Help! My discus are looking weird, and I think they are sick! HELP!!!!

You've only had them 1.5 weeks and they're quite small - It's not uncommon for discus to take a while to get settled and unstress in a new environment - especially little juvies, & it's hard to say what the situation was in your 72 gal tank that caused this deterioration. But do as others above have advised: i.e. place them in your new (seeded) QT tank, BB, no lights, (and no meds yet), daily wcs of up to 50%, check params daily to ensure no ammonia or nitrites, feed very lightly - check to see if there is any interest in eating & go forward accordingly. You're worried - rightly so, but try to relax a little - give them some time - as I said before, they're quite small & likely very distressed, but you're doing all you can do - hopefully you can save them. Good luck.
 
Hi Fishboss, I just saw your visitor post; my email said you had messaged me, but that my pm inbox was full so I logged on as soon as I saw that. I've looked at the photos and right off the bat it looks to me like Chilodenella or Glossatella, however, I read the link that Slappy posted and that makes sense, too.

I've never kept Discus and they present many unique and complex fish keeping issues it seems. I've never seen a case of Discus Plague Slappy referenced, and this may be the issue here.

In that article it describes an illness caused by a virus, most of which we don't have meds for, but it does say that there will likely be secondary issues that can occur during this illness and that we need to address those as they may appear.

I'm not 100% sure that this is the Discuss plague, but I do think that proceeding with the treatments for Discus Plague as suggested in that article is a good idea.


Here's what I would do:

Daily 75% water changes, carefully matching the temperature.

Talk to the guy you bought them from to see if any of his other stock have come down with this. If his fish haven't exhibited these symptoms I would be suspicious that this is not Discus Plague.

Dose the tank daily, right after the big water change, with Marycn Plus and Melafix as Slappy suggested.

Try to find Metronidazole to have on stand-by in case they do not seem to be improving with the above mentioned treatment. It has effectiveness against gram positive and some gram negative bacteria, and would help if Chilodenella or Glossatella are present, too.

Dr. No, is one of our excellent disease experts here on AC that we haven't seen in quite a while, unfortunately, and he uses AquaZole, by Seachem, in cases that are potentially Chilodenella or Glossatella, along with bacterial infection. AquaZole is also metronidazole, but you can get just pure Metronidazole.

I have used Metronidazole often and successfully and it's a fixture in my fish medicine cabinet. I ordered pure Metronidazole from Petmountain.com, but there are other online sources. I would hope that you can find it locally and not have to wait for a shipment, but in the meantime do the big water changes and use Maracyn plus and Melafix, both of which I have used with success. Many feel that Melafix's usefulness is questionable, but I have used it and feel that it does help.

Clean water is the major player in helping the fish fight this off if it is Discus plague, and then addressing bacterial and parasitic secondary issues will be paramount, as well.
 
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emile said:
You've only had them 1.5 weeks and they're quite small - It's not uncommon for discus to take a while to get settled and unstress in a new environment - especially little juvies, & it's hard to say what the situation was in your 72 gal tank that caused this deterioration. But do as others above have advised: i.e. place them in your new (seeded) QT tank, BB, no lights, (and no meds yet), daily wcs of up to 50%, check params daily to ensure no ammonia or nitrites, feed very lightly - check to see if there is any interest in eating & go forward accordingly. You're worried - rightly so, but try to relax a little - give them some time - as I said before, they're quite small & likely very distressed, but you're doing all you can do - hopefully you can save them. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
I just called the guy who sold me the discus, and none of his stock(50+ discus) have gotten sick, so probably not from his stock, and none of his buyers have complained, so it is probably my fault, I prob. made a stupid mistake:( I feel so bad right now for my fish. I am going tomorrow to my LFS for meds that mel_20_20 recommended. I will keep you guys posted. i hope they make it

When I called the guy, he agreed with me on separating the discus into a smaller tank if they are stressed, to raise the temp. to 86+F, 50% every day WC, and to make sure to use conditioner, and make sure there are no temp. fluctuations.
 
If you talk to the guy that sold you the Discus and his are not showing any signs of this, I definitely think it may be just stress as emile suggests. From his avatar it looks like he may be a discuss keeper, so it is reassuring to hear his input on this. Just be vigilent in watching for improvement with his suggested treatment, and if they seem to worsen this may be more than just stress.

Another experienced discus keeper is our moderator, Pinkertd. You might pm her for another opinion on this. I'm wishing the best for you and your little fishies.
I hope that all this is is stress and your little guys are feeling better soon.
 
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Yeah, I just did talk to him. But what do you mean his avatar. Is he on this forum?:)
Thanks, I will also take to pinkertd. Thanks. I hope they are feeling better too;)
 
Fishboss, I would go ahead and get the meds to have on standby.

I don't think you've made any mistakes, Discus are just very sensitive fish and are notoriously difficult to keep, even for experienced fish keepers. Please don't feel bad or think badly of yourself.
It's obvious that you care very much for them and that you are trying to do everything in your power to help them.

Get the meds tomorrow, but do the water changes for the next 48 hours and give them quiet and low lighting, and most important keep checking the params. No ammonia, no nitrite.
I like Prime to treat the water; it helps if traces of ammonia and/or nitrite are present, detoxifying those for 24 hours in between the daily water changes.
 
emile... he has a discus as his avatar. :) I was saying that this could be stress as emile suggests.
 
Yeah, thanks. I do use prime, and I am getting the meds tomorrow. I have a camp tomorrow as I am 14, so I will be getting back home at around 3pm so i will transfer them to the 20G then, and try to get everything I could possibly need. I will try to get beefheart if my LFS has it as I have noticed that many breeders feed their angels/discus beefheart.

thanks for all the help so far:)
 
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