troutmaster Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 (edited) Gave up with store bought meds. Trying to get perscription met(for food dosing) My fish are in salt bath with high temps. The more I read about these fish the more I want to flush rite back to where ever the hell they came from. I was prepared to do weekly water changes and feed properly. I don't want to remove sand from my tank and go bare bottom. To me that looks ugly. Lower the pH , get R?O unit. Don't need R/O unit and lower pH. I think the people that are keeping healthy discus are to embarrased to admit how much time and money they spend.I don't want to do daily water changes(although with these sick fish that's what I have been doing). I talked with alot of people in Calgary that claim to have no problems with discus and that they are not that diffuclt to keep. From what I have read so far might as well go salt water tank. Really what the hell is the trick with these fish. Do you have to change your life to keep healthy discus or what? Tried to get a vet in Calgary to examin fish fecies and get me on the right track with a cure. No luck only one I could find in the south end of town say he can't do any thing for me unles I bring my fish in. I thought part of keeping discus healthy was to not stress them. I am sure putting sick discus in a bag for a couple of hours is only going shorten their life. Even Pieces pet store can keep discus alive in a tank that dosn't look like it's seem a water change in a month. Can you tell I am getting frustrated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!To many variables to try and control just make it seem not worth the effort. Edited October 28, 2005 by troutmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevchewy Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 (edited) What are the symptoms of the fish? I don't think you should give up, but if time is not being put it, no tank will ever beable to run it's self no matter the fish we keep. What are all your water parameters? PH, Temp, Nitrates, Nitrites, ammonia, ect... The way i feel is this... If you have made the decision to keep discus, you probably made that choice as they are the fish that you would like to keep. They are beautiful fish and may require more work than just having a tank full of guppies. If you'll want to keep them you may have to put in more time and possibly money. If you are not able to, you may have to make another choice of fish (such as african cichlids which in my mind are easy to keep IMO). I wish i had a cure for you... Hope they all survive or find new homes rather than the toilet! nev Edited October 28, 2005 by nevchewy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronrca Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 (edited) Sorry to hear this! Discus are not the easiest fun to take care of and especially when they become sick. Dick Au mentioned in his presentation that the finding the right source to buy discus is very hard. Never buy discus that are sick already even if they are free. The best source to buy from is a local breeder as the discus are accustomed to the water parameters plus they have been thru less stress from shipping from who knows where not to mention contact with other fish, etc, etc. Since you are attempting to treat them, have patience. It takes time. Id not recommend continuing to add meds as it is expensive and since your not seeing them working anyways. Medicated food is very good so let the heat and food take its course. Another thing I forgot to mention before. You have 7 discus but all in different tanks. Perhaps a reason they are nervous as discus are schooling fish therefore at least 6 should be kept together. Edited October 28, 2005 by ronrca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandj Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Hmmm...I wish I could help you, but all I can do is tell you what my routine is with my Discus because I am pretty successful. 55 gal tank. 2 canisters, Rena XP2 and Fluval 304. 2 air stones. Temp 87F pH 8.5 GH 220 ppm KH 310 ppm Tankmates: 9 German Blue Rams and 3 Ottos. I have gravel, quite a bit of decor. No live plants. Have had 2 adult wild Tefe Greens since early Summer. Added 1 Melon from acquaintance from BC, it's about 5 inches, added 3 small Red Pearl Pigeon juvies from Dads. Wild Tefe's a bit fussy, but the rest are tough as nails, never been sick and ALWAYS hungry. Always rushing to the glass to look for food when I come. They get about 1/3 water change every second day or maybe I'm too busy and they get it on the third day. I use well water straight from the tap, which has a pH of 7.6 and low in O2, but I do match the temperature. I don't bother testing my water anymore because with this routine, my test results are pretty much always zero or negligible. I give them a little seaweed once in a while and mostly frozen food: bloodworms, Mysis, Beefheart, and they are even starting to eat flake. (Amazing) One trick that helps is that I only clean one canister at a time so there is minimal disruption in the biological filtration. Most important thing, it matters MORE to provide constant and STABLE water parameters than fussing around with trying to get their water to match their natural environment. I have lost other fish trying to do this and my best success is by NOT pissing around with the water chemistry. I hope my routine might help you determine why your Discus are in trouble. And starting with good, healthy stock really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Troutmaster, If you would like, I would be happy to come over and take a look at your setup and your fish. I do not have all of the answers, but I have worked through my struggles and I certainly have much healthier fish now than I did when I started. One thing I have to say is that if you got a fish from Pisces, you may have some work ahead of you. When I first started I got a discus from Pisces, and the plague that it was carrying (likely just a nasty Hex parasite) killed off half of my starting group. :boom: That was 18 months ago and I now have the upper hand, but it took a while. From what I have seen in the Picses store, they are continuing to have major disease issues. Anytime a fish is there for any length of time they end up with the same symptoms as I was fighting. Even a healthy looking fish from there may carry this Hex parasite. PM me if you are interested talking further and I will be happy to give you a call. :beer: Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquanerd Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 (edited) Do you think that maybe your discus are to crowded? They need more space then most fish or else they will be stunted or will be stressed. Also I was just reading "Don't use carbon in the filter (this can lead to disease in discus)" http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/discus...4beginner.shtml dont know if this helps at all, since I don't know to much about Discus quite yet. Edited November 10, 2005 by Aquanerd 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.