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Rescue Discus.

Angus

Member
Joined
29 Aug 2008
Messages
654
Location
Vauxhall, London.
So i have rescued a discus from a tank at work, it's definitely seen better days, very skinny, and looks a bit stunted, i wanted to give it the best chance so i asked the boss if i could take it home to try and put it right, first i'm going to be feeding it well, direct pipette feeding maybe?

my main question was what kind of treatment should i put it through? i have a chihiros doctor on the tank, but it looks like it has worms and cloudy eye, can anyone recommend a product that won't break the bank?
 
I'd do live food first, maybe white worms or live mosquito larvae. It needs lots of energy, also crank the temp up to 30 degrees celcius, low light in the tank and maybe some extra hiding places.
Very clean water, lots of waterchanges, pH in the neighbourhood of 6.
But food food food first. The exoskeletons of the live food will help "clean" the guts a bit. Try a high quality granulated food if it's eating well to add some extra nourishment.
After that go think about deworming
 
Can you pick up potassium permanganate from the chemist?
A rather bizarre tx but I've seen it used again & again with (poorly) discus & it really does seem to help them

Simply Discus has a reprint of the UF EDIS article

Use of Potassium Permanganate to Control External Infections of Ornamental Fish
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Ruth Francis-Floyd and Ruth Ellen Klinger


Seachem ParaGuard can also be used, as a bath most commonly, but in this instance I'd follow the directions for a short term dip, followed by "bath" conditions in the tank
You can expect this fish to lay down in the "dip", monitor respiration as stress signs

Set up a bare bottom hospital with a simple air driven sponge filter, filling water initially to about 18-20 cm
If fish is able to swim & remain upright (there is stress "laying down", then there is "can't get up & maintain equilibrium" laying down), you can slowly increase water depth, checking that fish remains comfortable
Water temp should be at least 31 - 32C, low flow(planted tanks are really only for healthy Discus), daily water change (90% if possible)
The bare bottom will allow you to monitor food consumption & waste production etc
This container should be only ~ 35-40 litre - ill/stressed discus won't move much & seem intimidated by larger tank spaces
Use a large sponge that fish can hide behind (maybe run 2 sponges in tank)
Tank should only be dimly lit, but as discus can startle badly, especially when alone/stressed/ill - keep a "night light" on

If you can't do Edvet's live food (best possible for this fish!)
Offer food that fish can eat overnight rather than expecting fish to eat a decent amount upon offer - freeze dried Australian black worms would be my first choice (you'll need to see what's available & what Discus will eat ... frozen Hikari bloodworms (very "clean" brand) may work as well but degrade in the warm Discus water
I'd not offer any beefheart foods until fish is eating & pooping well (bh is popular as it puts rapid size on discus juveniles but it is not the most easily digested)
(I'd personally never feed beefheart to any fish but that's a whole 'nother story )

If you've already added this discus to your planted tank with other fish :wideyed:, you'll need to choose which way to go ...
 
Firstly thanks for the replies and advice, i'm a bit overwhelmed but it's all good reading, i'll try to take it in.

Secondly, this discus' prospects were pretty bad when i decided to take it on, so i think anything would be an improvement upon it's previous circumstances, especially getting daily feeds and not having to compete for an auto feeder.

It is up and about and exploring the tank now after having a bit of a rest on the bottom, i've tried some frozen bloodworms, but it's definitely not a big eater so may have to do as edvet said and try some live foods if it doesn't take those.

I've got a few different tanks, i just plonked him in the best choice really, it's a smaller tank and right now it's hiding between the wood, it is planted but only sand substrate so easier to manage keeping the water very clean, there are rasboras in there i can keep them at 28c but don't really want to go any higher, the previous tank it was in was at 28c aswell.
 
I understand what you're saying, he may recover in this sort of situation, he may not ... you do what you can
The rasbora should get rather fat while you're trying to get this guy going ;)
(they won't be complaining :lol:)

Sometimes fish respond very well to quarantine & hospital tanks, other times not so much
In the latter instance I always wish I'd left them well enough alone in the community tank where at least they appeared less stressed (though usually died eventually) ... of course then I'd worry about spread of the disease :nailbiting:
 
Well done for rescuing this poorly fish. At least you're giving him a chance!

I have wormed fish with this medication. Despite already being wormed at MA, I have in the past had fish with cammalanus worms and fish that just didn't thrive (not Discus though). This medication did the trick. To use in a smaller tank, it's easy enough to divide the dose.http://plymouthdiscus.com/ocretail/pd/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=139
 
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