Discus stopped eating - please advise!

[bezprizornik]

One of my 5 discus fish stopped eating little over a week ago and I am getting extremely worried by now - please advise!

Here is my set up: I have 40 gallon planted tank with 5 Stendker discus, 5 clown loaches and 3 small rainbows and 3 neons; they are being fed 2-3 times a day with a mix of frozen and dry food (beef heart, discus pellets, shrimp pellets for loaches and ocasionally flakes); 10-15% water changes weekly, all readings a within the range (ph may be a bit high - around 7, but LFS where I got discus fish said the were tank raised and it's ok to have it at 7, unless I wanted to start breeding)

The other 4 eat great, seem to be healthy and act normally; the one not eating is a Marlboro red 3 inch guy; he comes out at feeding, picking on others a bit, since he was aiming to become an alpha since day one, but not taking food.. I thought it may have been a social thing and tried to not overreact at first, wanted to wait for some time and see what happens... I also thought it could be some intestine blockage since they get to eat some dry food and it will resolve on it's own..

Last night he pooped out a HUGE long white string! It didn't seem to be alive - I removed it from the tank immediately, but took a picture of it - please visit links below and let me know what it is and what should I do!

Thanks!

Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - bezprizornik's Album: white discus poop - Picture
Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - bezprizornik's Album: white discus poop - Picture

 

[gilpi]

Ok so let me start from my own mistakes and experiences...

Right off the bat, 15% weekly water changes is not nearly enough and especially with fish like rainbows that are big eaters and way too fast for the discus, I would not keep rainbows with discus.
We also have to realize that some fish are doomed from the start not knowing where they come from and lets face it, discus are sensitive, so if you have a loss, use it as a learning experience.
Your pH, I wouldn't worry about.
What I have learned and a hard lesson it was after losing some discus...
Water changes are essential. It wasn't till I moved my remaining discus into a clean bottom tank and did about 75% water change every couple of days that I saw these fish bloom! My filter in the tank is nothing but a sponge filter, the water does not have a chance to be detrimental to the fish since it's changed so often.
Temperature around 84f.
I feed them what ever they like to eat from flakes to brine shrimp and worms, somehow, they won't touch beef heart.
I can't say what is wrong with your fish, I had them where they'd stop eating for a few days and others just wasted away.
What size are your discus and how long have you had them?

 

[MICEY]

I would try some adult live brine shrimp it might trigger the predatory instinct and there shells act like a laxative
you might also start feeding your fish some more veggies I feed my angels and loachs Ken's green crumbles they love it and it is high protein 52% and has lots of alga in it Ken's Tropical Green Granule 1.8 mm

 

[bezprizornik]

Thanks! will do a major w/change tomorrow and will continue on more frequently! i have 3 Celebes Rainbow, they are small and almost never cross path with discus, temperature is around 84f; i've had discus since May - not long, I know, but they've been doing pretty well.. were you able to check those links with white string of poop below? what is it???!!

 

[bezprizornik]

i have metro on hand, but didn't want to torture him if not necessary...

 

[Mebbid]

What are the parameters of your water? I agree with your water change schedule being poor. You should be doing at the absolute minimum a 50% weekly water change with 2 - 3 weekly 50% changes being a more likely number of necessary water changes.

Your tank is also overstocked. A 40b is short on its own so isn't great for discus. They really do need a 4 foot long or larger tank. Lastly, the clown loaches also need a much much larger tank. I would just rehome them and be content with the discus because they contribute to the bioload of an already stocked tank.

 

[bezprizornik]

Thanks! Expanding/rehoming was already on my list... just want to try to save this guy at the moment..

 

[Mebbid]

What are the nitrates of your water?

 

[gilpi]

I would not medicate, too much of a risk. Try some brine shrimp as mentioned or blood worms which they love and do lots of water changes.

 

[bezprizornik]

nitrites are 0, nitrates around 20

 

[bezprizornik]

just fed w/brine shrimp - he came out, seemed interested, but only watched the others eat..