Discus Acting Strange...

[onesic1]

Hey guys first time poster ^^ pretty much cause up until now i have been trouble free with my little fellas...but about 2 days ago i noticed my discus floating about near the surface and eventually drifting onto their sides...They are also REALLY dark in colour..almost black you could say. This is only 4 out of all of the discus the other ones are fine...

I have also noticed 1 of the sick looking ones goes crazy and scratches himself against anything...plants..gravel..etc...

Ammonia and Nitrites are 0
Nirtrates i dont have a kit yet for
Ph is about 7.4 :S this may be a problem im not sure the tap water is about 8.0 and i hate messing with Ph using chemicals easiest way to kill your fish >.<
Temp is 30 Degree C.

Anyone have any ideas what could be causing them to be doing this? And any possible solutions? This s a planted tank so i know some meds can screw with your plants...(i dont have a quarantine tank either)

Any help would be greatly apprecatiated...

[Mulisha]

To me it sounds like Flukes becuase you said that they were scrathing up against objects and they were near the top of the tank so to me that they were not getting enough O2 in there gills that's why there gasping at the surface..

You might want to wait some other replys before treatment but what would i do in the meantime is increase airration in the tank and do a nice w/c so they have as less stress as possible...

For treatment if it is Flukes you can use Prazi sold as AquaMaster Fluke And Tapeworm Tablets

1 Tab per 40L water alow 48hrs then 50% w/c.

IMHO you have flukes..

GoodLuck.!

[onesic1]

Thanks for the quick reply
I will make a trip out for fluke tabs prolly tomorrow, a good thing to have on hand even if it turns out not to be flukes...

I forgot to mention earlier they are all really attentive still and eat well soon its feeding time they swim around all happy (still dark looking) and eat up a good meal...

Oh and are those fluke tabs safe to use in a planted tank? they wont harm the plants at all?

[Mulisha]

Yep the Flukes tabs are fine with plants..

If you do end up using them make sure you crush the tabs up real well with a spoon or something and don't under dose them becuase flukes can be immune to to drugs so you want to hit them hard so to speak..

One other thing what temp is the tank set at for juvi discus 30 - 32 is good and about 29 for adults.

GoodLuck!

[onesic1]

Yeah it set at 30.5-31 changes a little bit in the afternoon when my room heats up, but nothing drastic...and yeah all mine are juvi 2.5-3" no bigger...

[onesic1]

well started treatment with fluke tabs today, hope to god they work

[Merrilyn]

Good luck. We're all thinking of you.

[onesic1]

Well the fluke tabs treatment went without any hiccups so to speak... But there hasnt been any noticable improvement in any of the fish bar 1.... :S

Its only been 2 days though after the treatment, perhaps they need more time...

Also i noticed on the sides of the fish, a white stringy mucus sort of substance in patches and in some spots starting to float away...(it almost looks like its shedding a skin o.O) :S

Ahwell will keep you posted...