I'm soooo worried about my discus.

[Diann62]

I was heading off to work tonight and went to feed my fish before I left. I was in a hurry but noticed 2 of my discuses looked ill. One is a pigeon blood about 4" that didn't eat and looked a little sunken in. The other is a red turk about 2" that was hiding in the corner when the food came out so I couldn't see him. They were eating fine yesterday so I don't know what's wrong. I can't see them now as I'm at work so I'm sitting here worried sick about them! I can't wait to get home tomorrow to check them out and first thing I'll do is a water change. Cross your fingers.

[fishorama]

Good luck! I always change water first too when anything looks off.

[Diann62]

Well, unfortunately when I came home from work the larger discus was dead. It was my marlboro red (which faded colours and became a pigeon blood). I've had them for at least 6 or more months. I'm missing the red turk. He came out of hiding when I was cleaning the tank, but now I can't find him. I'm sure he'll be dead soon too. I've lost little fish before and it's hard, but I've never lost a large fish before. This is my prize tank and prize fish.....very hard.

[Big Mike]

So sorry to hear that. I think discus are some of the best looking FW fish.

[fishorama]

I'm sorry. It sounds like it may be bacterial to act so fast. Hopefully someone with more discus experience can suggest a course of action. Can you give tank size, params, maintenance details, other fish etc to help them help you.

[RDTigger]

might want to see about a medication if you think the dead discus showed signs of a parasite or other infection that might be contagious..

[Diann62]

I can't find the other discus anywhere. Do you think the other discuses ate him? I have 7 more discus, 3 clown loaches, 3 BN plecos and 25 cardinal tetras. It's a 110 gallon heavily planted tank. I water change 50% every 3-4 days. The temp. is 84-86 and I'm not sure of the params. I've never had problems before. I'll have to watch the other fish and hopefully no one else will get sick. I have 60 cardinal tetras in quarantine right now, but they're not going in for a few weeks.

[fishorama]

I'd look harder through the plants, you don't want a dead body polluting the tank or the other fish to eat a possibly diseased fish. I'd also do more frequent water changes for a while, every day or 2. Have you tested for ammonia?

[theredchaser]

I would retrace your steps and see if you did anything lately. Fish usually don't die suddenly as many people think... especially larger fish. It is important to find your fish as soon as you can. Can you post water parameters? Also, list any behavioral signs of your fish such as faster breathing, darker colors, hiding (if usually not), any visible symptoms, etc.

How many discus do you have? From what I can tell, you have several juveniles. It's a little too late now, but its advantageous to grow juveniles in bare bottoms. It is a lot easier to diagnose problems, and they will be less prone to hiding as adults.

[pinkertd]

I agree with TheRedChaser, you need to post some more observations before you can get helpful advice of any kind. The discus that you lost that you described as "sunken in" sounds like it hadn't eaten in a while. Discus can go a very long time without eating and unless you're observing them individually and often, you can miss it until you can easily see a weight loss. I would suggest setting some extra time aside to clealy observe each of them to see how each one is behaving and their appearance. Until you can determine what's going on, please don't start randomly throwing meds in.

[Diann62]

I found the little discus and it looked disintegrated so I did a 50% water change. I'll keep an eye on the fish and see if there's any behaviour changes. I always count my fish when I feed them and they're always there so unless they came out but didn't actually eat, I don't know. The bigger one looked visibly sunken. I won't be adding any meds, just doing more frequent water changes. The only thing I did differently was waited a whole week before doing the last water change so maybe that was it? I'll keep my eyes on them.

[yourchoice]

I have 8 adults and a larger Bristlenose(poop machine) in a 110g "barebottom no gravel".I siphon out the bottom everyday or second do to the massive amount of waste I see .So might have a large build up of waste in the gravel which in turn can lead to build up of nasty parasites.Check the ammonia and nitrates.

[Diann62]

Well to update.......I've lost 3, 2 juvies and 1 adult. The other 6 seem fine, eating and swimming. I've done a 50% water change every second day. I wasn't as diligent with the water changes as I used to be, so maybe that was my issue. Anyway, lesson learned, if that was the problem. Fingers crossed that the problem has resolved.