Help Discus in trouble

Hi I got home this evening and one of my discus is badly bloated.
Its listless.
Last week they were showing signs of spawning but today it doesnt look in good shape.
No damage to the fish so they werent fighting.
Water change done yesterday and no others in trouble.
Have dwarf chiclids and cory's in the tank. If the water conditions were an issue I would have expected to lose a dwarf.
Any suggestions welcome.
Pat

Without pictures and other data, 2 things jump to mind....

egg bound (happens from time to time), or maybe the waterchange upset something (maybe even churned up some rotten food that the fish may have attempted to eat).

Other than that, it is guesswork without further details.

Do you have any signs of ragged fins or clouded eyes in the Discus?
How about the rate of breathing?

ian

It was very badly bloated and no fin damage. I did notice a white substance getting squirted out at one stage.
Breathing was a little faster than normal but no other physical signs of illness.
The bristlenoses were feasting on the remains when I got home from work tonight.
Really dissapointed as it was a beautifull wild brown.
The other discus is in good condition and no other losses.

Hi Pat,

I'm concerned.
I hope that the past-tense of 'was' instead of 'is' doesn't mean that our fellow is not with us anymore.

There are a number of possible causes.
Here are possibles:
- is it egg-bound? (look at the genital region to see if it female or not and does it have the ovipositor displayed?)
-worm infestation (you'd need to get a sample of faeces to someone with a microscope to see what is there);
-bacterial infection (either primary or secondary)....that would need a proper lab analysis and the results would not be instant;
-a blockage.....bad food, eg too much meaty food and not enough vegetable matter (Discus need vegetable matter);
-a generalised collapse of the gut due to either of the above or incorrect diet (not necessarily a blockage);
-eating rotten food.
-there are other causes (but above are my first thoughts).

If this bacterial, then you may need anti-biotics...but they would have to be the right ones (it is no use using a gram-positive anti-biotic for a gram-negative bacteria).

In any case, I would always reach for EITHER Octozin or Myxazin (but you ca't mix them). Preference being towards Octozin.
eSHa Hexamita and eSHa 2000 anti-bac tend to give good results also.

Increase aeration, remove all muck and clean filters.
If the fish is feeding, then try to give it spirulina. Do not feed beef-heart (that is a treat or for getting Discus big rapidly...but it puts too much stress on the guts and the kidney in the long-term).

If your fish has worms, then there is always the possibility that the intestines have been breached and thus allowing a systemic secondary infection.

Do you have any pics? if you want you can pm me or put a pic up here.

ian

The bristlenoses were feasting on the remains when I got home from work tonight.

Ian
I'm afraid the fish has passed over.

Lar

cardinal wrote:

The bristlenoses were feasting on the remains when I got home from work tonight.

Ian
I'm afraid the fish has passed over.

Lar

I missed that bit.
Hopefully any existing fish will be fine.

ian

I think it was a female from the ovipositor on show over the last two weeks and the activity of the pair.
I had been feeding blood worm on top of their regular food every two or three days.
There was some discharge last night. Dont know if it was an egg release????(is that even possible mid tank)
No signs of infection and am carefull not to overfeed.(I dont feed every night) The tank was only set back up 10 weeks ago and has only undergravel filtration. The other fish in the tank are all healthy.

Think I might leave off on the discus for a while and concentrate on the dwarfs.
Where can I get the medications mentioned as a precaution against future issues?

Really sorry to hear of the loss.

Over the years, I have lost two or three females during the egg-laying process: a line of eggs behind a dead female.
Considering the number of years and fish I've had, that is rare occurance,it happens.

eSHa products are sold in various local fish shops and some of the chain pet-shops (send a PM, and I can tell you if you're in Dublin area)
Octozin and Myxazin are Waterlife products that I fully trust with Discus. There are a few LFS that sell waterlife products.

As for giving up on Discus.....this is an unfortunate death, and maybe one that maybe you'll see rarely.

ian

Hi
i am in Clonshaugh north Dublin but try and visit both Brittas and FFF as often as I can.
Funny thing is that I only took that particular Discus in as it was beating up all my fathers other Discus.
It immediately paired off with one of my own and beat up the others.
I removed the others and the two remaining showed signs of spawning.
I wasnt actually setting out to breed them it just kind of fell in my lap.
I am far more interested in trying to breed the dwarf chiclids.