Re: New Heckels...what to do?
) so these guys may go in there instead. The 85gal tank will be using a sump filter (which I've read is more suitable due to its wet/dry nature compared to canister) and will be having fine river sand, hanging branches and possibly leaf litter.
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Just a small clarification about what I said earlier in this thread about the ease of keeping Heckels or more to the point, the acclimation of newly imported Heckels.Originally Posted by Moon
I told ilumnae that his Heckels were much easier to acclimate and hardier than his newly imported P. altum angelfish. Altums have broken many more hearts of their would be keepers. maybe because they are intrinsically more delicate than any wild discus or that those involved with collecting and selling wild discus have got their techniques down better. Maybe a little of both.
I rate newly imported Heckels the least hardy, then Greens and S. haraldi seems the most adaptable in all respects.
I used to use chloramphenicol for the treatment of bacterial diseases in wild discus but This drug has not been available in water soluble capsules for several decades in the USA. It is an extremely potent antibiotic. FDA now only allows the intravenous form to be used as a drug of last resort because about 1:40,000 patients treated with chloramphenicol develop irreversible and usually fatal aplastic aenemia.
It has been pointed out to me by a knowledgeable colleague that Nalidixic Acid may be a suitable substitute but I have not had the occasion to try it and form an opinion. If it is very similar to chloramphenicol it would lack the nasty habit of rapidly breaking down in water like tetracyclines do. tetracycline has been so over used by the ornamental tropical fish trade that it no longer works on many diseases on which it formally was effective.
Nalidixic Acid can be purchased by prescription through a vet; maybe even OTC.
With regard to the inclusion of vegetable or fruit matter in the diet of Heckels in aquariums they seem very fickle. Some specimens will sample those foods but mine have never been enthusiastic about fruits and vegetables. Still, I believe they should receive some and I accomplish it in a few ways. I add 1/2 tsp of Spirulina powder and a few sheets of the dried green seaweed sold for feeding reef fish/cup of beef heart blend during formulation.
I also add about 1/2 tsp of CyclopEeze/cup at the same time. Heckels and other wild discus that have become used to eating earth worm sticks will usually accept Spirulina sticks.
I only feed Heckels my beef heart blend a few times a week. I tend to feed it more often whenever I'm out of live black worms. Even the Earth Worm Sticks contain a percentage of Spirulina. These 2 stick foods may contain a small amount of kaolin, a naturally occurring clay mineral that many creatures actively seek out. I think it is a portion of the inert binder but it is a fact, based on the stomach content analysis of wild discus, that some mineral grains are present. These are some of the reasons I encourage the inclusion of these foods as part of any balanced diet for both wild and domestic discus. If introduced to the stick foods early in life, domestic discus become rather fond of these foods and it seems to contribute to good growth and color development. They are not very expensive foods since they were originally developed for commercial aquaculture application; primarily as breeder conditioning foods. Expensive as aquaculture foods go but cheap as tropical aquarium fish foods.
The way the stick foods slowly soften and lie on the bottom suits the way discus like to continuously feed. I have safely fed portions of a size large enough to take the discus several hours to consume. The exact amount to feed must be based on your own empirical experience. Having a nonliving food that lends itself so well to the slow grazing habits of discus is very helpful. My Heckels and Blues will sift the sand substrate in their tanks until they find nearly all these foods. I is a happy circumstance that the various Hypancistrus and Peckoltia spp of plecos I keep and breed are also kept with Discus and they will find any food from the softened sticks that the discus may miss.
My heckels are doing very well now. I think you're right in that the 1st batch wasn't all that stable. They touched down in Singapore on Friday night, went straight to the LFS on saturday morning and I bagged them home on sunday afternoon. I was too anxious to grab the nice ones and let my eagerness override my good sense. That being said, I'm quite glad I took my time (over an hour) to observe the fish and pick only the best ones...I think that helped me not lose the entire batch but only 1 piece from that batch.
