Discus Help Checklist

[brewmaster15]

Discus Help Checklist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know if this will be of use to anyone but I put together a list of things somebody
will probably need to know if they post a request for help with a Discus probelm. I
probably missed a few things so let me know if anything should be added. At the least
it might help novices describe what they are dealing with , and aid others in helping
them....

Discus Help Checklist… (Al Sabetta 8_29_01)


Physical condition of the fish
1. visible parasites (describe)
2. stringy feces
3. head standing
4. bloated/ constipated
5. Hole in the head, lateral line erosion
6. spots, salt like flecks, velvety appearance,cotton like growths etc.
7. excessive slime production
8. labored breathing, disfunctional gill
9. cloudy eyes
10.darkened color
11. faded color
12. other unusual changes...


Water parameters
1. pH?
2. Temperature…
3. hardness?
4. conductivity?
5. TDS?
6. R/O (reverse osmosis) filtered, or Tap (well or chlorinated city water), rain water
7. Water change regime? ( example .. 30 % daily, weekly monthly etc)
8. appearance (cloudy, green , clear, yellowish etc)
9. Odor (smells clean or sulfur-lit match smell-anaerobic indicator)

Tank parameters
1. Size in gallons/liters?
2. Substrate.? (bare glass, gravel, sand..)
3. Planted?
4. Drift wood?

Filter types
1 Wet/dry?
2. Canister?
3. hanging box( aquaclear whisper etc)?
4. sponges?
5. supplimental Peat filter?
6. supplimental air?
7. Carbon, resin exchanges, ammo-chips etc


Lighting( Important for algae problems and plant growth)
1. Hood
2. bulb type size, watts, spectrum (ex 5000K daylight)
3. light/dark cycle (number hours on/off)


General….
1. Diet(what and how often do you feed you fish?
2. Other tank occupants than discus?
3. How many Discus in your tank?
4. How long have you had them?
5. Where did you get them (breeder/ Local Fish Shop -LFS)
6. Tank and filter cleaning schedule?
7. Medications/ salt treatments recently used or tried to treat this problem?

[arpanlib]

thanx for the list.

i have taken a print and its very handy.

arpanlib

[neighbour]

one more thing,

Darkening of body colour

[brewmaster15]

added! thx!
-al

Great job Brew! What about faded color?

[brewmaster15]

added! Thx!
-al

[vosevichs]

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
GH
KH

[Scubaboy]

Yo Brew, Great checklist ! Whats up with stringy feces ? Some of my Discus have it and some don't. Should the feces be coming out in small black pieces ? Please advise. Thanx, Scubaboy.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Scubaboy,
Better read this link...
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index...;threadid=1058


Let me know if it helps,

Take Care,
al

[PARCS46]

Hi Al: I like the check list, it covers just about everything, I guess the next step would be to take each particular known malady,parasite,infection and/or disease and come up with a positive remedy for each. I've been out for over ten years and talk about catching up, "oh brother" Catchup, think I'll try mustard. I have nearly forgotten most everything(except the basics) it's like I'm a newbie again.

I have a minor problem, just picked it up tonight on the last feeding, with my recently acquired 2 month Red Leopard Fry. I got one of the tykes aparently with some type of parasite. My tank has no substrate, normal for grow outs, with sponge filters in both corners. One of the fry is trying to scratch something he picked up, can't figure how I'm going by the book. The food is mostly frozen with Tetrabits,flake and live brine shrimp. I'm in Astoria, NY using tap water that comes in at 6.2 -6.8 Ph, GDh at 6 ppm and I pull water 2-3 times daily keeping everything clean and constant. I'm using a tap water conditioner to remove the chlorine and detoxify the heavy metals & Aquari-Sol to eliminate ick. I'm going to try Kosher salt and lower the temp for a few days before it spreads. I need some input here Al, or from anyone with some straight up knowledge on parasites, I surely would appreciate the help. Starting up after a long hiatus is like trying speak a language you haven't used for many years! Thanks Much: Sincerely, :-\ :-\ (Discus Devil)

[PARCS46]

Hi Al: DD here, this is a tag along to the previous post seeking a little input on possible minor parasite problem. Some extra info to be added on my setup. I have the Red Leopard Fry in a twenty long. I feed them 5 -6 times dailywith a healthy regiment of varied foods, a constant water temp at 86 deg.F. I fed them the usual live brine shrimp this AM. After observing the Tykes for an hour, I did not see any attempt by any of the fish to scratch. A red flag went up last night as I remember from past experiences, when fish are trying to scratch it means their trying to dislodge some type of parasite. I'm glad that the Kosher salt was not needed, do not like to hastily medicate! It looks like I'll be sitting in front of the tank for awhile. Will you kindly give me the skinny on possible parasites that would make the fry scratch, along with the known remedies. As I've mentioned I'm a newbie again, and any input would be sincerely appreciated. Thank You: Sincerely, 8) 8) Discus Devil)

[brewmaster15]

Hi DD,
Welcome back to discus...My guess is flukes, as it is one of the most common ailments. There are many methods to treat this , my suggestion is to read thru the back pages of the disease boards and look for all the posts dealing with flukes....


The old standby is formalin and if the problem is minor as it appears it may be the answer for you. Hard to tell at this point, but formalin is pretty broad spectrum.

I just sent you and IM.

hth,
al

[PARCS46]

Hi Al: Thanks for the help. I've been watching the fry a lot since I asked for some input and so far nothing, none are scratching. Haven't medicared yet, but I doubled the WC's and fed less. So far so good, I'll stay vigilant and keep you posted as they grow out. Thanks Again: Sincerely, (Discus Devil)

[PARCS46]

Hi Al: Update on RL Tykes. It's been almost two weeks now since the one, (now ten wk.old Red Leopard tyke) was scratchting. Looks like you were right on w/input, lots of WC's. Been observing very close and every thing is normal. NO scratching has been seen since, and there growing out nicely, almost the size of a halfdollar. I pull half-tank three times daily and replace with straight tap water treated with conditioner, removing clorine plus detoxes heavy metal traces,also breaks the cloramine bond. I develpoe a slight ammonia trace 0.25ppm between WC's that should diminish as bacteria builds. As soon as I can get some pics loaded I'll post them. Thanks Again For Your Help: Sincerely, ;D ;D (Discus Devil)

[brewmaster15]

Great News DD !


Take care,
-al