skinny discus

[BASSNMAN]

My origional discus is getting skinny. When I first put 2 more discus in the tank he swam with them .His cclor darkened and he hid for about a week and he was not eating. I got some live black worms and he has been eating some of those, but he spits out most of them. His color is improving and he is more active. He does not tru to eat flake or small pellets like he did before. Any ideas? :?

 

[TCTFish]

There can be several reasons for this. A guess is maybe the new couple doesn't want hm hanging around anymore. You may have yourself a two male/one female trio and that doesn't fit into nature's equation for them. Do test your water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. MAke sure the temp is stable. You want to make sure the water quality is good before suspecting fowl play within the tank.

Soemthing else that could be happening is perhaps the new couple brought something in the tank with them. Are they wild caught?

You can put in some stress coat to help the fish further. Watch the other two. How are they doing? Try offering glass worms (white mosquito larvae) and beef heart mixed with the bloodworms to vary the diet a bit. Veggie flakes or romaine lettuce may also be welcomed.

 

[BrianNY]

IME, 3 is a bad number for discus. The fish on the low end of the pecking order usually becomes stressed to the point of getting ill, and then refuses to eat. Discus are shoal fish and young discus especially do better when kept in groups of 5 or more.

I can sometimes get discus to accept food more readily by bumping the temp up a degree or two, and by adding some aquarium salt to the water. A discus that doesn't eat is prone to succumbing to a variety of illnesses (hex being the most common). If it were my fish, I'd isolate it in a bare bottom tank until it's appetite improved substantially. In this way if you can observe it much better and be ready to take any further steps needed to improve its health.