New Discus Sick pls help

[golfhacker]

Keep your discus in acidic water. They are acidic water fish. Discus are very prone to bacterial infections. The lower your pH, the less chance of getting a bad bacterial infection. Keeping discus in alkaline water is probably the biggest mistake that hobbyists make. That's probably why they have such a bad reputation for being a difficult fish to keep alive. That's also why most discus wind up dying in pet shops. Pet shops usually have them in pH over 7.0. Just read the disease section of most discus message boards. The people with all the terrible bacterial problems are the hobbyists with their discus in water with a high pH. You wouldn't keep an African cichlid in low pH, don't keep a discus in high pH. Lower your pH(6.0 - 6.5) and see how much happier and healthier your discus will be.

 

[DigThemLows]

Keep your discus in acidic water. They are acidic water fish. Discus are very prone to bacterial infections. The lower your pH, the less chance of getting a bad bacterial infection. Keeping discus in alkaline water is probably the biggest mistake that hobbyists make. That's probably why they have such a bad reputation for being a difficult fish to keep alive. That's also why most discus wind up dying in pet shops. Pet shops usually have them in pH over 7.0. Just read the disease section of most discus message boards. The people with all the terrible bacterial problems are the hobbyists with their discus in water with a high pH. You wouldn't keep an African cichlid in low pH, don't keep a discus in high pH. Lower your pH(6.0 - 6.5) and see how much happier and healthier your discus will be.

Not true, domestics are fine in high PH, Mine are great at 7.3.............There's folks over at simplydiscus with awesome looking fish at 8.5........consistent, clean water is all they need............

To the OP, do more water changes for a while..............50% to 70% 1 or 2 times daily!

 

[WyldFya]

Keep your discus in acidic water. They are acidic water fish. Discus are very prone to bacterial infections. The lower your pH, the less chance of getting a bad bacterial infection. Keeping discus in alkaline water is probably the biggest mistake that hobbyists make. That's probably why they have such a bad reputation for being a difficult fish to keep alive. That's also why most discus wind up dying in pet shops. Pet shops usually have them in pH over 7.0. Just read the disease section of most discus message boards. The people with all the terrible bacterial problems are the hobbyists with their discus in water with a high pH. You wouldn't keep an African cichlid in low pH, don't keep a discus in high pH. Lower your pH(6.0 - 6.5) and see how much happier and healthier your discus will be.

pH in wild discus is important. But domestic discus are captive bred, and have been kept in pH as high as 8.7 that I have seen. They do not have a water type like their far removed ancestors, they simply will adjust to any pH and have no problems. There is no ill effect of this pH, and they will thrive. The only down side is that higher pH does not allow a male to fertilize the eggs before they harden. Many discus die in pet stores due to inadequate feeding, and poor water quality. They no longer have the reputation of being hard to keep with pH, but they do when it comes to feeding and tank maintenance.

 

[uaerc]

I have started feeding the balance 6 juvy's Tetra Pro flakes in the morning and Half a cube of bloodworms in the night....... keeping up the water changes to twice a week so that they start growing.

One of LFS here in Dubai has a guy there who personaly breeds D's... and he told me that if i can maintian nuetral PH it would be great for the D's, I will try to bring the PH to 7 over couple of weeks or so just let them rest for a bit i guess they have gone through much.....

I hope to have them full size may be in a year.. i think thats how long it takes....then think about breeding....i am just gonna do it for fun...just feels good. Any good links on breeding here..

 

[estrump]

The orange has a swim bladder infection - treat with powerful antibiotics in a shallow (4-6 inches deep) hospital tank pulling water from the tank it's in now to keep transfer shock to minimum. It should clear up in a few days as you gradually increase the depth an inch or two each day. Keep up the the meds for 10 days regardless. Feed very small amounts of food (bloodworms, no solid food) frequently but only after it can swim properly. The other is emaciated (not eating?) and you'll be better off euthanizing it as it will not recover. Why? Because it will spread disease to your other fish as it deteriorates.

 

[hillbilly]

The orange has a swim bladder infection - treat with powerful antibiotics in a shallow (4-6 inches deep) hospital tank pulling water from the tank it's in now to keep transfer shock to minimum. It should clear up in a few days as you gradually increase the depth an inch or two each day. Keep up the the meds for 10 days regardless. Feed very small amounts of food (bloodworms, no solid food) frequently but only after it can swim properly. The other is emaciated (not eating?) and you'll be better off euthanizing it as it will not recover. Why? Because it will spread disease to your other fish as it deteriorates.

Did you happen to notice the dates on this thread? Those poor fish have probably long since gone to discus heaven.

 

[sushiray]

any water testing results? what are your parameters vs. the LFS?

how did you introduce the new ones:

did you QT?
did you acclimate their water bag b-4 putting them in by mixing in your tank water?
or did you flop & drop right away
or did you put them all in with LFS water in also?