Psyc

They are awesome. I now have very few problems, if any in a long time.

Here is a couple of simple tips for healthy Discuss. 1. Do not feed raw meat. Frozen and finely minced ox heart is ok but raw ox heart will cause 'hole in the head' disease. DO NOT OVERFEED! this will cause nitrates and kill all of your fish!! if you want to put condition on your fish, up the temperature to 30-32 degrees. this should be done for young fish anyway as it speeds up the motabolism. Hence they will eat more regularly even once every hour but feed them small amounts. Give them a variety, Frozen ox heart, colour bits, freeze dried shrimp, blood worms, they love live food such as mosqito larvae and daphnia. 2. When you prepare ox heart remove all fat and sinew and add some crushed Drontal to one lot before freezing. Remeber the fish are only small compared to a dog. I feed this to my fish once every couple of months to keep them free from worms. And only for one or two days at a time. Ignore this as the most important is the following. 3. The biggest ailment by far for Discus is Gill Fluke! Did I say Gill Fluke? Thats right Gill Fluke! Regular water changes can prevent an infestation of Gill Fluke. Also stockmanship or fishpersonship is 90% observation. Watch your fish, if they a scrapping and rubbing its probably gill fluke. if they swim round with one fin close by the side, its probably gill fluke! if they go darker in colour, caused by stress, it is quite likely to be gill fluke! TREAT WITH FORMALIN! please I emplore you, do not use any other chemical substances as you risk killing your fish!!! Drontal is for worms and it does not work externally except to irritate and potentially be fatal to your fish!! Accurately measure the volume of your tank and treat accordingly.Using 'Blue Circle Formalin in the pink bottle treat with 3 drops per litre. No more no less, also oxygenate the water. Formalin binds with oxygen. Oxygenated water also relieves stress in fish. If your tanks is healthy and the fish eat up all the food you will eliminate the need for twice weekly water changes. Having said this, and this is why regular water changes are recommended ( the lowest common denominater) regular water changes prevent nitrate build up and gill fluke infestations. Their are one or two other diseases associated with Discus but the above is the simplest suggestion I can make for healthy fish and will solve about 95% of any problems! I hope this helps!!

Seems there are more than yourself with gill fluke problems. First Drontal is an internal medicine and it will treat worms. In the water however,it is more likely to irritate your fish, hence them producing more mucus and be detremental to their health. Drontal must be treated internally to kill worms, they live in the guts of the fish! Gill flukes are like fleas on dogs, so long as they are not severe the fish can live with them. Hence the need for regular water changes as this stops an infestation of gill fluke. It does not however get rid of them. In fact i doubt that there is anything that can. Parazitoqiol or whatever it is, is now illegal due to the 'P' manufacturers. This will also kill your Discus, unless you know precisely what you are doing. believe me, I have lost many fish due to bad advise. I now use Formalin, It is cheap and very affective on gill fluke as well as an antibacterial. Once again be very careful with the dosage. I use Blue Circle' Formalin at the rate of 3 drops per litre. No more, no less. Oxygenate the water as formalin binds with oxyegen. The filter will eliminate the formalin over a 10 day period. Do a water change before and after treatment although this is less important than the treatment itself.

Dude I have tried everything for treating Discus and lost many fish in the process. By far the best all round treatment is Formalin. It not only kills gill fluke but also kills bacteria. Make sure you get the right dosage and if necessary follow up with white spot cure, although i have never had to do this. It also helps to oxygenate the water during treatment and the filter will eliminate the formalin over a 10 day period. I use the Blue Circle Formalin in the pink bottle. Accurately measure the water volume and add 3 drops per litre, no more no less. This will eliminate many diseases in any tank and on one occassion I have not changed the water for one month after. ( due to personal circumstances). In a Discus tank this would normally be sacralege. But I guarantee this works unlike many of the other drugs, some now illegal, that others will reccommend. Sometimes I wonder why people haven't told me this before. I think there are some out there that like to keep their little secrets for themselves, especially when it comes to Discus!

Have you tried a water conditioner like 'Aqua Plus"? A good quality conditioner is worht the cost. Also check the ph. The safest ph is 7 (neutral). Also add furan to eliminate secondary infection. The problem sounds more like a parasite problem. Talk to your local shop about Formulin or white spot cure? Formulin also eliminates other bacteria in the water, but be careful and precise with dosage rates. It is also preferable to oxegynate the water whilst treating as formulin binds with the oxygen. The filter will eliminate the formulin over a 10day period.

Forgot to mention the place in Rotorua is on Clayton Road. It is on the right at the main set of lights you come to from the north. Down there about 4-500 metres on the left.

Hi there, the place in Rotorua is called Wonderland Aquarium and Pet centre. The guy that runs the place is called Arty!, and he is great. I bought fish from there recently. Don't accept the [rices on the tanks, hit him up for a deal. HIs fish are very good quality and he is very knowledgable. I will certainly be going back. I wouldn't noramally recommend shops because of the prices, but I have no problems with the fish I have purchaded off him. I have bought from breeders all over the top half of the north Island and encountered everything from worms to parasites in the fis. There is one person I know I will never buy from again. If you a ever in Hamilton also check out the Gold fis Bowl. he doesn't have a huge selection but his fish are also great quality. The guys name is Brian, he too is very helpful.

Gee I am sorry that i forgot to mention that i had done every test known to man for the water quality. (as this is the norm and it is, was, a discus tank) Also did a 40% water change before dosing. Still stronlgy recomend not using drontal tabs, unless you are prepared to take what you get!

hey captian obvious, I used drontal tabs from vet at dose rate you suggest for a persistant itch on my discus. Had previously tried white spot treatment and formulin. left period in between each treatment so no confusion. left in for 48 hours. All fish subsequently died! It did cure the itch though. Fish went off food and it stripped them of body mucus. Bloody expensive way to learn. I am too embarrased to say how many fish I lost. Have to start all over again.

Could have also been a nitrite spike? With over feeding? test for levels and do larger water changes. Cut back on feeding, 3 times a day is sufficient. Do you have any scavengers in the bottom of the tank? they help clean up the rubbish.

By the way my hardness is fine, thanks (hehe).

Amonia and nitrate levels fine. Have not tested for hardness, never have. Use aqua clear to treat water, sometimes also stress coat. Have had fish pair off and lay eggs, so never really considered water quality a problem as no other fish displaying same symtoms. The blue discus in particular did get darker for a short time (one in particular). Have been doing more frequent water changes(daily) just cut back. All other fish o.k. and colour appears lighter in all fish. Suspect one of the pleco's may have died (never found it) and upset water quality for a period. My two rules for discus are 1. Good water quality and regular changes. 2. if in doubt check rule one. I still feel it is a swim bladder problem with this particular fish.

Will try and organise some photo's. Also planning on coming to the auction. Who knows, may even bring a fish along. Have a large Pigeon Discus I am thinking about selling. Thanks to all for the warm welcome.

A big hello to all fisho's out there. I have not had fish for a few years and have just got back into it. At this stage I have three tanks. 75, 350 and 700 litres. the small tank at this stage has baby angel fis in it. The 350 tank is a community tank with 11 Angels (3 couples) some cardinals, rummy nose and harlequins in it. My Big tank has only Discus. I have a blood pigeon,crystal turq, blue diamond, blue snakeskin, another blue, 2 red melons, 1 small and 1 large pigeon a brown and 3 red turqs. I think thats 13 in total. My pride and joy, they range in size from 7 cm to 16cms. I did have two pairs but one morning I went out to find four dead fish. All I can put it down to is a cat that spooked the crap out of them over night. So beware cats I now have a BB gun waiting for you (hehe). This week I am making a couple of breeding, isolation tanks. Hopefully for 1 or 2 pairs of Discus. The the 75 litre will become a rearing tank. Am enjoying the discussions on this site and looking forward to hearing from you. regards Pat.

Hi, just wondering if anyone can help with a Discus that has its head down when stationary (still). Also normally has the dorsal and anal fins closed down as opposed to spread. All other behaviour normal. Feeding well and generally social and active. Over time the head has got lower (10-14 days). No signs of bloat or swelling of the swim bladder. Water quality is good with regular changes, Temp 28 degrees, ph 6.5 or a bit lower. Have also tried isolating lowering and raising temperature as suggested on a website. Have treated tank for parasites. Am guessing it is a swim bladder problem but what sort? And whats the best treatment, should I try Furan? Or a specific antibacterial? Doesn't float on its side at all. Any suggestions greatfully appreciated as this is one of the family favourites in the tank. ( A community tank with Discus only 13 in total, 700 litres).