Question regarding Potassium Permanganate

[discus2501]

Also the driftwood has a weird smell. Usually they smell earthy and rainy. This one smells like it can be used to make herbal medicines.

[Second Hand Pat]

I would never use PP as a "pick me up". Overtime it can burn the gills and it is super easy to misuse. I have seem importers suggest using PP once a month. My guess they are using it to prevent cross contamination as they are adding new fish to their stock (and perhaps the fish are on a central system). If your fish seem off, the best preventative is clean water. Just because it's "all over the internet" doesn't make it right.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

On the other hand, potassium permanganate is recommended all over the internet. Even some aquatic vets recommend it but not more than once a week. Many discus breeders all over the world use it every week or once every 2 weeks. So why do so many recommend it?

Honestly .. because people are impressionable by social media and often cant be bothered to look at the science behind the claims and advice they get.

Just because an exporter uses PP regularly to make his fish look and act good doesnt mean its good for the long term health of the fish.. they are doing it because it helps their bottom line. Ask yourself this simple question ... if pp treatments were really so effective at treating bacterial and parasite infections why the heck would you need to do these treatments weekly or bi weekly or monthly. .. its because they arent treating the problem.. they are masking it. Then once the fish is sold..the problem is someone elses. Using pp all the time just means they dont have to actually figure out what the issue is... just burn every thing... including delicate gill tissues .

If your fish perk up so much after treating with pp.. I suggest the problem is probably a chemical or substance in your water that the pp is reacting to.

Ultimately its your choice whether you believe all the pp hype out there in social media and treat your fish regularly and needlessly with a caustic chemical. It seems you are very torn by conflicting info you have gotten here. But understand this simple fact if a fish is healthy to start with and given the proper care and husbandry it should have why would you need to treat it regularly with caustic chemicals? PP may help deal with a specific problem when used judiciously but throwing caustic chemicals into your tank just because you perceive the fish seem better after is really not good husbandry and will harm your fish in the long run. .

Good luck .. I know facts and fiction are often hard to separate but be critical of social media...especially if its by fish sellers promoting the regular use of medications and treatments... treatments should be used only to treat a problem..so ask ..what exactly is it these sellers are treating regularly?

Al

[brewmaster15]

As a ps.. I would suggest you check your HMA filter to be sure its working properly ..maybe try using something like "prime" as a test if you need to neutralize water chemical like chlorine or chloramines.

[dspeers]

Completely agree with Al, still curious what your feeding regimen is.

[AquaticNerd]

If you wanted to get to the bottom of why your fish seem to perk up after PP - I would try and eliminate as many variables as possible. My first step would be to get down to the basics of necessity for discus husbandry. Al's advice in this regard is spot on.

I too would be looking to eliminate the HMA filter as the first variable, and use something like Seachem Prime or Safe as a water conditioner. Perhaps, in conjunction with that, I would look to aging and heating the water to the same temp as they're used to, since you say your water change schedule includes going straight from the tap to the tank. This is really only possible for those who have really stable water out of the tap and don't see much of a pH swing. I could have gone straight from tap to tank since my pH swing is only .2 after 24 hours, but I still didn't want to risk it.