dprais1
01-24-2015, 09:08 PM
Purely for the sake of discussion here...
Lets say you have a nice group of small discus, say under 3.5". They are eating great, growing very well, aren't behaving abnormally. Just generally doing well.
Suppose you suspect they might have have gill flukes or worms. Maybe the breeder contacted you and told you they found some of their fish with said parasites and your fish probably have them as well. Maybe some of your other fish were found to have them. Whatever.
I've read advice on here that once you treat small fish...well that's it, they're 'ruined'. They will never reach full potential. The meds are just to hard on them and they will never fully recover from the treatment itself. They will still grow and be healthy just won't ever be great.
Obviously these fish have plenty of parasites in the wild and grow nicely.
So, what would be the best course....? Medicate now, medicate when they reach adult size, don't bother- why medicate when the parasites aren't doing any noticeable harm?
Lets say you have a nice group of small discus, say under 3.5". They are eating great, growing very well, aren't behaving abnormally. Just generally doing well.
Suppose you suspect they might have have gill flukes or worms. Maybe the breeder contacted you and told you they found some of their fish with said parasites and your fish probably have them as well. Maybe some of your other fish were found to have them. Whatever.
I've read advice on here that once you treat small fish...well that's it, they're 'ruined'. They will never reach full potential. The meds are just to hard on them and they will never fully recover from the treatment itself. They will still grow and be healthy just won't ever be great.
Obviously these fish have plenty of parasites in the wild and grow nicely.
So, what would be the best course....? Medicate now, medicate when they reach adult size, don't bother- why medicate when the parasites aren't doing any noticeable harm?