HELP my Discus is losing it's tail
Omar Lee Abdullah
them closely. Some white patches are now forming on their fins
(especially caudal and pectoral). In fact one has actually lost half
it's tail. Is this fin-rot and is it contagious? Currently they are
still in the 3' community tank and I am treating them with Nika General
Aid which is supposed to treat fungus, fin-rot, white spots, etc.
The other fishes in the tank are:-
2 other Discus (.7 to 1 inch)
4 Long-finned Zebras
2 Clown Loaches
2 Red Dwarf Gouramis
2 Black Tetras
1 Platy
1 Sucker fish - don't know what
Other than this visible problem, they all seem to be fine and eating
well.
WATER CONDITION (visibly clear)
PH - 6.7 to 7.0, DH - don't know, TEMP - 84F
and I change about 10 - 20% in about 2-3 days.
PLANTS (few species - names I don't know)
One type starting developing brown spots on the leaves while another
clump of the same type seem to be fine.
TANK BOTTOM
Completely clear except pebbles in 6 small pots for housing the plants
and one piece of drift wood. I find that this is the best solution as
this makes cleaning much easier.
FILTER
Top sponge filter and one corner sponge filter which is cleaned about
once weekly.
Please HELP! and thanks in advance.
Omar
Raymond Tracy
of them being in a state of shock from being transported, new water
conditions, and the new tankmates.
I had the same problem 4 months ago with a new discus I added to an
established tank. An older discus kept harrassing the newer discus, the
newer one was pushed up against the glass for 2 days, then it exhibited
dark spots on its side and half of its rear tail fell off. I then
transferred both fishes to a larger (90 gallon) tank. In the new tank
the older fish didn't feel like it's territory was being threatend, so it
quit harrassing the new fish. The new discus quickly healed within 2
weeks. The tail grew back to its original length and both fish are doing
fine.
I don't believe that you should rush to medicate the tank as you did.
Also, some of the fish in your tank sound a little aggressive as
tankmates for discus. I have had discus mixed with different tetras and
cory catfish and find these work out well as tankmates.
Omar Lee Abdullah
Hi Raymond and thanks for your response.
Could be but I did not want to take any chances. Moreover, this
particular Discus went almost black and had its fins all closed up. In
addition one of my Long-finned Zebras (who has been in the community tank
for about 1 month) also lost the top portion of its tail.
In any case I transferred this sick Discus to the hospital tank and gave
it an intensive treatment with Befuran. After two days, it started to
get its color back and started eating again. I then moved it back to the
main tank. BTW I also treated the main tank with Befuran.
All of them appear to be fine now and their fins are growing back.
I currently have:-
2 Discus - lots of blue and brown (2.5 inches)
2 Discus - some blue and red (2 inches)
2 Discus - color not wery developed yet(1 to 1.5 inches)
2 Clown Loaches (2.5 inches)
2 long-finned Zebras (pair of adults)
1 Betta (male adult)
1 Sucker Fish (1.5 inches and don't know its name)
Only the Discus are aggressive towards each other especially during
feeding. In fact sometimes the smallest one is the aggressor. In any
case I thinking of getting a much bigger tank soon, say 100-150 gallons.
I currently have not identified what kind of Discus they are. It's hard
to do as those that are bred in Malaysia and Singapore are pretty much
mixed and many of them aren't even recognised yet. In any case they are
pretty cheap, the ones I have cost about US$4.50 to US$8.00 a pair.
Talk to you soon.
Omar
Patrick Bizon
strip running from head to tail along it's body, it's a Chinise Algee Eater
and will most likely start sucking on your Discus bodys if it is not doing
so already. I had one in with my Kissing Gourminie(sp?). When it grew to
about 3.5 inches long, it started rasping the scales off of them. I have
been told they will do the same to Discus. IMHO, they are the jerks of the
aquarium world ! Keep an out for this is it matches my description.
Pbiz
Lines: 9