A sick Discus....

what temp is your tank? I know you said you didn't want to crank it up, but where is it now? that guy looks pretty rough, both fins and body. Sorry if I missed it, but what are you feeding and how often?
 
The temp as of now is 81, I turned it up, hope the dojos will be ok. I feed it beef heart for breakfast, flakes, then brine shrimp, and blood worms for dinner. I just found a turd floating on top, it was puffy and white-ish. I dont know who droped it, but is that a clue as to what it can be?
 
I'll guess that he's being spooked and he's dashing into the rocks. Any kids, or animals around the tanks that would spook them?

Also, a sick/weak fish is much easier spooked than a healthy one. This fish is average size, or is he one of the smaller ones? You may want to try to QT him for a little bit so he can stand a fighting chance in that tank.

Shawn
 
Hes not the biggest, but not the smallest. My son spooks the fish a lot. I am always pulling him away from them. He likes them, but slaps the glass a lot (Only 1) The gashes are going away a little today, and the fins have not rotten anymore, but I also dosed with E.M Erythromycin last night, and looking better already. I noticed the Emerald Rainbow I just took out (Finally caught it!!!) Has cotton mouth. That and the discus symptoms led to to use the meds I did. Well, we will see what happens. Also I am having a hard time getting my temp up past 81, hope my heater is not crapping out on me....
 
From what you are saying, you may need to look into your tank size vs heater wattage. I try to keep at least a 200W heater for my 46G tank. Anything less would strain the heater, especially during water changes. I find that with Discus, you really don't want to cheap out on the heater, get a quality one that can keep up with the size of the tank.

As far as the meds and disease, cotton mouth could be fungal, or bacterial. Either case, increase in temp for bacterial infections is a no-no. Bacteria enjoys warmer temps and higher PH. If your water is hard, and the temp is raised during this period, it would additionally stress the fish. The addition of EM has a negative effect on your bio-filter, so be ready to test for spikes. Have some water conditioners handy in case you need to do water changes.

As much as your child loves the fish, it's both dangerous to the fish, and him should the glass fail and break. My nephew learned through strict discipline that there are things he must not do, one of them is slapping the tanks.

Good luck!
 
Thanks, I ripped the tank a new one last night. I took out all the plants rocks , did a super gravel vack I think about 60% if not more. found I had a lot of dead roots, and rotten stuff trapped down where i could never get it. I checked my prams before I did this, all was good except my nitrate was almost 20ppm! I also managed to catch all the fish that I don't want in there, Loaches and stuff. So hopefully the bio load is gonna be better. I know I stressed the fish good last night, but I did it to benefit the long run. I thanks for the tips on the heater, and the bacteria, and the meds causing spikes, will be keeping a close eye on it. Thanks everyone.......

The baby, man, Hes a handful, when hes not messing with them, hes trying to get under the tank. Always pulling him away! He will catch on soon hopefully!
 
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