Help!!! (Discus Problem)

[PureSpiritz]

Recently, I brought 12 discus. All in a bare bottom 4ft tank. Eheim filter used. My tank was filtered for one month.
Two days after it was brought, one of them started to have cloudy eye at one side of it eyes.

I added in heater and medicine. After three weeks, it seems like more and more discus are infecting. 4 of them are already dead. It was heartbreaking.

Any advise in treating this cloudy eye problem ?
Been finding info from all over the net but I read that, there was no cure for this.

I'm worry that is it really no cure !

[the_oracle]

Bro,
How often do you do waterchange? Discus needs regular water change. Canister filter won't work for them. Try to stop using the canister filter and use a normal corner filter using air pump. Continue with the medication. Remove the badly infected fishes to another tank. This will help to minimise infection to the others.
Update on the progress.....


Sanie.

[PureSpiritz]

Thank Bro,
I do waterchange 3 days a week. Half of the tank water changed.
Just use air pump will do ?

[cidlyana]

hope everything goes fine

[the_oracle]

I have been using normal air pump all this while....
Continue with your water regime....and the medication too.
Move the badly infected ones to another tank if you have spare...........

I've been through this problem before....
Just do regular waterchange will do the trick.....


Sanie.

[stormhawk]

For some reason I believe you have a protozoan infestation. Metronidazole or a similar medication should help. I would advise you to pay a visit to a discus specialist store. While they may like regular water changes, small regular changes once a day ought to be better than 3 times a week with half the tank water changed.

Turning off your canister filter and draining it would be wise to prevent the spread of infection, however, a corner filter will not suffice. They do not seem to like strong currents as far as I recall. Using multiple sponge filters and cutting down on their food would be more helpful, considering your tank is a 4 footer. 12 Discus in a 4 foot tank seems excessive IMO. While the "school" of discus might look awesome, they eventually bulk up and will need more space.

Dimming the lights during this period of medication ought to help keep them calm. They are very skittish and easily spooked when you first introduce them to your tank.

[cidlyana]

learnt a lot

[Gordon C. Snelling]

What are your water parameters. Canister filters work fine for discus. Discus do not tolerate high nitrate at all well and this will lead to cloudy eyes.

[widjajas]

for discus, need to do large WC

[PureSpiritz]

Thanks everyone for helping !
The situation now are slightly better than previous. Cloudy eyes are slowly disappearing from the discus eyes. Heater are still using.
Hope it wont happen again.

[apistomaster]

The canister filter is fine for a Discus tank. They enjoy more current than many understand. Of course the aquarium should contain some pieces of wood to provide some structure but to also attenuate the canister filter's flow. Placing a piece of wood in front of the filter's return solves the problem completely. I would also add at least one large sponge filter which is operated by an air pump. Dual filtration is always a good idea so if you clean a filter you always have a functional biological filtration.
I recommend making about a 75% water change every 4 or 5 days.
I began breeding wild Discus in 1969 and have raised domestic Discus commercially if experience matters to you. I advise actions I successfully use myself which have proven successful.

Your initial problem sounded much like a premature stocking of a tank without a fully functional biological filter. The cycling mprocess can take 4 to 6 weeks. I use hardy fish at first to help establish a biological filter then remove them before stocking a tank with Discus. Feed often but never more than what they can completely consume in five minutes. Young discus need to be fed 3 to 4 times a day. Adult fish only twice a day.
When your discus are young and feeding is heavy, the frequent and large water changes are especially important.

[PureSpiritz]

Thanks for the infpmation.
Lerant alot. Will take note of it.

[Enespe]

Most discus hobbyist use sponge filter and do regular water change.Canister tend to suck in uneaten food
and make the water condition worse.Scrub the tank and do more water change.Add salt and do away
the heater(bacteria bloom in higher temp)
Good luck bro.

[Fish & Fish]

Most discus hobbyist use sponge filter and do regular water change.Canister tend to suck in uneaten food
and make the water condition worse.Scrub the tank and do more water change.Add salt and do away
the heater(bacteria bloom in higher temp)
Good luck bro.

that's true. look at how discus farm keep their discus. Be there for a few days, and we see how frequent they change water. Salt is a must.

These people are making living from discus, and i dun think they will not fool around with their fishes.

[Shrimpong]

The reason why people do large water change for discus is because they fed beef/pig heart which will cloud the water. If you are feeding your discus bloodworm or tetra bits or any other food that doesn't cloud the water and you have a strong filter going, then there won't be need for frequent water change.

Are there any fish in the tank when you the filter was running for 1 month?
Did you clean the tank properly before you let the filter for 1 month(what were you keeping in the tank before)?

Cloudy eye can be cured even without medication, just ensure the water is clean. It can also be caused by anti chlorine overdosed.
Hope your discus are well now.

[PureSpiritz]

The reason why people do large water change for discus is because they fed beef/pig heart which will cloud the water. If you are feeding your discus bloodworm or tetra bits or any other food that doesn't cloud the water and you have a strong filter going, then there won't be need for frequent water change.

Are there any fish in the tank when you the filter was running for 1 month?
Did you clean the tank properly before you let the filter for 1 month(what were you keeping in the tank before)?

Cloudy eye can be cured even without medication, just ensure the water is clean. It can also be caused by anti chlorine overdosed.
Hope your discus are well now.

Tetras was kept for the running of one and a half month.
Did clean the tank properly.
My Discus left 3. Very sad !

Thanks for the information.

[PureSpiritz]

Also, Thanks everyone for the information given. Appreciated !

[Shrimpong]

That can cause a problem because you never know what bacteria the tetras are carrying which they are immuned to but may not be to your discus. It's always a little risky if you already have fishes in the tank with the filter running. With discus, it is better to sterilise your tank before you introduce them into it and that includes sterilising your filter. I would sterilise the tank with PP and put a sponge(dried before used to ensure it is free from carrying bacteria). After this process, the tank is guaranteed to be free from any unwanted living substances.

With filtration with fishes before you introduce your discus into the tank, it is always risky because food get sucked into it and you never know what's living there that is feeding off the food that get sucked into it.

HTH

[12end]

Do note that a 20% water change is more then adequate (with a good filter running, of course). Imho, doing too large a water change might result in a stressed discus and the killing of good bacteria in the water.

[apistomaster]

I respectfully disagree about the volume of water changes. Beef heart is very messy if that is what you feed Discus but after using it on Discus for decades I stopped and only feed mine frozen blood worms and earth worm sticks as their staple diet. I supplement their diet with live black worms and Tetra Color Bits a few times a week.
Even if overfeeding pollution is not a problem Discus will do better if you change at least 75% of their water per week or every four days. If you feel very cautious then try to change the same amount but in smaller amounts every other day. Discus are refreshed whenever they get enough water changes and it is one of the best ways to over come many acclimation issues.
Discus are shy fish but by spending more time working on their tank and your feedings they come to associate you with good things.
I began breeding wild Discus in 1969 and later on I raised thousands of domestic Discus so I have a lot of experience. I have studied Discus keeping and praticed their husbandry for decades so I know what works.

Right now I have 11 F1 Nhamunda Blue Discus I raised from 2.5 cm fry on the diet and water changing regime I have recommended and I expect to be spawning them at any time.
ere is a photo of my young adult beauties.