# A Couple of Discus Questions



## direlime

Hey guys, i have a couple of quick discus questions:

1) My discus have recently begun chasing each other around. For the first 2 weeks they were totally fine with each other and just suddenly they starting becoming alittle aggressive.This behaviour has been going on for about 2 weeks and it hasn't stopped so i'm beginning to rule out the possibility that it was a pecking order thing. Would this maybe be caused by the fact that i only have three? If so, what sized group should i keep together to maintain a non-aggressive environment?

2)The smallest discus in my tank likes to hang out at the top of the tank. He doesn't seem to be gulping for air or anything, but he just likes to hang out at the surface. The other discus tend to chase him relentlessly as well. He also seems to not have alot of colour, and is mostly entirely black. Is there a reason he likes to hide, or is it normal?


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## lohachata

what temp is the tank? should be 84 or so...often larger fish will band together and bully the runt..they will push it away from the food..keep it in the corner or out of the way.you may have to remove it to another tank until it gets bigger..


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## direlime

The tank is about 80. I have two heaters in the tank (300W and 200W) , both on full blast and i cannot get the temp to go up  is there something i can do, or do i just need another heater. And at the moment i don't have another tank, but would it be possible to put a single discus in a 22 gallon until he grows alittle bit more? (i may be able to procure a 22 gallon within a couple of days)


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## direlime

Ive been watching the little guy for awhile and he likes to hang out really close to one of the heaters. He actually spends a majority of his time there. is there a reason for this? Or is it just a hiding spot for him?


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## snyderguy

Ok couple of things.. The discus chasing each other around is partially normal. They're cichlids. They're going to chase each other. Just keep an eye out for physical damage, such as nipped fins or other. It also means that there's either not enough of them to balance out the aggression, one of them is significantly larger than the others, or there's too many. Seeing as you have 3, the fighting is most likely not enough to balance out the aggression. For your tank, I'd say 7 is a good number as long as they're not full grown adults. Once they get bigger, you will need a bigger tank though.

The one that is dark is not a good sign. It means he/she is highly stressed out. Try adding more hiding spots or sometimes new discus mates can help this out. The 22 gallon idea sounds like a good idea. Something you should check for is pinched foreheads and pinched stomachs. The pinched stomach means they have some sort of parasite/worms. The pinched forehead means they'e malnourished and need more of a variety of foods.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to message me. I haven't been on FF much lately because I'm in the process of moving my discus tank to another state 3 hours away, so I'm preparing for that.


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## direlime

OK, i am thinking about upgrading my 10 gallon tank to that 22 gallon. I'm just having trouble convincing my parents to let me upgrade. I'm actually having trouble convincing them that there even might be a problem. That poor little discus (he actually is the smallest) hides all the time and only comes out when he is chased out. And he is as black as he can get. His fins are always clamped. I could tell even before you told me that he was stressed out, but i can't get my parents to listen to me. The stress is a really big problem right? If I'm not mistaken it can weaken them and make them more susceptible to diseases and such, right? 
Just to clarify i have 2 guppies and 5 neon tetras in my 10 gallon. That little discus will do fine in a 22 with them right?


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## snyderguy

If he's almost completely black, you need to get him out of there ASAP, but don't expect an instant change when you put him in the new tank. And yeah he'll do fine with the guppies and neons.


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## direlime

Ok thanks so much for your help. I'm gonna try and convince my parents to let me get the 22 gallon, hopefully today. If i can get the tank tank, i can probably set it all up this afternoon.
EDIT: One more quick question. After that ittle discus grows up alittle and become healthier i can reintroduce him into the 72 gallon, right? I believe that was the original plan.


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## snyderguy

Yeah you can! It'll take a while but yeah you can. I'm actually about to do the same with one of mine.


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## direlime

Hey, i've actually made an interesting discovery. You mentioned earlier that i pinched stomach would indicate an internal parasite correct? I Was watching him earlier and he had a very white stringy looking poop. I did alittle research and discovered this is a possible sign of internal parasites as well as the pinched stomach, and being incredibly lethargic (hiding) and he has been neglecting his flake food lately. Is it possible that this could be the reason for his hiding?


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## Danio king

yeah, i would go pick up something to treat him with. its pretty common for discus to get parasites and i wouldn't be surprised if that was one of his problems.


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## funlad3

He definitely has a parasite. That means the other two discuses/disci will soon have parasites as well. If one fish has a disease they all do, whether or not they show the symptoms at a certain time. I would treat them all with some anti-parasite food. That should be easy, they sell anti-parasite flake. Good luck!


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## direlime

I did some research on good medication, (I googled it :smile: ) and i found Parasite Clear by Jungle. I read quite a few reviews saying it worked very well, and it's very broad spectrum. Considering i don't know what kind of parasite the little guy has, i thought that would be the best. I treated it about 20 minutes ago. If i see no improvement by the end of the first treatment (48 hours from now) I will buy some parasite ridding food to treat him with. 
Just out of curiousity has anyone else used Parasite Clear? Did it work well for anyone else?


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## snyderguy

Don't know about that one but I do know that Metronidazole works very well! You won't completely see a difference in 48 hours. It takes a lot of time to get rid of internal parasites. 

I made the move today and just wanted to say that all my discus and others made it safely :] Everyone's in their own tanks chilling out until the 72 is back up and running mid tomorrow. I am one stress-free dude now.


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## emc7

I tried the fizz-tabs in conjunction with medicated food and had a good outcome, but meds in the water can only do so much for internal parasites. A medicated food is a much more likely cure if the fish are still eating and the stuff in the water to (hopefully) keep it from spreading or coming back. I used them up fairly quickly. A bottle of Prazi-Pro (add to water) goes further and Metronidazole powder can be used in water or added to frozen food.

Jungle has a medicated food, but it is a large pellet, and even crushed, is not that well accepted by fish used to flake.


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## direlime

I think i'm gunna go and find some medicated fish food when i got home from school this afternoon. It's hard to tell as of yet if it is doing anything, it's only been like 12 hours, so, we'll have to just wait and see. I really hope he makes it though.


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## direlime

He's getting better!! He is actually swimming around quite a bit more now, although he is still fairly dark in colour. I still have another treatment to do, but I'm very very glad it is helping. I was really worried there for a little while.


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## snyderguy

That's good to hear!


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## direlime

Slowly but surely. He is still hiding alittle bit, but he comes out to visit alot more than he used too. I'm going to see if he'll eat something tonight, he's been refusing all foods since i started medicating. Is there anything i can add to the food, or soak the food in, to make it more appealing to him, so he'll eat it?


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## direlime

Alas, the little guy didnt make it  
I did however learn a valuble lesson about discus and internal parasites.


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## snyderguy

Sorry to hear about your loss... The one I'm working on is still hanging on too.


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## direlime

snyderguy said:


> Sorry to hear about your loss... The one I'm working on is still hanging on too.


I wish you the best of luck in treating your little guy


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