Prevention is better than cure!

Poor water conditions always equals sickening Discus.

When I find Discus getting sick in my set up, I can usually trace the cause of the sickness back to my own stupidity, carelessness, laziness or lack of taking the common quarantine precautions. The purpose of this article is to help you not make the same mistakes I did.

Many dollars are spent on medications recommended by the ‘Experts’ in LFS and LPS. Rich companies are made richer by the concerned  aquarists compulsive need to medicate their fish for something.

I often wonder why folks always reach for the chemicals before they even know what is wrong with their fish. A good thing to remember is that more fish are killed by the wrong  treatments than by the disease the are suspected of having. Always use Medications as a last resort not the first reaction.

Rather than hold the common belief and trust in the benefits of Medications for Discus, which is held by many folks, I tend to believe in, and practice, a more holistic (no meds unless absolutely essential) approach. I also adhere to the Identify Disease Before Treatment (IDBT) practice.

The simple reason for this is that I have found out that meds are not usually needed when a Discus gets sick. Discus are very tough fish (as mentioned on the front page of this web site) and provided they get the conditions and food that they need, Discus don’t get sick. They also have an amazing ability to mend themselves once conditions are put right after  things have gone wrong.

The number of times I have read posts or received E’Mails like this. “ My fish are sick, their fins are rotting, and their skins are going dark I bought some meds from the LFS/LPS and have been treating them with “xxx” medicine and they weren’t getting any better, so I went back to the LFS/LPS and they sold me some “yyy” medication and assured me that would work. That doesn’t seem to be helping either and the fish are very sick. This is urgent! I love my fish and they cost me lots of money so I don’t want to loose them. Please Help! What med do I need to use to fix this problem??”

I wish I could have a dollar for every time I have advised someone in that situation to go and do a few water changes (GDAWC). Usually that is all that is required. Sometimes there is a need to raise the water temperature, and maybe add a measured quantity of salt depending on how far the sickness has been allowed to develop. I think I’ve got it worked out now because I’ve learned that:-

Poor water conditions always equals sick Discus.

If your Discus are sick, always check what is wrong with their water first.

The ONLY way I know of to ensure top quality water is to do regular (IMO a minimum of 10% daily) water changes. The water used to top up a Discus tank must be of similar pH, temp and GH/KH to the water being replaced.

Black or Dark Discus are letting you know!!

When  a Discus goes dark, and or, moves away from the shoal, it is letting you know that it is NOT FEELING WELL and  SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE URGENTLY.

Here I shall only cover a few of the most common kinds of problems that IME many Discus keepers are likely to come across.

Firstly though, I’d like to say that Discus usually only get sick when something causes them to get sick.. Usually there is something wrong with their water or conditions. If these are looked after properly and you don’t inadvertently introduce disease to your tank(s) your Discus should not get sick.

I honestly can’t emphasize too much that a Discus’ well-being depends entirely upon the quality and condition of its water.

Skittish Fish

Water quality is the first thing I will check . Test all the water parameters paying particular attention to the Temp, pH, Ammonia, and Nitrite values. (I rarely bother to even test for Nitrate). The results of this testing may well show exactly what is wrong and usually does. If nothing untoward is indicated,  then I test for Bio load.

If something was wrong with the ‘parameters’, I do a larger than normal (40%) water change followed by more  large water changes, as many as required to bring the water back to where I know it should be. Then I set about finding out what went wrong and why the parameters have shifted.  Next I try to fix the problem so that it doesn’t happen again.

If the problem is a high Bio-Load, I do a Potassium Permanganate  flush using Base mix at 2 mls. per gal  (see article on PP for base mix).followed by Hydrogen Peroxide to clear the PP and then large water changes follow.

The fish usually return to normal colour and behavior within a day.

If they don’t, then I’ll look for other symptoms.

Depending on what was wrong with the parameters, I’ll look for indications of possible gill damage caused by the presence of Ammonia or NitrIte.etc or signs of sloughing on the fishes slime coat caused by  burning from ammonia or pH crash etc.

All of the above damage can be avoided by observing the normal maintenance schedule advised for Discus.

Strange Poo 

One of the most common problems that always seems to be turning up, is with the Discus’ stomach or digestive systems. These problems usually evidence themselves by one or more of the following symptoms.  The fish passes white stringy feces, and sometimes it will also turn a darker colour and its Mood Bars will become more prominent than usual, often a fish with these symptoms will face the back of the tank and refuse to eat and doesn’t mix with the other fish.

The white stringy feces indicate the presence of Intestinal Flagellates in the fishes gut. The common treatment for this, is to treat the fish with Metronidazole. I raise the water temperature to 93F (33C) and dose at 400mgs per 10gals (40ltrs) at 4 times at 8 hourly intervals with a 20% water change just before each dose.

The latest recommended treatment, which I personally haven’t tried yet, involves no medication whatsoever. After research, it has been found that if the water temperature is raised to around 95-97F (34-35C) and kept there for around 10 days, Intestinal Flagellates can not handle these temperatures for the extended period of time and die. Discus can happily handle temps of 100F with no ill effects, so this is be the way I shall now be treating my Discus should they ever get this problem in the future.

Comment.

As with the section on Skittish fish. All of the above damage/problems can be avoided by observing the normal maintenance schedule advised for Discus.

Discus only seem to get intestinal flagellate problems when they have been, or are under, stressful conditions. Well controlled conditions, with food, water, and tank parameters that suit your Discus, should ensure that your Discus do not have this problem once they have settled in to their environment.

There is one other strange white thing that Discus pass through their vent that often raises the concern of the inexperienced. This looks to me like a slimy, shiny piece of tissue. It is often almost as wide as it is long, and appears to be cylindrical. Do not worry. It is just something Discus are reported to cast out fairly regularly. I have been advised that it is a piece of stomach lining, and that it is a normal thing to happen with Discus. I’m not a specialist in these kinds of things, so I have to believe what I’m told in this case.

Bloated Belly.

Sometimes a fish becomes bloated in the stomach region. This bloat may be accompanied by the fish appearing to loose equilibrium by assuming a head down posture in the water. (headstanding).

In the case of bloat/swollen stomach, I raise the temperature to 90F (32C) and add 1 level teaspoon of Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) per 10 galls US (40ltrs). This usually will free the blockage within 24 hrs. If the fish is head standing I will use double the dosage and pray. The headstanding indicates that the swim bladder is either being placed under pressure by the blockage, or the fish has an internal bacterial infection. If the problem was pressure the fish should resume its normal posture in the tank, if the latter the fish will continue to headstand and there is no reliable treatment to the best of my knowledge.

Comment

I have only seen bloat in Discus that are given foods containing vegetable matter and commercial dried foods. I have never seen bloat in Discus that are given a strictly carnivorous/insectivorous diet.

Holes/Craters in the head and/or Lateral Line

These ugly, tragic looking, symptoms occur with amazing regularity in many carnivorous/insectivorous fish. Once the holes are there, then a form of Flagellate (Hexemita) infection gets in and starts to do its decomposing work and create more problems. The cause of the disintegration in the head and lateral line area and the occurrence of these ‘Holes’ have been fairly well established now. The problem is missing vitamins or a poor diet. A simple and quick cure is to include compost or earthworms in your Discus’ diet and the problem will be removed and the holes will heal. If you continue to feed your Discus live or chopped fresh worms this problem should never occur again. The infection can be cured by using Metronidazole as described before in the  ‘Strange Poo’ section if required, but the improvement in the diet should also assist the Discus in fighting the infection which usually goes away without the need for medication.

________________________________________________________________________

I shall add to this article as time permits, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.

All the best, teddy,j