matthewY Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 one of my discus hasnt been eating for a while now. It still seems to go for the food but every time it gets hold of a bit, it would spit it out and then go for another... It doesnt seem to hold on to any of it. Its sharing a big tank with 5 other discus, afew cardinals and some GBA's. All otehr discus are eating well. Been feeding them mix of frozen bloodworms, discus tucker, frozen BBS, colour bits. None seems to stick with this guy. He looks very slim now and I'm totally lost for what to do...... Been reading in otehr places and some places seem to say some fish just do that and others suggest wrrms... and using metro???? any advice appreciated.... I have moved him into a floating container in the main tank with his own air tube so that he might have time to eat without the otehr guys compeating for the food... though I dont think hes gone for it yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I don't know alot about Discus, but when I've had a fish go off food I will use Garlic Guard for them by soaking some blood worms in it for a bit before feeding. It's also good for them too. I know that Hollywood Fish Farm carries it. http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/prod ... hp?id=1230 Hopefully there isn't some more to the fish not eating.... Though some fish will stop eating when breeding, but if he's slimming down...., but like I said, I don't know alot about Discus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicmack Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 any other signs of stress, or flashing against rocks, plants etc? does he have any white stringy poo attached to him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I havent seen much poo on him, in fact I dont recall ever seeing poo... He does dash against the rocks and side of the plants from time to time but not oftern enough that I didnt think any thing of it (thought when nI saw it happen I was thinking oh crap but then he would stop after a min or so).... most times he is tucked away somewhere.... I've had him for 2 or 3 months (got him from the animates sale with his friend who has now passed away :-(). first he was doing really well. I had issolated him and the otehr one I picked up. He was doign so well that he managed to pick on teh one 1.5 times his size for a whole week to the point where I thought he would end up killing the other one (had that other one hiding in the top corner of the tank behind teh spray bar the whole time). I took him out to another tank for a week and reintroduced him. He has been a bit of a target since but not being picked on as bad as he used to pick on others so i thought it would be ok... I feed him last night in nhis floating container. At first he was spitting out again but in teh morning I noticed 2/3 of the frozen bloodworms had gone (so feeling a bit better now that I know he is eating something) He looks so skinny compared to all the rest :-( Is the rubbing a sign of parasites? if so, what whould I need to cure it and would that be causing the eating issues? thanks heaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I will try and see who locally has garlic gard and give that a go too. i have heard that discus tucker (or home made stuff anyway) has garlic for dewarming so could be a good thing to try :-) thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Have you tried giving him live food? That quite often gets their interest. If you haven't seen him poo, maybe he's constipated. I'd try some mashed peas. Anything at this stage has got to be worth trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicmack Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 discus tucker is really messy and if it isn't consumed/cleaned up right away then it can pollute your tank the commercial stuff ou buy often has alot of other stuff in it that isn't beneficial if you haven't actually seen any poo don't worry about it too much if you can see long string white poo it may be sign that there are internal parasites if they only scratch up about objects from time to time and you don't see a pattern or it happening often maybe don't worry too much if you do see it alot it can indicate gill flukes and the best treatment for that is prazi.... if the colour of your discus is okay and you can't see stress bars, your water parameters are all okay then may try and get some daphnia for live feed o otherwise just stick with what you are doing if the discus has been picked on a bit its most likely shy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicmack Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 if not eating and hanging out in the back of the tank not socialising or being that active then yes maybe internal parasites or gill flukes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Did more reading today around the garlic treatment. Thinking of trying it and put some crushed garlic into its food either remix the discus tucker with some garlic in it or soak the bloodworms or shelled peas in the juice from the garlic. Thought I'll ask for advice on how this is usually done and any additional thoughts... lots of places on the net indicate you just smash it into small pieces (without too much detail), is it really that simple? can the discus eat small chunks of garlic the size of say afew grains of sand? Also, is prazi avaliable from local pet shops? if so, is it better that i use it just in case it has gill flukes or would that be bad for the fish? with the discus tucker, will avoid for now :-) been thinking of UV sterilizers, whould they help with tehse problems? Will give mashed peas tonigth with some garlic flavour and see how that goes. As for live food, the only live food I have is microworms.... dont know if they would take them (thoughts???). Thanks everyone for the good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Most fish love microworms, and even if he doesn't eat them, something else in the tank will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 For me when I use the garlic guard, I would add a few drops to the thawing bloodworms. After completely thawed I strain off the excess liquid to avoid polluting the water and put it in the tank. If I have one fish that's shy or has been a picky eater I will use, (this may sound strange) a turkey baster that is only used for the fish add some tank water to the bloodworms, suck up some of the bloodworms and gently squirt it in front of the picky fish. It helps to get the other fish in the tank eating first, preferably away from the one you want to feed so that they don't crowd him when you do this. I have never used the crushed garlic, but as a guess you should be able to just add it to the food in the same manner. If you do use a turkey baster, make sure it is thoroughly cleaned before and after. I have a very small bottle brush I use for mine. Good luck, hope this helps, but keep an eye out for any possible signs of illness that could be the actual cause of him not eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Baby Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Hi, I have 3 discus babies and one of them went through the same thing. It was at the point that I thought I would lose him, he went almost black in colour and would hide I visited our local fish shop and they gave me garlic guard. When he wouldn't eat he refused everything except garlic soaked shrimp pellets then he came right. I did have to over feed a couple of times so he would get some and I dropped it in the front for the other fish then I would drop it where he was hiding. I use garlic guard every day (advised by breeder) to prevent worms etc. Normally I use the cap and half fill it with garlic and put in about 8 pellets for about a minute, they dont like it if they completely fall apart. Then I put the whole lot in the tank, the other fish love it too. He is now the biggest and strongest so I hope this helps, Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 k, Picked up some garlic gaurd from the lfs and tried soaking the frozen bloodworms in it while they were defrosting... gave to the discus and still it wont eat :-( havent seen it eat for the last 2 days now.... not even spitting them out anymore :-( anything else I could try? :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 I have another tank which isnt set uo yet, its about 50 L, should I start considering setting it up and putting this guy in it? if so, should he be a lone or with some mates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 if you quarantine then definitely just shift the one discus, it will be fine by itself, it may even help, i had one discus that seemed to prefer isolation! The spitting makes me think internal parasites and that you may need metro to treat. Without seeing any stringy faeces its hard to say for sure but i had something similar with one of my discus around a year ago, never saw any stringy faeces but the fish would go dark, spit food and turn on its side often clamping one pectoral fin. I treated with metro for around a week and it fixed him up. you can use metro in food or just int he water column but getting it can be the problem often. Even if you can't get the metro i'd try isolating first and giving daily water changes, and keep trying food, but vacuum it out if it isn't eaten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Drop in some tasty looking small Tetras or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 hope the tetra's a joke.... I wouldnt think hes fast enough to chase them anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 set up the 50 ltr tank with a heater and an air stone. Put the fish in and turn the heat up to 32 deg. Crushed a 400mg tablet of metro and add to tank. Do a waterchange (80%plus) after 8 hrs and redose. Make sure you refill the tank with declorinated water of the same temp. Dose a total of 7-10 doses (after waterchange) good luck, ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Thanks ron. I started cleaning out and setting up a tank last night and waitig for the temp to rise. Discus is starting to look bad. Has stoped moving and now just hides under the plants with very little movement. Will pick up some metro today after work I will move him into the new tank (water should be right temp by then). Thanks for the advice. If theres anything else you can think of, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 If it doesn't recover after the treatment then it's probably too far gone. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 k, I can get furan today from local pet shop, can get Praziquantel tomorrow from the hutt but cant get metronidazole at all... seems liek only avaliable from vets :-( I've read its used for deworming.... is there other ways around this (ie: furan?) or by using car worming tablet? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 I heard dog worming pills work - I currently have two white blue Discus off food, staying next to each other and eating very little if any at all (while the other 7 scoff their faces in excess whiteworm and bloodworms and granules)...they're not showing aggression to other Discus so they can't be a breeding pair ready to breed (or can they?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 need to be careful with the dog worming pills, you can buy droncit (dont' use drontal as its not pure) as a subsitute for prazi medication but thats not really used for internal parasites, used usually for gill flukes. Try keeping up the daily water changes and vacuuming up any faeces, it can make a big difference. Metro is hard to get... vet only or some ppl on the forum have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Do9g worming tablet can kill your discus if not careful. Furan2 won't help your situation. Prazi will worm the discus if there is any. Metro is the anti biotic that kill the internal parasite. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewY Posted September 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Thanks to everyone who provided help and advice. Sadly I got home today to find that the poor guys gone. Thats 2 discus I've now lost in the last 2 months, both happen to be from nthe same pet shop :-( Think i'll stick to buying direct for the next batch. So the other issue I have now is cleaning up so that none of the other discus get whatever this guy had (guy died before teh issolation tank was set up). Would water changes be enough or should I be doing more? Also, to prevent this next time, should I keep using garlic guard in food? finally.... How do people around here get metro...... the guys at the pet shop vet said I would have to bring my poor fish in in order to get any of it.... i'm sure most people dont do this... (pm if required :-) ) thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.