New to Discus, Just bought fish, HIH Problem!

[chewy7]

hi,
this is my first time keeping discus and i read threw the forum on all the good tips! but the guy i bought mine of didnt have good lighting, so i didnt notice the holes in the head. i bought them about 5hrs ago and now i notice this problem. how do i go about treating it? or do i just return it to the guy? i paid a lot of money and got 8 of them at 4-5cm.

any help is much appreciated.
thanks
shane

[April]

hi. are they holes as in pot holes? and sporadic. as they do have two holes..as nostrils...
not sure what you can do. guess you could call him and say they have holes...obviously didnt get there in a few hours...
but if you chose them...then he may say you chose those ones.
good luck. let us know how it goes.
and welcome to the forum.
stick around.

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus have nostrils or sensory organs on their face. Look at the pits . . . are they in about the same place on each side of the head? If yes, that is normal.

How old are your discus? If they are juveniles a few months old it isn't hith. If they are adults, they are stunted and it most likely is hith - if thats the case take them back.

[chewy7]

hi all,
thank you so much for the quick replys. do they have 8 nostrals? they are about 5-8cm in size. do they get hole in the head about that size? the breeder picked them out for me as i have no idea what to choose. i have 2X Marlboro reds, 2X Ocean Green, 2 X Turqoise, 2X Browns.

thanks,
shane

[chewy7]

here are some pics of the discus,
Thanks

[chewy7]

some more pics

[chewy7]

more

[chewy7]

hiya,
thought i might post some more info, im only new to this and sold all my frontosa to get this setup. its a 6X2X2 with a trickle filter, there are 8 small discus in there(would like some more ???) and i am hoping to get some white gravel and plants soon.
and just wondering, how long to discus live for? and how long does it take to get them to full size?

thanks
shane.

[Carol_Roberts]

You don't have any good head shots, but they look perfectly healthy to me - especially since you just brought them home today. They appear well fed with fins in good shape.

I'm glad that you are looking so closely at your discus and asking questions. That how you learn what's normal and what's not.
:thumbsup:

[Carol_Roberts]

It takes 6 - 12 months to grow them out. Save yourself a lot of headaches and don't add the gravel and plants until they've reached adult size. They can live a long time, 10 years or so.

[chewy7]

Hi Carol,
thanks for the info, much appreciated, i will try and get some head shots, its so hard to get them, they move all over the place, oh and can you keep bristlenose with them? i noticed the discus attack the bristlenose which is a good 6cm.

thanks
shane.

[Jeff]

Shane,

If you have hith it is easily cured with good nutrition. Htih is a vitamin deficiency. So some good food and 3-4 weeks and it will clear up. :)

[chewy7]

hi,
what kind of food would you suggest?

thanks
shane

[Jeff]

Shane,

I use Ocean Nutrition Formula one and two.

[ari_wh]

Unfortunately Jeff... I have never seen Ocean Nutrition Formula here in Oz :(, which is a pity since I heard they are really good food.

Shane,
I feed my discus hikari frozen bloodworm, hikari frozen brine shrimp, beefheart (if I feel like making it), tetra bits... and they are well and healthy. I think I know where you get your discus from... and I have seen his stocks and they look healthy when I was there.... so keep up the feeding and wc, and they should be fine.

Regards, Ari :)

[April]

oh...so another brisbanite eh? great.
their gonna take over. a few on this forum....
be sure to go check out the aussie aussie aussie 1 and 2 post...in locator section.
your fish look like their settling fine. be sure to ask as many questions as needed.

[chewy7]

hi all,
thanks for the advice,
do bristlenose catfish go ok with discus? as i have noticed that the discus continually attack the bristlenose. and can you feed your discus too much bloodworms? i have got some of the hikari stuff from annerly aquariums. they seem to like it.


thanks again,
shane.

[chewy7]

Hi Ari,
do you know where i can get some more small discus around the brisbane area? i only have 8 small ones in a 6X2X2 tank. looking for some more, dont mind about colour, any would do.

thanks
shane

[April]

Bristlenoses do well with discus. they might think his little bristles are yummy worms? they may leave him be soon.
i had one with spots...and other fish kept pecking them. thought the spots were food.
Make sure you quarantine though..if you get more fish from another source. But Ari does knows all the discus people. ;D

[ari_wh]

Shane,
Bloodworm are good to feed discus.. and so far I have never fed too much bloodworm to my discus... They always seem to clean up all the food that I give them very well :).

I always have bristlenoses in all my discus tank, except for baby and breeding pair tanks. They help me control the algae in the tanks and they don't seem to worry the discus too much. So, April is right... they will leave the bristlenoses alone soon enough. I don't think they are a good food source.... little cardinal tetras, on the other hand.... are a different story.. >:(.

At the moment, I know some people having a few batch of fry, but some not ready yet. Jamie might have some babies.... but I think he is in the middle of moving at the moment.... and he is in Sunshine Coast too.... or you can call or e-mail Rod. Just ask him directly what he has. I haven't been to his place for a while, so can't tell you exactly what he has.... IM me if you want to know his number or e-mail address. Or you can go to Aussie Aussie Aussie threat.... we all hang out down there.... :)

Me?? I have a few babies... but they are only tiny now... not ready to sell and I have to do some culling as well before I do sell them.

I guess 6x2x2 is a bit big for 8 little discus.... Do you have smaller tanks you can put them in first??

April,
No... I don't know all the discus people.....lol. There are a few new ones that I haven't met yet... but I am getting there ;D ;D.

Regards, Ari :)