MY DISCUS JUST SPAWNED!!!

[Goldfish Girl]

a six inch discus that i am looking after for a friend has tiny holes along it's lateral line, but only on one side of the body. i can't imagine that anything in the tank would be hurting it as all i have are other discus (smaller ones), hatchetfish, a few platies, a horseface loach, and a ghost knife fish. all the other fish in the tank look fine. i tried to get a picture but my camera has issues.

i kind of want to give back all seven discus my friend gave me and not kill the nicest one of the group that i have never even seen for sale in canada.

any help on what to use would be great. he's still eating and everything. doesn't look like hole in the head as no holes are apparent anywhere but the lateral line. the top lateral line if that matters.

reminds me again why i got out of discus, just when you think your doing great....

help me. and thanks in advance.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Goldfish Girl

[TheGr8Blade]

Sound like hole in the head disease to me. The pros will be on soon enough to give you a definite answer

This may help...

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/spironucleus.php

Edited February 14, 2007 by TheGr8Blade

[Shayesmommy]

lateral line errosion?which is the same treatment for hith

just a guess.

Is it getting worse or staying the same.

those fish dont sound like good tank mates.

Maybe ones picking on them while you dont see them.

My loaches will often go up and down the side of my discus.

Any other symptoms?

going dark?

white jelly like pooh?

hanging out in corners.

what i would do in your situation is take the fish out put it in a qt tank and treat with metro...

Pictures would help some..

Edited February 14, 2007 by Shayesmommy

[Kevin]

I agree with Shayes Mommy as to the likely diagnosis, but I am not sure that I would go to medicating yet.

How big of a tank do you have them in? Do you have any other tank options?

What filtration are you using?

How long has your tank been cycled for?

What temperature is it at?

How often are you changing water and how much?

What procedure are you using for changing water? Temperature, aging, dechlorinator?

What are the discus acting like - are they eating, are their colors dark, are they jumpy, are they hiding.

What is their feces like?

Why would you put a ghost knife fish (a nocturnal predator I believe) in with slow moving discus (nocturnal predator food)?

There are alot of factors, but if you don't have it all right with discus there will eventually be problems.

Kevin

[Sam Chicklets]

I would agree with Kevin on the ghost knife, you should probably remove it first, as it will pick another target if you move the affected discus.

[Goldfish Girl]

lateral line errosion?which is the same treatment for hith

just a guess.

Is it getting worse or staying the same.

those fish dont sound like good tank mates.

Maybe ones picking on them while you dont see them.

My loaches will often go up and down the side of my discus.

Any other symptoms?

going dark?

white jelly like pooh?

hanging out in corners.

what i would do in your situation is take the fish out put it in a qt tank and treat with metro...

Pictures would help some..

i'll read about lateral line erosion.

it looks like it is the same since last night.

hatchetfish are more timid than cardinal tetras, the horseface loach has been in many discus tanks in the past with no problems (acts like a khuli loach not like clowns), the ghost knife has also been with discus before and the one i have is really peaceful.

nothing else seems to be the problem.

i have tanks available for it but i don't want to move it unless nesscessary. don't want to stress it out more.

I agree with Shayes Mommy as to the likely diagnosis, but I am not sure that I would go to medicating yet.

How big of a tank do you have them in? Do you have any other tank options?

What filtration are you using?

How long has your tank been cycled for?

What temperature is it at?

How often are you changing water and how much?

What procedure are you using for changing water? Temperature, aging, dechlorinator?

What are the discus acting like - are they eating, are their colors dark, are they jumpy, are they hiding.

What is their feces like?

Why would you put a ghost knife fish (a nocturnal predator I believe) in with slow moving discus (nocturnal predator food)?

There are alot of factors, but if you don't have it all right with discus there will eventually be problems.

i have them in a 65 gallon tall. i can move it to where ever it needs.

using a rena canister filter.

they've been in the tank a few months, no problems with water or anything.

temperature is around 86 F

change water once a week and about 25%

using Prime (a lot more than i should) for conditioning.

they look fine as far as behavior.

poop looks normal.

i put the ghost knife in because i think they are one of those fish that get a bad rep for no reason. i've had mine for at least 2 years and had no problems with him attacking anyone. he stays in his tube and is nice. plus i'd notice markings on the discus if the knife was biting anyone. also i think he would've ate the platies first.

even though i don't own these i have kept discus before so i know about all the usual problems. this hasn't happened before though to any of my fish, so not sure what to use against it.

up date you people if anything else develops.

[Fish_Frenzy]

I would start by doing more water changes than once a week, and use aged water (in a large bucket or container overnight with a heater set to the same tank temp and an airstone) and do at least 40% every 2 or 3 days. When using aged water, you don't need to add Prime or anything like that. Keep us updated.

Tammy

[Vallisneria]

I would start by doing more water changes than once a week, and use aged water (in a large bucket or container overnight with a heater set to the same tank temp and an airstone) and do at least 40% every 2 or 3 days. When using aged water, you don't need to add Prime or anything like that. Keep us updated.

Tammy

Actually in Edmonton we use chloramines in the water, so you'd still have to add prime even if you age your water.

[Goldfish Girl]

ya, i've heard bad things from people who age their water with no conditioner. especially during certain parts of the year when the city adds more/different chemeicals to the water. (not an expert on this but when spring comes, because of the run off, people lose a lot more fish. this has been a thing i've also heard from many members of the aquarium club)

i decided i'm going to leave everything for tonight.

i forgot, i added 4 albino bristlenose to the tank the other day. never had a problem with them sucking discus, ottocinclus i find are little terrors in that department, but i doubt it is the pleco's because as i said, it is only one fish with the marks. nothing has gotten any worse so i'll hope for the best. the bristlenose were from a different tank not a store so i know they are healthy.

as for the 40% water change every 2 or 3 days, i find that to be a little overkill. i know people keep fish different ways and if that works for you then great, keep doing it. i just find that they already have a filter that is good for a 120 gallon tank, i'm not feeding them beefheart or any other food that spoils the water fast, and the tank in by no means overcrowded. one a week water changes is already more than a lot of people i know who keep discus just fine.

at this point i've ruled out any tankmakes being the problem here. i think i can regognize fish inflicted wounds pretty well and whatever this is it would have to have a sucker smaller than the head of a pin. as far as i know there is nothing in the tank with a mouth like that. (there better not be!)

the main problem here is i always hear so many conflicting things about which medication to use. i have quickcure (the blue stuff) in my fishromm but i've heard that it doesn't work so well. if there's a natural way to cure this then that's the route i'd rather take. something like cooking ich off fish. i do that for mild cases now and it is way less of a hassle then medication. anyway, any one product i should use? i had a few suggestions already. (all different of course!) help!

good night!

[skinless]

if it's not hith and it's not damage from tankmates..maybe internal ulcer? sounds like hith if it's sticking to the lateral line tho. perhaps the move a few months ago was stressful enough to cause it and it's now becoming noticeable?

personally i'd hit it with metronidazole as soon as i see any other symptoms. ie stringy feces or loss of appetite.

[New to Alberta]

Ahhh hole in the head disease/lateral line disease. This is something I know quite a bit about. In my experience the most common cause is high Nitrates. These fish in paticular are very sensitive to Nitrates and or Phosphates in their water. Luckly more frequent water changes are all that's required to remedy this. Another contributer to this disease is poor diet. I would invest in some frozen food specially formulated for Discus. No worries on this being aggression as your decription of the problem is defiently this disease. Although anything that may stress out Discus can cause a quick declince in these fishes immune system so I would do some research on the proper tank environment and tank mates for these fish and follow it. A lot of fish or even overly active fish can cause health problems to occur with Discus. Hopefully this helps. If you have any other questions for me feel free to ask. Discus are lovely fish but need a certain environment to bring them to their best.

P.S. You shouldn't need to medicate unless the holes show signs of a secondary bacterial infection or are larger than the size of 2mm. A clean and healthy, stress free environment should do the trick.

[Kevin]

I totally agree that the likely cause of this issue is poor water quality, but there are alot of other stresses that could contribute as well.

I did not repond further earlier in the week however because the solution to high nitrates (poor water quality) is more water changes. After Tammy's suggestion of increased water changes was so quickly dismissed, I did not think that Goldfish Girl would fix what the likely the most probable cause of her problem.

To quote Goldfish Girl "as for the 40% water change every 2 or 3 days, i find that to be a little overkill. i know people keep fish different ways and if that works for you then great, keep doing it. i just find that they already have a filter that is good for a 120 gallon tank, i'm not feeding them beefheart or any other food that spoils the water fast, and the tank in by no means overcrowded. one a week water changes is already more than a lot of people i know who keep discus just fine."

If she knows so much about discus, there is very little we could do to help her. After all extra water changes are awfully difficult and she would not want to pursue this radical course of action unless it was sure to work...

Oh wait to quote her again "reminds me again why i got out of discus, just when you think your doing great...." maybe this is not the first time she has had problems keeping discus.

My sarcasm is cutting, but if you are going to ask for help... make sure you don't dismiss the replies you get. Tammy (Fish Frenzy) is an experienced and very good discus keeper and you dismissed her out of hand.

I hope your discus get better, but unless you change your discus keeping practices you will likely have more problems.

Kevin

Edited February 16, 2007 by Kevin

[Goldfish Girl]

ahh yes, nothing like getting insulted to make a girl feel better.

If she knows so much about discus, there is very little we could do to help her. After all extra water changes are awfully difficult and she would not want to pursue this radical course of action unless it was sure to work...

for your information i have kept discus before with no problems for three years doing water changes once every two weeks in a 150 gallon tank with just enough filtration. what i have set up is better. i think since you claim to be all high and mighty in fish knowledge you might know that there is more than one way to keep fish, and that includes discus. people keep discus different ways and it works out fine.

Oh wait to quote her again "reminds me again why i got out of discus, just when you think your doing great...." maybe this is not the first time she has had problems keeping discus.

yes, i have had problems before, i've also had great sucess with discus too. i'm sure you've had fish die on you too. it doesn't mean you should totally get out of the hobby and never keep that species again because you have problems.

My sarcasm is cutting, but if you are going to ask for help... make sure you don't dismiss the replies you get. Tammy (Fish Frenzy) is an experienced and very good discus keeper and you dismissed her out of hand.

i have no doubt that Tammy is probably a very good discus keeper. but once again, there is more then one way to keep fish successfully. i didn't "dismiss" her sugestion, i gave reasons as to why i would not do it, even though i'm sure it works for some. i also happen to be an experienced fish keeper and i know what i'm doing. i read books on disease before coming to this site, i just thought maybe someone would add some extra insite. maybe it hadn't occured to you, kevin, that i had tested the water and found the water to be normal, otherwise i probably would have mentioned something. and i probably would have done a water change.

the post New to Alberta wrote is helpful along with a lot of the things that people posted and PMed me. i thank the people who want to better this site with replies that are not filled with insults. i find that is the one downfall of Alberta Aquatica, people who think they know everything trying to tell everyone else the "only" right way to do it. there are countless examples in other topics. no one needs to read posts like that kevin and maybe you should stick to picking on people off of this site. this site is for people to talk about fish, if you'd like to insult people on the internet, be my guest, it's called a blog. keep it off this site.

[Goldfish Girl]

wow. this is just the icing on the cake. after what a bad fishkeeper i seem to be, my discus are spawning!! i can't beleive it. i don't want to say 'i told you so kevin' but....

so wow. this is exciting. little red/orange eggs they are looking after. so i guess this proves there's more then one way to keep discus. mine are at pH of 7.8 and "predator" knife fish and all they still spawned. anyway, predator platies are eating the eggs as i type but wow. going to move them right now.

[Pop Eye]

Awesome good to hear!!!