Discus Issue.. Not eating.

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The Zigman

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Oct 5, 2007
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Near Chicago, Il.
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Well as some of you might know I have been having some problems with my 125 gal tank that houses several fish and now, only 1 discus.

I have had her since she was about 1 inch across, and now is almost 4-5 inches.
After her mate died last summer, she has not been the same, and due to my own negligence with my tank being in need of repairs she has been stressed out a bit, and now is showing the signs of it.

I am in the process of swapping out my leaking 125 gal tank, and I have all my fish from that tank temporarily housed in a 46 gal bow front. I noticed tonight that she is trying to eat, but just doesnt seem to be abnle to.

she will strike at food several times and apparently give up when she doesnt get it, and if she does catch something she spits it back out. never really seen this before and I dont know what I should try. She seems hungry, and I have tried several different types of foods and the results are the same with everything, either she cant catch it, or she will spit it out soon after eating it.

Anyone have any clues?

thanks
 

platytudes

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In my experience, cichlids (and puffers, or so I've read) do that spitting thing when they are stressed, or when something is not to their liking. How does her coloration look, does she seem to have her stress bars showing? If you haven't introduced new fish then intestinal parasites is probably not a possibility. I would just keep changing water, perhaps running carbon (or even better, Chemi-Pure) and offering different foods, marine flakes (which usually contain garlic) seem to particularly entice my fish.

If you can find a source of live blackworms, a cone feeder and live blackworms is usually irresistible!
 

platytudes

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Another thing to consider - is there enough decor in her tank for her to be comfortable? Temp and water chemistry seems to be the same as the 125 was? Sometimes when my fish are stressed due to illness, I noticed that using dimmer lighting seemed to make them more comfortable.

By the way, I'm so sorry about your leak :( I missed your thread on this, but that can't be any fun whatsoever...especially after that cabinet that you so lovingly built!
 

The Zigman

Here fishy fishy fishy!!!
Oct 5, 2007
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Near Chicago, Il.
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I have moved most of the decor from the 125 to the temporary tank.
her coloring changes, and she seems happy to notice me when i get near the tank, she has the personality of a puppy, always coming to greet me when i enter the room

temp and water chem should be identical to teh 125, but she was like this before I moved her into the new tank.
Hopefully after I get the 125 back up and running i can get a few more discus so she wont be all alone any more
 

platytudes

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Good point, discus are rarely kept singly. Perhaps some dither fish might help? I like Columbian tetras for this purpose, they're more laid back than danios or rasboras.
 

nc0gnet0

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Oct 31, 2009
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Have you noticed the color of here feces? I am leaning towards hex, which often resides in the intestinal tract in small quantities in discus, and when they become stressed becomes a serious issue.
 

Belltrain

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Check her feces. Does she have stress bars? try feeding live bloodworms from ur LFS, the wrigling action may make her want to take it and keep it down. Goodluck.
 

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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Ahh sorry Zig. Sometimes I think they just give up, they know their end is near.
 
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