Lindsayhjw Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 (edited) I just bought four (only four because they are the only ones that looked healthy in the whole store) Discus from Big als aquarium. They are about three or four inches. it turns out at least two of them are stunted. And one of the other ones might have gill flukes (breathing out of one gill is the only symptom). Unfortunately I bought pigeon bloods, which is bad because I'm a beginner with discus and the pigeon bloods don't turn black when they're sick so it's hard to know when something's wrong. Anyway, I read that stunted discus can still grow to full size if water changes and feedings are kept up. I'm hoping this is true. So I'd like to know if I'm doing everything right. They are in a 75 gallon with a pleco and (there were two angelfish that I bought from there the ame day but one died overnight without symptoms) angelfish. They have two power filters (aqua clear 110 and aqueon 75). The temp is 30°C. I do a 25% water change every day, I feed them several times a day including tropical flakes, Beefheart mixture, plankto,n and hikari bio gold plus. Oh and Ammonia is 0 Nitrite 0 and Nitrate are betwen 10 and 20. Any tips or input would be appreciated Edited January 13, 2013 by Lindsayhjw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebek18 Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I have had bad experiences with Big Al's. They usually sell fish that are sick or bring in parasites. Best thing would be to always quarantine any fish that you buy, other than from Aquarium Illusions( that I know of) since they quarantine all their fish for two weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsayhjw Posted January 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Do you know if Aquarium Illusions sells Discus? I've only just recently heard of that store so I don't know. And also I agree with you about Big Als, their tanks are in serious need of cleaning and their larger discus were horribly covered in peppering, not the natural peppering but the heavy kind they get when put in bad water. I didn't have a huge need to quarentine them as I bought the Angelfish from the same place on the same day so there was only a Pleco in there at the time. I've been trying hard to keep up with water changes and feedings, I'm also trying garlic because it kills most parasites that Discus carry, except for one that I can't remember the name of. I just don't want any die offs because they are crazy expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 It sounds like you're on the right path - heavy filtration, lots of WCs and good food will do a world of good. Aquarium Central is another good place to go for discus, and have excellent husbandry practices. If you'd like to stay on the southside, Nature's Corner has about the best husbandry in the biz, but only infrequently have discus in; they do carry a few cory spp, and a few pleco spp, and lots of plants (try to get there close to when a shipment arrives bc they sell out of the good stuff w/in a couple days). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebek18 Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I have been going in everyday as a kid into aquarium illusions since my dad's work was a few steps away. They always gave me tours of their store and I could see what was going on. They would always be busy cleaning or helping customers. They do special orders most of the time and will bring anything in. That is all I know. I have never been to the other stores listed. I have been to BA's on multiple occasions where they had dead fish in the tanks and would tell me the synodontis was sleeping on its side or belly up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senroc Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I agree Aquarium Illusions is a great store. Definitely my go to place when I was living in Edmonton for salt water. I've even sold coral frags back to them and they gave me a pretty decent store credit for them as well. I've never had any sick fish or inverts from there. I also agree that Big Al's is a terrible store, and it seems to be across the board. I recently lost my entire stock of fish after I bought some from there, so I won't be taking my business there anymore. Plenty of other places to go to. But anyway..I'm sure I've seen Discus at AI before so you should be good to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CursiveDuck Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Not to toot my own horn because I work at aquarium central, but Tuan has been dealing with discus from a young age, and we take every measure possible to make sure they're free of disease. We land them in r/o and condition them over to tap over a 2 week period. During which the fish are dewormed and dehexed, and treated for any other conditions they may land with. Then at cost of good faith we give them weekly to biweekly feedings of medicine to keep them worm and disease free. If you have patience you can even wait a few months while they've been in the store while tuan pellet trains them for you. I highly recommend ac discus. They're a tad pricier but they're mostly from high quality breeders. And get babied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) I hate to say it but... You should never buy a fish from a pet store. Particularly something with the delicacy of Discus. They WILL be stunted. They WILL be sick They WILL NEVER grow to their full potential. Also You just massively overpaid for poor quality fish. I'm sorry. The pigeon bloods you picked up will grow, they will do well, they will teach you everything you need to know about how to keep discus, So the next time you pick up some of these fish you will be better prepared. In the future you should ALWAYS ORDER your fish straight from the breeder, or at least from an importer attached to a quality and well known breeder. ( www.canadianaquafarm.com he sells FORREST discus in Canada, and they are beautifull.) Even with the airplane ticket, and gas money to drive to the airport to pick up your fish they are still much cheaper than what you pay in ANY PET STORE. Not to mention you know the exact age of the fish, that it is not stunted, what it has been fed, the water perameters it is used to etc etc etc. I am not trying to bash any pet store. The sad truth is that they do not care for their fish the way they need to be cared for. I will say that Big al's has recently gone down hill badly, and thats sad. P.S. www.simplydiscus.com <<< everything you should already know is there. Edited January 14, 2013 by cullymoto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CursiveDuck Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Cully aquarium central is selling Forrest discus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I dont really want to get into details, or a pissing match here. I was in that store once. they had discus and they were not in great shape, if your fine having average fish than buy them. It is great they have fish from a reputable source but, your still overpaying greatly, you still dont know how old the fish is, you still dont know several factors that are critical. I would like to point out that these fish can live for as long as 10 years. You should not get "just any fish" because you want discus. Be patient, watch what the breeders have and make carefull selections. Back to the Original posters questions. You mention peppering. Peppering has very little to do with water quality. Peppering is actually genetics / environmental. If you keep pigeon blood genetically based fish in a dark environment they will pepper. There exceptions to this rule - some breeders have very carefully selective bred PB basses to reduce or eliminate peppering. Your tank ( just like mine ) has black gravel and a dark blue background. Your Pigeon blood fish WILL pepper. (just like my 1 PB fish, and my 1 lemon [ a PB genetically based variant ]) If you don't want peppering, you need a mainly bright environment, and have to select high quality breeds. Alternatively you can avoid PB based fish - no PB, no marlboro, no melon, no yellows etc. Stay with the Turqiouse strains (black bar type) or the solid colors. You mention a nice variety of feed. I have made my own feed to ensure a mixed diet. In my opinion any home made feed for discus should start with fresh garlic, fresh spinach, and paprika. garlic is an immuno booster, spinach is a super food - high in vitamins and minerals - paprika is a natural color enhancer and rich in vitamins also. After those three I add brine shrimp, high protien fry food ( powder ) flake, bloodworms, squid, banana, blueberries, broccoli stalk, and the kitchen sink lol. I put it all in a food prosessor then freeze it in a plastic bag. Smash it up after its frozen and voila. If you suspect flukes, get Prazzi. use 14 days of treatment. it becomes expensive, but with a 14 day treatment you will kill both the active fluke generation, as well as the next generation currently in egg form. Nothing fish safe will kill the eggs, so you must treat long enough that when the eggs hatch they are killed immediately afterwards. Prazzi is both effective and safe. Hope that Helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CursiveDuck Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) Meh it's not worth my breath. Think as you like. Edited January 14, 2013 by CursiveDuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CursiveDuck Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) . Edited January 14, 2013 by CursiveDuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsayhjw Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 It's not that I hate the peppering (mine have a little because they're pb) but if they have a ton of it, it's a bad thing. And even knowing what I know now, I still would have bought my discus, they are looking so good now and have definately filled out, I consider it a rescue but I'm definately going to check out aquarium central, I want to get two more to form a good solid group. Thanks everyone for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsayhjw Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Also, I added plants to my aquarium and have a DIY co2 system, wondering where I can get a co2 reader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CursiveDuck Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 If your headed into ac we have the checkers. I wouldn't worry to much, just keep and eye on them, and if you feel anything off about them shoot the store a call or shoot me a message. If they're a nice shape to you and they have a color you like, if you treat them nice and keep em well fed, they'll still be beautiful fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.