Rescued death-row discus...

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mamapuff

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Sep 28, 2009
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So over the weekend I spotted a discus for $69.99 on death-row at a local LFS. He was laying on his side in the back of the tank, solid black, cloudy eyes, and almost all of his fins ragged/torn/rotted away. Poor guy finally spotted us and swam over to "look" though with the severity of his eyes, I doubt he can see much other than shadows. I felt so bad for him. I asked what was going on and was told that they didn't know, and that "he just started doing that". :swear:

Whatev. So, I asked how much they wanted for him, and that I wanted to take him home to the q tank and give him a shot. He came back and said we could just have him. I watched happily as he scooped him up, bagged him and set him on the counter. I couldn't wait to get him home.

Well once home, we got him in the tank and watched him explore this new environment to the best of his seeing capabilities. I gave him a piece of drift wood, since that was what he was laying beside at the store. He chooses to hover near the heater. Last night, I decided to move one of my juvies in with him because I noticed some white poo and that his appetite is not nearly what it was two weeks ago, so treatment for him was already on my mind before we got newbie. I believe that to be a good move on my part. He seems happier knowing there is a friend there, and that juvie always gets picked on, so he seems even happier, and a bit more confident. We had lost another rescue that had a bent spine, and was around 6 inches, to whom he had gotten attached too and stayed near him as if he were his protector. Understandable. So with the new guy being around 4-5 inches, I think juvie is feeling that again, not to mention that beneath the newb's black, I can see a blood red and bright blue hue to him, and his face is a yellowish white.

I want to make sure I give him everything he needs. So far he has gingerly picked at bloodworms and ignore flake. I don't expect him to be hungry in his state, but am worried about him keeping his strength up. I make sure to remove the excess food once a day, so he is getting a mini water change every day, along with a 40-50% change every other day. I cannot find Prazi locally that isn't $50 for a tiny bottle, so I am going to order it, but wanted to know what else I am going to need to buy so that I can include it as well. I treated with some metro tabs, but am out of those now, and put methylene blue in there to (hopefully) help with any fungal problem until I could get some help. I know not to expect too much, but I do want to at least give him a chance.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. :cheers:

discus newb.JPG discus newb 3.JPG discus newb 2.JPG
 
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Rbishop

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Hope he pulls thru for ya!
 

Emg

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I might try just keeping the water VERY clean and not add meds. Is it possible for you to do 50% wcs every day....as long as you are able to make the change water ahead of time and let it sit at least over night with a heater in it ? I try to stay away from meds as much as possible and find that just keeping the water very clean can do amazing things sometimes. He's definitely in pretty bad shape but from the pics it looks like he's swimming around well enough...which is a good sign.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck with him.....hope he makes it...and nice job for giving it a go! :thumbsup:
 

Stargazer53

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Wow, he looks really bad. :( I hope he makes it through with flying colors with all the TLC you are giving him. Good luck! :clap:
 

BioHazard

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OMG! That poor fish!!!! I hope it pulls through for you, but don't get your hopes up.
To increase his chances, I would do several things. First, add some plants to the aquarium. They will provide some calming shelter and help keep the water clean.
Next, WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES!!! I would change 10-20% every day, and make sure you carefully match the temp when you add water back.
I would use no meds right now, although you may be safe with Prazi. It is mild.
If you can, keep the pH low, the way discus prefer it.
Use lots of StressCoat. It has aloe and such in it, which will help him heal.
Try to keep his environment as calming as possible. If you have floating plants, use them to block some of the light. Otherwise, if you have 2 bulbs, take a bulb out. Lower light is more calming. No loud noises or scary stuff near the tank.

Other than that, you'll just need lots of luck! :thumbsup:
 

xVitox

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Feb 16, 2010
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maybe a little bit of garlic in the food will help him get his immune system back up...i wish you the best of luck i do the same thing with kuhli loaches from petsmart >.<
 

msjinkzd

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he looks really bad. Garlic is not a bad idea to stimulate appetite. I might be tempted to use antibiotics with teh severity of that fin rot. I have never seen a discus in tha bad of shape. What a shame :( Good luck
 

The Zigman

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Wow!!

Poor fish.

What is the tank temperature? I'd crank it up to about 85-86F.
he does look really bad. If he is eating, I would try feeding some medicated foods, as well as bloodworms. The hazy eyes might be a sign of a bacterial infection. Maybe some antibacterial food.
 

mamapuff

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Sep 28, 2009
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Wow thanks for all the quick feed back guys!

Ok antibiotics are on the list along with the Prazi. He seems to be enjoying the natural light that comes from the window near the tank and when ever I open the blinds he swims to where the light hits the gravel :) Kinda cute. The temp is set at 85, and I only have one light on, not too bright either, but during the day I let him sun bathe. On my way home now from work to do another wc. will update shortly
 
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