I just got a new suppose to be colbalt blue discus on Saturday. He is about 3 inches. He has been jet black since we received him. He seems to eat a little but generally stays at the back of the tank or around the heater. I have a 55 gal tank with 4 other discus and they seem fine and they seem to all get along. I also have 4 cory cats and a very large pleco in the tank as well. I noticed today there was a very large string of white feces hanging from the dark discus today. I'm worried there is more problems than just stress. I have thought about using general cure to see if it will help. I don't know whether I should take the sick one to a hospital tank or just use it in the tank with all the other tank mates. Would it hurt any of the others if I used it in the main tank. Just as a preventative. The water is fine and the temp is 82 degress. I have recently raised it to 84 degrees. Any help on this would be great. Thanks.

Dennis B

Maybe a parasite causing a bacterial infection?
I QT my new fish with Prazi Pro.

Do you know if he was imported from Asia?

I bought him from a guy that had him and the discus was getting beat up on. He didn't want the lil fella to die so he decided to give him up. He said he had him awhile.

Well, after looking at the tank just checking on him he was laying in the plants. After he pooped he looked better then just died I guess. Thanks as always for the feedback.

Dennis B

Sorry for your loss, I hope the rest of the discus are fine.

I do a water change and then treat the tank just in case it was contagious..............?

How did his head look? Did it look cratered or have lesions. White feces sounds like Hexamita (AKA Hole in the Head). Common fish parasite that affects discus fish. I've lost german rams to it before as well. Google Hexamita and see if this might be it.

That sucks Dennis. I've found that with some of my SA cichlids, if one get sick, he's banished from the colony and eventually dies. I wonder if that is what happened here. The other fish push the sick fish out and in this case, because of the confines of the aquarium, can't. The stress and illness eventually takes it's toll. Kudos to you for coming here and asking questions and putting yourself out there. Hopefully everything will continue to be fine for your other discus.

He did not have any lesions or anything I could see as Abnormal other than the Jet Black coloring and white Fecal. My others are doing fine (Knock on wood) and I am going to do a 30% water change and try to remove any of the White Fecal matter along with any other impurities. I have officially made myself and my future Discus a Commitment that I WILL NOT BUY another discus without seeing its water conditions, Viewing it in the tank with others, Making sure it does not have Over-sized eyes or ANY OTHER possible problem. This way I can see them in their "Current" environment and how they hold their weight in the Tank they reside. I will also use a QT to keep the fish alone for 3-4 weeks for observation as this can be Quite Costly loosing all the other fish in that tank. I have not made it a practice to use a Quarantine Tank and this is a downside I have. I have always considered myself to be an "Equal Opportunity Aquarium Keeper" no matter if they are missing a drop down, or being a runt. I have found that in this hobby, those that I mentioned have been personal experiences that have ended in Disaster among Discus and Angelfish that I have purchased. Good Deal is not always a good deal and I am learning that the hard way. Sorry to go on about my problems, but I feel better knowing that some new fish keeper may read this and save them some of the problems I have encountered. Thanks for the suggestions and info that was given along with the sympathies for the Discus Loss. This will make me a better Fish Keeper in the future as I take fish loss almost as high as loosing a loved one. These fish are the kids of our household and my daughter loves to help me with them every other weekend so for that I say, It is all part of the learning experience. As long as you learn from your experiences, then you are making progress.
Thanks again!
Dennis B