Urgent! Discus not eating and pale

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A thought.

You have a post with some other fish (swordtails and barbs i believe) where they may be infected with internal parasites. Do you use the same equipment to water change all your tanks?

(Not asking out of judgment, but asking to see if maybe there's a common thing that's affecting your tanks)
Might be....never think of that... I think I need to clean all of em.

and nope you're not judging, also I'm sorry for calling you judging and rude in that post....
 
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That Fish vet I posted on white feces? I asked her what about Discus? She told me "Discus are great at hiding what ails them. Once they show how sick they are? Its usually too late to do anything" They die on her and she just does not keep them anymore. Same as me.
I don't want to keep them in bare breeder tanks for sanitary and sterile conditions..when other fish don't need that at all.
Its a choice people have to make..or keep renting them for a few weeks to maybe 2 years at most. Only the breeder tanks have old Discus.
 
That Fish vet I posted on white feces? I asked her what about Discus? She told me "Discus are great at hiding what ails them. Once they show how sick they are? Its usually too late to do anything" They die on her and she just does not keep them anymore. Same as me.
I don't want to keep them in bare breeder tanks for sanitary and sterile conditions..when other fish don't need that at all.
Its a choice people have to make..or keep renting them for a few weeks to maybe 2 years at most. Only the breeder tanks have old Discus.

Actually, after reading the many discussions in the internets, Discus breeders/farms advice and books on Discus, my conclusions are :
Most of the diseases that affect the Discus come from the fish breeders or fish stores.
They are the main cause of the diseases assuming that you change the tank water frequently with good water quality, good food, etc..
Even some Discus breeders/farms will tell you that they cannot guarantee that their fish are free from gill flukes.


And it left many Discus keepers puzzling on why their fish are sick.
Anyway, for internal parasites/worms, the fish won't die immediately.
Usually they can be saved unless you discovered it too late.

Actually it's easy to keep Discus once you know the "common diseases(I mentioned it at the beginning of this post)" that often infect them.
In fact, Discus are more hardy than all my other fish.
My Discus colours are stunning and
more beautiful than all other fish.
After keeping Discus, I lose interest with all other fish though I still keep one Betta and one Lyretail Killfish.
The only thing that they require more than other fish is more water changes.
 
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Exactly..massive water changes..yet soft water is very important and no substrate. "But Discus swim over sand in nature"..yeah,and 100% water changes ever second. Or..a million gallons per fish. Big water changes and sanitary aquariums are the only way to keep them for years healthy. I've seen huge fat Discus before. She was a local breeder and the pair had a 50 gallon to themselves..no overhead light. ambient room light..very clean tank!
 
That Fish vet I posted on white feces? I asked her what about Discus? She told me "Discus are great at hiding what ails them. Once they show how sick they are? Its usually too late to do anything" They die on her and she just does not keep them anymore. Same as me.
I don't want to keep them in bare breeder tanks for sanitary and sterile conditions..when other fish don't need that at all.
Its a choice people have to make..or keep renting them for a few weeks to maybe 2 years at most. Only the breeder tanks have old Discus.
I have kept discus. The best results I had was a peat based tank. I thin layer of peat with a neutral natural gravel over top. Plant 30-50% with plant. This tank took two years to clear completely when it did it was fantastic. Look at the post " we all love discus". These guys lay eggs all the time never raised any young. I was trying to see if I could get discus to raise young in a community tank.
 
You can watch these videos or my profile photo which are my Discus.





If you keep a pair of Discus in the community tank, the fry will get eaten by other fish.
I kept mine in a 30 gallons tank all by themselves.
 
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Young parents won't know how to take care of the fry.

Just wait for them to mature and learn, then it will be fine.
You can read from the internets of many success stories when the parents learned how to take care of the fry.
It may take 1-3 months for them to mature.
Discus are good parents
 
Young parents won't know how to take care of the fry.

Just wait for them to mature and learn, then it will be fine.
You can read from the internets of many success stories when the parents learned how to take care of the fry.
It may take 1-3 months for them to mature.
Discus are good parents
Sometimes, others just don't get it!!!
 
True. Same for Angelfish. If they don't get it after 2 or 3 tries? They never get it.
Also- that huge aquarium? Has dozens of overly thin Discus,and I know that look well. No doubt each one of those was placed full grown in that Aquarium and it must be a case of them being replaced all the time. I don't see a single full belly in that vid.
NOW...look at Ibrahim's video page and he talks to a breeder..what do we see? Discus in bare tanks,mated pairs. They can live a decade like that..take them out and put them in a community tank? Death is soon.
 
I think he got bullied, I moved him to QT tank, still doesn't eat.
 
The old advice was to raise the temperature to 90f or more. That was said to kill the parasites while the fish themselves are able to handle that.
Maybe add epsom salts.
Chemicals?..Some people say they have cured Discus. Look at Wattleys videos on you tube,he must mention the best meds to try on them.
 
I don't think I've ever been able to cure in about 45 years of fish keeping anything other than...Anchor worms,Ich,velvet, egg bound females, chlorine/chloramine burn ( too much tap water not treated). Bites or wounds.
After that,whatever it has thats internal..serious hemorrhaging,blockages,tumors,organ failures?..Nothing I could do. Well,I wouldn't even know which of those was really the problem...
 
I think he got bullied, I moved him to QT tank, still doesn't eat.

The symptom of not eating is usually caused by internal infection.
It could be internal parasites/protozoa or worms or/and bacteria.

Since you will start to treat with Metronidazole (for parasites/protozoa), observe whether it will improve and get better.

If it doesn't get better, you will have to switch to Flubendazole or other anti worm medication.
 
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