Why their gills open very much ???

[FUNNYBONE]

Hi all,
I have 8 discus. They look very good when I buy them. They are about 2 inches.
Untill now they grow up fast and they look healthy. Every day I feed them with bloodworm 6 times and I change my water about 50%.
My pH is usually at 6.0 and I can't know how much my hardness (I can't find a hardness test kit in any fish store here)
I store water in another tank and filter it with active coal 24h before using.
I notice that 2 of them has gills that open too much and they look urgly.
Can you tell me why ? How to make them to normal ?
Thanks a lot.
:)

[Howie_W]

Hi Funnybone...welcome to the forum! :)

You don't mention what size tank you have, and how it's being filtered. I'm not sure what "urgly" means...do they look like they're gasping for breath and hovering near the top of the tank? Make sure there is a good flow of oxygen in the tank, sponges and filters are being cleaned regulary and the inside walls of the tank wiped down with white paper towel. Also not sure how much carbon your using in your storage tank, but it's not advisable for regular use in your water.

Are you feeding them strictly bloodworms?...Discus need a balanced diet of protein and fibre to grow properly.

Test kits...here in the U.S., Drsfostersmith.com and petsolutions.com both carry the complete line of test kits...you need to be able to test for ammonia, and nitrates as well.

Howie

[Carol_Roberts]

I also suggest you feed a good flake or pellet daily.

If you have lots of fish in your tank they could breath hard from lack of oxygen, ammonia in the water, gill flukes or bacterial gill infection.

How many gallons of water does your tank contain?
How big are the fish and how many are in the tank?
How long have you had them - is the filter fully cycled?

If gill flukes/bacterial infection then formalin or quick cure may helpl

[FUNNYBONE]

Thanks Howie_W and Carol very much ! ;)
My tanks contains 24 gallons and the filter below is my product (I myself made it). I think my filter works well because the tank is always clean.
My discus is about 2 inches. I have 8 (10 days ago).
I use well-water and its pH is always 6.0 (is this pH suitable for 2” discus ?)
They are not gasping for breath and hovering near the top of the tank, they grows up normally but I notice some of them like to rub to the tank wall (Carol, are they attacked by gill flukes ? How to treat them with formanlin ?)
How about active coal ? I use a little in the filter. Is it not good for filtering water daily Howie _W ? Can you tell me why ?

Thanks again. ;D

[FUNNYBONE]

my filter here !

[FUNNYBONE]

Sorry, I can't post it :-\

[Carol_Roberts]

This thread tellsyou how to use formalin for gill flukes or bacterial disease
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=16348

If the pH of your change water and tank water is both the same it is fine.

[aggie_67]

May be describing "shorten" gill plates. Not sure if I am using the right term but one of my fish has one gill that really sticks out and the plate is too short. Think he breaths heavy because the gill plate isn't working right, should he be culled?

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't have room to keep discus with permanent flaws. . . .

[FUNNYBONE]

Thanks Carol very much ! ;D

[Howie_W]

Thanks Howie_W and Carol very much ! ;)
My tanks contains 24 gallons and the filter below is my product (I myself made it). I think my filter works well because the tank is always clean.
My discus is about 2 inches. I have 8 (10 days ago).
I use well-water and its pH is always 6.0 (is this pH suitable for 2” discus ?)

How about active coal ? I use a little in the filter. Is it not good for filtering water daily Howie _W ? Can you tell me why ?

Thanks again. ;D



Hi Funnybone,

Your tank is very small for housing Discus. At 2" you're okay for a short while, but you'll soon need to transfer to a bigger tank...use the 10 gallon per fish rule as an aproximation.

Regarding the actice coal/carbon...carbon is great for removing impurities from your tank. It's good to have on hand for removing medications from your tank once your done treating your fish. The problem is that it's not good for longterm use for several reasons; It removes almost everything from the water, including beneficial nutrients and minerals. At the same time, ac has a short life span and will lose it's potency in a relatively short period. In the long run it has the potential to make the water worse not better.

HTH

Howie

[FUNNYBONE]

Thanks Howie_W ! ;D
You are very kind of me, thanks alot. ;)
I thinks you are right :D
I will post my discus pics next time. I hope you will help me know more about them.
;D ;D ;D

[FUNNYBONE]

My discus here !!! ;)

[FUNNYBONE]

I can't post any photo ;D
I don't know why :-\

[Carol_Roberts]

Go to the photo section th read about posting photos. Does your picture have a .jpg ending?

[oodi]

FUNNYBONE,

What error message are you getting when you try to post photos?

Judi
:)

[FUNNYBONE]

Thanks Carol very much !!! :)
I have used formalin for my tank, so my discus looks better today.
But can you tell me the formalin concentration to use ? I have a bottle of formalin 34%~38% (printed in the label)
;D

[FUNNYBONE]

P/S : I have posted my discus pics in the Photo Gallery !!! :)

[oodi]

Funnybone,

This link will tell you how much formalin to use:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=16348

Judi
:)

[Carol_Roberts]

My bottle of formalin says 37%

[FUNNYBONE]

;) ;) ;)
Thank you !!!
;D