*HELP* DISCUS sitting on tank bottom

HO MUCH epson Salt? I thought that was a parasite treatment? After my tank maintenence the one that is doing the worst by far is the one larger Snake who was the best and first to eat in my tank. The others look GOOD and some look great (and ate a little) he (the large snake) is dark drooping fins and I "THINK" I may have even saw some clear stringy poop from him? I know that's BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did stop all additives and have the tank temp at 88 right now for the last few days. I used all Tap water for this water change.

PH in the tank before water change was 74
Ph In the tank after the water change is 75

I WIll increase water change frequencys and I am testing for Nitrite in all 3 different water's

Arkangel77

PS -

NITRATE
Tap ZERO
RO ZERO
Tank after water change 10 to 15
 
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I use epsom salts in water as a laxative. It is not a parasite treatment. One tablespoon/10 gallons of water. If you don't see poo in 4 hours you can add another dose. Clear stringy poo may be stomach lining if he hasn't been eating. So don't panic. Everyhthing you're doing with better water is all good!
 
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I will Increase my water change regiment. I guess I will double it as you said, sounds about right from what I have bin reading. I may just swap to 100% tap and forget about the RO - Its a Pain to deal with anyway????

SO Trying to stay calm, I will stay the course, change water again in 4 days, watch them close and I guess that's it? I ran out of black worms last week so they are all gone now anyway.

Should I leave the temp at 88? How long?
I will feed flakes and frozen for a lil while.
UMM - I cant think of anything else?

poconogal, pinkertd, Draal5, Rich, bs6749 and everyone else - THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL input is welcome!

Arkangel77
 
I would lower the temp a little. Keep it somewhere around 84-86 tops. Right now it's just diminishing the oxygen in the water. Hang in there.:thm: Discus aren't impossible to keep. You just need to understand how best to keep them so they reward you with years of enjoyment.
 
OK - Thanks, I will drop it to 86 tonight - I know I am behind the learning curve , Thank's to you for all your help. I did threw an Air stone and Pump in there on Friday to help with the Oxygen lvl.
 
Hi Arkangel77,

Been reading your thread, and it kills me that you're going through some of these fustrations with your beautiful tank and Discus fish.

Debbi and Connie is pretty much on the ball as to helping you with your troubles.

A few things that I noticed you mentioned, RO water, plants, additives, and white poo. I'd like to address these and talk a little more about these.

I noticed that you have different aged Discus in the same tank, generally they should be kept seperate due to their water requirements. Younger Discus tend to like harder, higher TDS water and make more of a mess and require higher temps to grow out to their full potential. This is where you hear the 88 degree, 80% water change a day, barebottom, tap water, and higher GH comes to mind.

Adult Discus does not need the higher GH and TDS, and would prefer a lower TDS when it comes to breeding. They no longer need the higher temps, as they are fully grown, and don't need the extra temps for metabolism. They can do well from 82-86. This is where you'll hear about 50% water changes a week, lower temps, RO Water, RO Right, Black Water Extract, Almond leaves, PH 6.0-, etc.

I believe that RO Right and Discus Essentials is a similar product, both will add minerals back into the water. I would choose one, or the other, but not both. These products are aimed to increase the GH, KH, and TDS of the water. It's important to keep these parameters stable, which brings me to remind you that weening them from RO Water all in one shot is not advised, slowly bring in the 100% tap water if you wish to do so through small water changes.

White poo, as pinkertd have stated, it could very well be the stomache lining, but it could also be internal protozoa. Metro would be the advised course of medication if this does not go away, and the fish continues to refuse food. I could give you more symptoms of a hex infestation, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there, just have this med on hand, as it usually comes hand in hand with Discus keeping.

I hope my little bit of info could help a little bit in understanding what these fish prefers, and what's practiced by some of the more veteran Discus care givers. I myself has one through a series of what you've gone through, and I'm still in for the long run. You can check out my thread if you haven't already, just search for Ongoing Battle with rescued Discus.

Good luck, you're in good hands.

Shawn
 
Debbi is right that is probably stomach lining as there isn't a lot in their system.

I would recommend using only Hikari frozen food as they pureifi their food. The others you can get some nasties.



 
Shawn - Thanks for the Input and I understand what you are saying about Adults vs. Juvies. AS for going from all RO to TAP only. I have bin doing a mix the last 3 or so weeks and my tank TDS from the additives is actually Higher than the tap TDS. I don’t think I ever tested the Hardness of the tap or can’t remember - I did test it for the RO but can’t remember the results. MY PH is so close from tap to RO it’s not even distinguishable. I plan to cut back on the additives all together - NOT discontinue all of them BUT I am going to cut back some.

I will get some meds and have them on hand just in case. "Metro"

I have read threw your threads in the past.

Draal5 - Very Good Point. this morning they looked better than yesterday - HOWEVER the one BIG snake still looks NOT-happy.

We will see how it goes?

Thanks, Arkangel77
 
Arkangel

I would not get any meds.

meds should only be used as a last resort for the most part salt baths and lots of fresh clean water is all thats needed.

FYI
I personally don't use any at all for any reason except for ich meds because they will not do any harm. conversely the other readily available meds will do harm if we guess wrong as to whats wrong with your fish.

don't worry about ph ditch the RO. From personal experience RO for any thing other than wild discus is a waste of time and money. I now only use it to help triger spawning.

Do you have a spare tank even a 2.5 if he will fit will do tempararly to keep him for a day or 2 to give him a salt bath.

If you were closer I have several tanks I could give you one I in the princeton NJ area.
 
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