I have two discus that are dark, scraping, floating sideways on occassion, and have shown some skin problems. they often clamp their fins as well and show liitle appetite when fed. My PH is 6.8, and i have a slight ammonia problem. i have tried one fungus treatment and a one parasite treatment. i am scared to try any more meds until i can find the real problem. I am currently adding ammo lock for my ammonia problems. HELP PLEASE!
discus help
- Thread starter chong
- Start date
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
water changes should be used rather than ammo lock. How long have you had the fish? Discus are extremely sensitive to bad water conditions and usually call for water changes several times during the week. A few questions:
How old is the tank?
How big are the fish?
Are there any other fish in the tank?
What are the exact readings as far a nitrate, nitrite, ammonia?
How old is the tank?
How big are the fish?
Are there any other fish in the tank?
What are the exact readings as far a nitrate, nitrite, ammonia?
also what is the size of the tank? How often do you do water changes? What are you feeding?(Can Cause ammonia if they arent eating it)
The ammonia is probably the root of any other problems they may be having. Start doing water changes every day. I'd start with probably 30-50%. I went through this with a few adopted discus, water changes every day, I also treate with salt @ 2 tbsp/10 gal and Furan2. I'd start with the water changes though and see if that starts to make a difference.
Just thought I'd add the reason ammolock should not be used. It works too good. What I mean is, it locks up ammonia and in the process starves your beneficial bacteria, so the problem never really fixes itself. Frequent large water changes, will keep ammonia levels low enough that fish can survive, but still allows bacteria to get thier share.
Cycling a tank with a discus, yikes, good luck
Cycling a tank with a discus, yikes, good luck
The most important question that was not asked is, What is the tempature in the tank?
As to the ammonia, do not use Ammo lock. If your tank is still cycling, you need to be doing a minimum of 80% water changes DAILY for discus.
First thing is first, you need to get your water temp up around 88-90 for these fish, especially since they are ill.
Add 1/2 cup of salt for every 10gal of water. DO NOT add any other chemicals or medications.
When you do the water changes, if you change out 80% of the water, you need to add back in 80% of a full dose of salt.
Right now doing these things are much more important than anything else at the moment.
After doing these things then worry about getting an Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate reading, telling us the Tank size, other tankmates, the size of the discus and where you got them.
As to the ammonia, do not use Ammo lock. If your tank is still cycling, you need to be doing a minimum of 80% water changes DAILY for discus.
First thing is first, you need to get your water temp up around 88-90 for these fish, especially since they are ill.
Add 1/2 cup of salt for every 10gal of water. DO NOT add any other chemicals or medications.
When you do the water changes, if you change out 80% of the water, you need to add back in 80% of a full dose of salt.
Right now doing these things are much more important than anything else at the moment.
After doing these things then worry about getting an Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate reading, telling us the Tank size, other tankmates, the size of the discus and where you got them.
chong said:
You need to find a way to keep your tank ammonia free, not a good environment for any fish and no such thing as a slight ammonia problem. Did you raise the temps to 90 and add salt? Large water changes are to be done routinely with Discus. When discus get sick IMMEDIATELY crank the heat to 90 and add salt, only add meds if absolutely necessary. Large water changes will make them feel better but will not make sick Discus better. What is your normal water temperature and your GH?....DC
My Temp is 86F. One discus is doing geat now. but the other is still acting weird. he has a slightly darker color, very thin(from not eating regularly), and is only using one gill., He just stays in a general area most og the time, following the other sometimes. What could this be. (internal mayybe)
You need to stabilize the water parameters before you even begin to think about parasites.
Discus fret unless you keep them in pristine water conditions. Ammonia and Nitrite need to be zero and you should be doing water changes often enough that you also never see Nitrate. Water should be warm (86 F or slightly above), soft, and acidic.
Adding random treatments is always a bad idea, especially if your water parameters are less than idea.
Best of luck...
Discus fret unless you keep them in pristine water conditions. Ammonia and Nitrite need to be zero and you should be doing water changes often enough that you also never see Nitrate. Water should be warm (86 F or slightly above), soft, and acidic.
Adding random treatments is always a bad idea, especially if your water parameters are less than idea.
Best of luck...