Hidan's Discus Journey

Will be Discus(ing) by first time experience of keeping Discus.

Its been a blast and surprisingly I have not gone nuts with the change from weekly water changes to daily water changes. Discus already seem to have put on size and given I didn't really go for the top of the line fish, I have been very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the fish, their excellent personality (they are anything but scared, though they do spook easily but come right back to the front) and most importantly the kind words about them from more experienced Discus keepers like you guys.

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Glad to see you entered! I am definitely looking forward to reading your adventure here as a first time keeper. Whats strains do you have going there? Those yellows are nice, especially the 3rd one back. I would be interested in what you feed too.

Good luck!!

al

You have some very nice fish there.

Oh my gosh Hiden, I love your fish. What are they? The only one I’m sure of is the Blue Diamond. Your water is so clear and your fish look very happy.
Patty

Very nice! Looking good!

I have 3 Golden Melons, 3 Brown San Merah, 2 Blue Diamonds (one light blue and one dark blue) & 3 Blue Cobalts (who have now suddenly started to look stunning) & one Tiger Turquoise. The breed names are as per what the breeder told me.

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Those yellows are nice, especially the 3rd one back

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One of the golden melons is pure yellow and quite the crowd pleaser as many pick him as their favorite when they see the tank or the pics. One has a little spotting, hoping that clears up and the last guy has an orange hew on his fins, which makes him quite cool and very different from the other two.

In addition I have this GBR who is absolutely adorable.
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Can never get a great pic of him as he wont stop moving, so every pic comes out blurred.

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I would be interested in what you feed too.

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I am currently feeding a beef heart mix. Its a very basic mix that just contains heart, garlic, spinach and peas and some yellow bell pepers (have a lots of yellows and reds .

Had to make a batch urgently as the Discus refused to eat any pellets and I was getting worried. Will try and add some prawns and maybe a fish (If I can find a decent one) to the next batch.
Getting my hands on the fish is becoming a bit tricky as the commonly used one's in Europe and US aren't commonly available here and hence have to ensure I don't end up with a stale fish, which would probably cause more harm than good.

I just noticed today that my Blue Diamond suddenly has what looks like an injury and that has me concerned.

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He is the runt of the litter and does get bullied by the tank boss as well as others, but not anymore than any other discus, but this is the first time I have seen an obvious injury.
It doesn't seem to have affected him in any way as he still came out to eat and it doesn't look like it is affecting him in any way.

Can someone more experience confirm if its not a big deal or whether this guy needs any sort of seclusion or special treatment or this is normal and he will recover shortly?

It looks like he may have gotten startled and gashed his flank on the wood. Perhaps a little added sea salt will help him heal up quickly...

Hi Hidan, can you provide a better picture of the affected fish. Does it look like it rubbed against something? I think salt might be helpful also.
Pat

Will try, but it is a bit difficult to do as he prefers displaying the other side of his body when he comes close to the tank.

I was informed my Dwarf Gourami is sporting a similar wound, so I am wondering if it is one of the Discus getting too aggressive.
Will see if I can get good pics when I get home.

However if it is a discus getting extra aggressive, is there anything I can do to calm him down?

The blue diamond has healed up well, so hopefully it was just a scratch from the wood. That being said my dwarf gourami had a large wound on his body, though he behaved like it was nothing and nobody seemed to be bothering him, so I didn't do anything.
He was fine for a week or so, coming to eat and swimming along as enthusiastically as ever, then suddenly was on the bottom of the tank one evening and passed away by the next morning. I QT'd him and put in some meds, but was too late.
Feel terrible that I didn't act earlier as early meds and QT might have helped him recover.

I then ran into the problem with my Tiger Turquoise not eating for 2 days and then I noticed he had white poop. After some advise, I QT'd him. I knew I had to put in metro, but we don't get fish specific metro here, so had to pick up tabs from the pharmacy. Then came the issue about dosage, so called up the breeder who I bought my fish from and dosed according to his instructions.
Today will be the third day he is in QT with Metro and I am clueless how to tell if he is cured or not. The Discus seems more active yesterday, so will try and feed him today and see if he accepts food. Its a huge learning experience for me and this experience should aid me in the future.

Been an interesting time for me as I even sat with an Electronics Engineer friend of mine to get help designing my tank light, which was quite hilarious. Unfortunately work has been hell and I have had little to no time to take pics and post about my tank.

Sorry to hear about your loss and hope things will be better for your discus. I have similar situation like your tank. The best I did for my tank is keep temperature at constant 85 degree or higher. Slowly treat with salt and Pemafix medication. Here is a picture back in Nember 2017. Good luck with your tank!Attachment 116354now it is all good.Attachment 116355June 2018

This discus of your reminds me of one of my Golden Melons. He doesn't look as red in the photos but looks very similar to this one in person.

Well I added the QT'd discus back to the main tank and he seems to be doing fine now. Still is a bit skittish, but at least he is now coming to eat, though he still isn't as aggressive an eater as he once was, but it is nice to him him roaming with the others and trying to eat instead of constantly hiding.

Considering treating the main tank with a dose of epsom salt to try and clean the digestion systems of the discus as well as tetras. But once again I am not sure of the dose or if it is a good idea. Maybe you guys can give me some advise.

Will try and get some new pics and post them on Monday. Will also try and write somethings about my experience and other challenges on Moday as hopefully will have some time then.