Potassium Permanganate use affects fish deaths from Pathogenic bacterial infection

[brewmaster15]

Whats really sad for me is that Discus have this reputation of being a weak fish and difficult fish. It actually deters hobbyists from keeping them. But the reality isnt that discus are weak.. its thats theres so much bad advice out there that discus do get stressed, get sick and die prematurely. It not the fault of the fish..its the fault of the hobbyist.

[Discus Fever]

Scott, though you are right about not dosing by the color and the need to dose precisely and the use of stock solutions...

This maybe that chemists opinion...but its definitely not fact. This article clearly shows that treating your fish with PP has a measurable negative effect.

The problem is no one has studied the effects of of long term pp use. Almost all research on it has been done in commercial hatcheries where the goal is not the longevity or long term health of the fish ..its the best methods to turn over a population of fish quickly and profitably.


Its much like how it used to be ok for decades for the poultry industry to use antibiotics prophylactically on chickens.. It did no harm... right? Wrong. It just was more profitable to use it.

We see similar with antibiotics in fish .. there are still discus keepers that routinely use antibiotics as a prophylactic even if the fish are not sick... foolishness at its worst.



I have said it before.. there is no point to using pp regularly and its not needed if you deal with the issues that made you rely on it in the first place. Proper husbandry is the solution.. not throwing caustic chemicals at discus.

I totally agree with you I was just making a point that if you do use it make sure you know how much to use, I never use it unless I have to.

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Scott. Not trying to come across as antagonistic here but I really can not stand to see hobbyists harm their fish when its really not necessary. I also honestly feel we have a responsibility to care for these fish using the best husbandry we can.. its the very purpose of this forum..