dancing discus

[lpiasente]

I have a discus that is behaving very strange. He is swimming with his nose pointing down and bobbing up and down as he swims. His little flippers and tail are going like mad . There is a lot of fighting going on between my discus as well. Is this some kind of dominace dance or is he unwell?

[Merrilyn]

Hmmmmmm no that doesn't sound right, unless he is actually blowing into the substrate to find bits of left over food.

If he's not feeding, it could be trouble with constipation or the swim bladder.

First thing is to tackle the simple things, give him a dose of epsom salts to get his gut moving. Dose is 1 heap teaspoon per 40 litres of water. Won't harm plants or filter at that dosage, and it just might sort out the problem.

If the simple remedy doesn't work, then you'll need to remove him to a hospital tank and treat with antibiotics. I'd suggest tetracycline. It will destroy your bio filter, that's why you must use it in a hospital tank.

Tetracycline is available from your local fish shop, under several brand names.

[lpiasente]

Ok. I will do the epsom salts. I have the tetracycline.Do I need to do a water change after the epsom salt? He isn't blowing into the substrateI think he is sick. I don't understand what could be wrong. :(

[Merrilyn]

Okay, do the epsom salts treatment tonight, but better get your hospital tank ready if there's no improvement after 24 hours.

A fifty percent water change after the epsom salts treatment will be fine. The rest will be gradually taken out with your normal water changes.

Good luck.

[lpiasente]

I have the hospital tank ready,it's been cycling for 4 weeks. Should I take water out of the main tank and replace the hospital tank water with it?

[Merrilyn]

Tetracycline is going to destroy all your bio filtration the hospital tank anyway. That's why we never use it in the main tank.

You'll keep the ammonia levels in the hospital tank low by doing daily water changes and feeding lightly, and of course doing a vac to remove any uneaten food. An airstone and a heater is all that's needed in the tank during treatment.

[lpiasente]

Seems ok today.Must have had an upset tummy from dinner????? Thanks for your help

[Merrilyn]

That's great to hear.

Fish can get a digestive upset so it's good to know that the epsom salts helped him move whatever was bothering him.