How to treat new arrivals

[phalough]

I am going to the pet store to buy more discus when I get paid, so please give me advice on the how to treat in my quarintine tank to give a good chance that when I introduce them into my main tank I'll be ok for the most part that is as nothing is guarenteed. I guess I'll treat for flukes, hex, worms, external parasites, and what else and what order please let me know guys.

[marilyn1998]

I wouldnt treat them if they arent showing any signs of disease. IF they are, DONT BUY THEM!

Overuse of antibiotics runs the risk of causing the diseases to become resistant to them.

Also, I would reconsider buying from a LFS. Go to the itrader section here, and to the sponsors and buy from them. I have yet to see a sick or bad discus from a sponsor here. However, from the LFS or some other online sellers I have yet to see a discus that is in great shape.

I would QT in the same water as the main tank for 4-6 weeks. IF they show no signs of disease, then mix em in!

Even tho you are paying the cost of one discus for shipping, in the long run buying GUARANTEED healthy and Grade 1 stock from someone that comes recommended is cheaper than taking your chances on the LFS lottery. I love my LFS, but even they agree their discus are inferior to locally bred.
Good Luck!

[1977]

Please do yourself a favor and buy your discus from someone here on simply. I know that you'll pay a lot more with shipping but trust me, it is worth saving a little longer and getting some quality healthy fish. Unless it is an extremely unusual lfs than those discus are stunted and sick! Get some quality fish(6 or more) and put them in a smaller tank so they will feel secure and do lots of wc and feedings and you should be fine. In a good situation you shouldn't have to treat for anything, just keep your eyes open! It's a good idea to have some live blackworms ready for their first week or 2 also just to make sure they are eating, just my opinion from my experience.

[diablocanine]

I am going to the pet store to buy more discus when I get paid, so please give me advice on the how to treat in my quarintine tank to give a good chance that when I introduce them into my main tank I'll be ok for the most part that is as nothing is guarenteed. I guess I'll treat for flukes, hex, worms, external parasites, and what else and what order please let me know guys.

Part of your post is a great idea, this part, "buy more discus when I get paid". IMO, the above advice will save you a lot of money and heartache in the short run. You may have an excellent LFS with quality Discus, but I say the odds are stacked way against that. Better to leave the conditioning of the fish to experts and concentrate your efforts on providing a proper environment for healthy fish. Read this thread if you are not yet convinced http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/30744-discus-fin-rot-not-please-help.html . Try a post in the "Hey I am looking for" section and see what happens or peruse The Marketplace......DC

[brewmaster15]

Once upon a time two friends fell ill with a terrible disease....Discus fever.. The illness is uncurable but its symptoms are eased with the purchase of new discus.

The two friends had their own ways of getting that discus fix...one went to a well known Discus forum, SIMPLYDISCUS.COM ,met lots of people and found many that sold very good and healthy stock....This man enjoyed being sick with the fever greatly.

The other was not as worldly a man and chose to buy his discus down the street from a LFS that had the discus in central system, at temps suitable for goldfish....The fish were black and stressed out because everyweek the LFS brought in shipments of tropical fish from the wholesaler down the street from them...the poor discus were exposed to every illness possible. But still the hobbyist bought his discus there.... and was miserable being sick with the fever... He was not enjoying it at all as his fish were in failing health and always sick.....To make matters worse, his friend had the most beautiful fish and since he was not buying many medications,...he could buy more healthy fish.

The moral of the story.... If you are going to be sick with discus fever... at least enjoy it...buy something good from a reputable source for Discus ( not fish in general).

HTH,
al

[phalough]

Ok, guys I am going to continue to save and purchase my fish through the site. And I guess that I will observe the fish for a few weeks and if nothing is wrong I will just place them in my tank without treating for anything. I understand treating for something that doesn't exist can be stressful but i also thought it would be a good preventative just to be extra safe. I guess I was wrong.

[BIGFOOT]

I was very worried about buying Discus from any site butt I am glad I took a chance and bought from this one.

[greyhoundfan]

I was very worried about buying Discus from any site butt I am glad I took a chance and bought from this one.

Me too.. I just bought some WebSnakes from Dan at Gulfcoast. Happy with the fish. They look better in person than the pics. of them on the site. They were pretty nice pics too.

[April]

have a read in the disease section..on marie has done it now..its a great information thread..unfortuneately at maries expense and tears. but..its good to see how easy a disaster can happen. its not just to marie..it happens all the time to many people. hence the concerned posts.
its like russian roulette. once..good..twice..ok..third or fourth..or first time..wham..disaster. not just for the new fish..but for your other discus at home that you spent alot of time caring for.
just a side note..it may not have been the lfs fish that caused her problems..but you can see how bad the fish became in a very short time. its devastating and it makes you want to throw the towel in. not worth it.
there might be a homebreeder in your neighbourhood.you can usually get quality homebreds far cheaper than the prices at a lfs. ask in the im looking for section or the sponsors section. : )