!

 

[Jim Curtis]

I'd keep the lights off too.

 

[kev_kb]

Here's another point of view from an experienced Discus owner, not saying other posts are wrong though....

Personally I wouldn't have treated them at all to begin with. If mine show any signs of illness I will do 20% daily water changes with tested good water, eg Ph and hardness etc. I would also ensure the tank is spotlessly clean, planted tanks can work with Discus but they make things harder unless your experienced. I keep mine in a bare bottom tank and always recommend this method.

Ensure the fish get a good varied diet and keep up the water changes for a week or so and see what happens. Oh, and check for bullying and any obstacles in the tank. Discus bolt when spooked and have a habit of crashing into tank decor such as bogwood. Mine have shown white marks after crashing into bogwood and have sulked for a few days but then return to normal.

I wouldn't medicate the tank unless your sure what is wrong with the fish, and you need to be careful with the dose you give when changing water each day too. Oh, and make sure you have plenty of aeration in the tank, with the increased temp and medication oxygen can be reduced.

Good luck with them.