wandj Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Hi. I just bought 3 large Discus from my LFS. They were there a few weeks and are not shy at all so are very used to people. Very tame. I have had them for a week. But they won't eat!! They look fine other than not eating. They are Tefe Green. They are in a 55gal tank. They are the only ones in there except for a few dwarf plecos. Temp 84F, awesome filtration, pH 7.1. hardness practicall zero. (I mix RO with tap). Kh about 110. Why won't the eat? Should I worry? The pet store said they were being fed Brine shrimp, and I've tried that and they won't eat it. I tried frozen bloodworms, salmon pellets, Mysis and Brine shrimp, etc. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Roth Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 bloodworms, and if that does not work, try HBH South American Cichlid pellets... but make sure you get the small ones, they seem tho hate the larges. I'd go with a small can too, just in case they hate it. Mine took to it immediately. If they are juvies you can crank the temp to 90 if you want too. I keep mine at 89 right now, and they are lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garhan Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 (edited) What LFs, and who in there right mind would tell you they where being fed on Brine Shrimp. Are sure about that or was it Mysis Shrimp. What colour is the poop? Serious question. If the Tefe came out of the LF's I am thinking about (not sure now, is it about 5" around) and was by itself> If so it has hexemitia or tapeworm. Again the poop will tell. Garhan Edited April 21, 2005 by Garhan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 wandj I agree with Garhan, if they have white or clear stringy feces, then your fish have internal pathogens at work. If this is the case, the info here will help: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/spironucleus.php I suspect that at this point they will refuse *any* type of food, until they have been cleared of the internal pathogens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 (edited) Ohhhhh...this is not good. It's my fault for buying sick fish. I bought them from my LFS...who know jack-sh*t about Discus. One of the staff couldn't tell me the pH their fish were in. I found the owner and he said 7.6. They said they were being fed brine shrimp...but yesterday I asked them if they SAW them eat the food. The same "dumb" blond girl said "no, I never saw them put it in their mouth". I did see very small pits on their faces, but I read it could also be environmental. I did finally see clear, stringy mucas come out, so this must be bad. The small one looks dark and his eyes don't seem very clear. I'm doing the best I can...have been reading a ton. I have dial-up, so it's torchurous trying to find info quickly...plus I have a job to attend. Right now, I have the temp at 90...highest the heaters will go. pH is 6.9, gH very low, kH about 110. I have excellent filtration so that's not an issue. Since they won't eat, they have been given Metro in the water. I only hope they drink. Is there anything else I can do? Edited April 22, 2005 by wandj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Oh, I forgot to add...2 fish are full grown, and one is much smaller. LFS said they had them a few weeks. They really don't know much about them because at first they told me that they were Blue Heckels. I am so stupid for buying these fish from them. I should have asked them to feed them in the store so I could see them eat. They never did eat since I brought them home. I've had them a week. If they don't get better soon, they'll starve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Keep the lights off in the tank, Met is sensitive to both temp & light, and will dissipate out of solution within 6-8 hours, so keep up with the water changes, and the met treatments. In a case like this, I would go on the high end of the met treatment, 500 mg per 10 gallons of tank water. Keep us posted, and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyL Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Rule #1 with discus... If anything doesn't seem right, heat and salt. Discus are super hardy fish (contrary to popular belief) and other than parasites - any time you have a problem, knock the temp up to 90, and 1-2tbsp per gallon of salt. Since they are new additions, I'd definitely look at a prazi treatment to get them cleaned out. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 DO NOT PUT SALT INTO THE TANK ! MPE/O. Salt kills discus. Those Tefe Green's came in last year. and > Unless the "keeper" was a dedicated Discus person, Which I doublt ; they are not in good condition. They were not clean when imported. The "stool" will tell you the internal condition of the discus. Water parametrs are very important. Low ph, LOW kh/gh; High temperature. My best advice is to go to DPH. nl . Go to the articles page and look under diseases / medication. READ ! Discus are not for the novice ! They require healthy environments. Once fully cleaned / acclimatized; they are very hardy cichlids. Metro is the medication of internal choice. However, you have to use the med correctly; no half efforts.. Tens days will clear them out. Pleaes read the article on dph. Metro may be difficult to locate; go to a vet and present a print-out of the proeedure. [ You may have to type it out]; Metro is a common medicine used to treat Mammels [ sheep, etc.] However, it is only available from an understanding vet. BECAUSE it can also be used to harm humans. Legalites !!! pH 6.8; KH 45 - 50 ppm; GH 60 ppm; Temp 88'F. Lots of aireation and no Nitrates over 5 - 10 ppm. NH3 / NO2 ZERO!!! THE DISCUS CAN BOUNCE BACK. SPEND THE TIME TO TAKE OF THEM. They are very beautiful fish. Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Ok, I'm doing everything you guys say. But I have to be careful because I have a few very expensive dwarf plecos in there with them. (They seem fine). Heat is 91 if I keep a sheet over the tank, and the sheet adds some darkness and they can't see people or cats peering in at them anymore. Hopefully it will calm them down. The smaller Discus now has a "lesion" on the bottom part of his body.....this is so not good. I don't think he'll make it. I added some salt...not all I should as I want to do it slow. Added another dose of Metro. I added some Prazipro...but I am a little worried mixind meds. I even added a bit of "Amazon" extract and some vitamins. There's nothing more I dare do at this point. I also noticed the small one was twitching his lower fins (pectorals) even in the pet store. What does that mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 AHHH Smokey!! You added your reply just before mine. I didn't see yours before I wrote mine. TOO LATE about the salt. I need some concrete advice here guys... And I don't know what DPH means???? I read that article linked above already. I really need to know what more I can do to treat them. I have tons of Metro here. I also have Paragon 2...but I'm using the powdered Metro up first. I can keep all kinds of plecos just fine, but these buggers have proved to be a fricken challenge. I guess it would help if they werent' sick when I bought them. I'm a first time Discus owner (at least for now) and I'm not familiar with their proper looks yet. Sigh. It's lights-out in the tank right now. Hopefully things look better in the morning. My RO tank is plumb out right now. Hope I can get a bucket of RO in the morning. (I mix it with 1/3 tap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 DO NOT CONCOCT A MEDICATION SOUP ! Pull the dwarf plecos ! Read my previous post . Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 DPH.nl = Discus Page Holland.nl Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garhan Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Better yet is to pull out the dicus and quaritine them in a 20 gallon. This also allows the usage volume of the medication to be ? mg./ 10 gallon X 2 = whatever. If you are treating your discus in a 40 or 50 or larger tank. Your using alot of medication. Fill a 20 or 2 -10 gallons with water from the host tank. Filter with a box filter and no chemical filteration, charcoal, boimax whatever. Just plain old polyfiber. A heater and low light or even no light other than what comes naturally into the room (Not direct sunlight) Met works. For intestinal parisites I personally use Flagasile, it works just as well on both heximitia and tapeworm. Hole in the head does not seem to be your current issue, but regular water changes will clear it up if it is not to advanced. Garhan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 what Garhan said ... is correct! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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