DISEASE PREVENTION

[JIM G]

JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME SOME ADVISE?ONE OF MY COBALTS IS NOT EATING AND HANGING AROUND THE TOP OF THE TANK.I AM TREATING WITH METRO AT THIS TIME.ITS A 46 GALLON BB TANK WITH 3 OTHER 3 TO 4 INCH DISCUS IN IT.I CHANGE A THIRD OF THE TANK WATER EVERY OTHER DAY.PH 7.0, NO AMMONIA,NO NITRITES,VERY LITTLE NITRATES.I FEED TETRA BITS,CICHLID FLAKES 3 TIMES A DAY.I HAVE A MARINELAND BIO WHEEL400,AN AQUA CLEAR 70,AND A SPONGE FILTER RUNNING THE TANK AT THIS TIME.THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF WHY MY COBALT IS SICK IS MAYBE FROM FROZEN HAKARI BLOODWORMS I SOMETIMES FEED MY DISCUS.WHAT I AM WONDERING IS,IF THERE IS SOME KIND OF MONTHLY TREATMENT I CAN PUT IN THE TANK TO MAKE IT LESS PRONE TO DISEASE?DOES ANYONE TREAT FOR PARASITES OR WORMS ON A MONTHLY BASIS WHETHER ITS NEEDED OR NOT? GOT MY TANK RUNNING REAL GOOD AND THEN THIS HAPPENS.ANY ADVISE WOULD BE APPRECIATED THANKS JIM.

[Graham]

Hi, Would you take drugs or chems on a monthly basis just in case you might get sick or would you live a healthy life style (water), live in a good clean area (filters) and eat a decent diet...(salads/beef heart and not Mc D's)

Get my point...don't use drugs or chems unless really needed:)

[JIM G]

THANKS GRAHAM,I KNOW YOUR RIGHT BUT I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW MY DISCUS GOT SICK.I GUESS I'LL STOP GIVING FROZEN BLOODWORMS.BUT ON THE OTHER HAND I DO GET FLU SHOTS EVERY YEAR JUST FOR PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.(COULD'NT RESIST,SORRY)

[mikel]

I dont think the Hikari blood worm would be the culprit. I know their quality is very high, and they get rid of any parasite before freezing. It's my group's mainstay diet. It's something else. Would you add some aquarium salt...like 2 oz per 10 gallon to start and see if it responds. Good salt stimulate gill function and slime production, and unfriendly to all sorts of parasites. More experienced people will come by. Best of luck to your fish. mike

[Ardan]

What is the temp?
I would raise it to over 90F.
Or if this discus gets picked on move it to another tank.

I keep my discus tanks around 86F.

hth
Ardan

[Graham]

THANKS GRAHAM,I KNOW YOUR RIGHT BUT I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW MY DISCUS GOT SICK.I GUESS I'LL STOP GIVING FROZEN BLOODWORMS.BUT ON THE OTHER HAND I DO GET FLU SHOTS EVERY YEAR JUST FOR PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.(COULD'NT RESIST,SORRY)


Ya but the flu shot is a little dose of the disease, not a little dose of the antibiotic that kills the disease;)

[JIM G]

RIGHT AGAIN GRAHAM.I KEEP MY TEMP.AT 88 DEGREES,TRIED USING SOME KOSHER NONIODIZED SALT LAST WEEK BUT DID'NT DO ANYTHING.I AM USING HEX OUT(1 TABLET PER 10 GALLONS,DISOLVED)THEN AGAIN MAYBE I SHOULD JUST CHANGE MY WATER EVERYDAY,THAT HELPED ME SOLVE THE LAST PROBLEM I HAD ABOUT A MONTH AGO.I'LL GO 2 MORE DAYS WITH THE TREATMENT THEN WATER CHANGE EVERYDAY FOR A WEEK

[Kindredspirit]

THEN AGAIN MAYBE I SHOULD JUST CHANGE MY WATER EVERYDAY,THAT HELPED ME SOLVE THE LAST PROBLEM

That'll work:) You should do wc every day anyways ~ Best prophylactic treatment ever made:D

[Don Trinko]

Blood worms are my fish's favorite. If the fish won't eat I would try blood worms or CBW if you can get them. Discus do seem to get sick more often than most other fish. I have 3 tanks with discus. All 3 have the same bioload and the same wc schedule. One tank has never had any sickness or meds at all. Onr tank I had to treat for flukes and the third tank I had to treat for worms. Most other tropical fish either get ick or die for unknown reasons. I guess we are lucky that discus show sighns of sickness and give us time to react.
One thing I have learned on this site is to listen to Graham. He and several others always give good advice. Don T.

[JIM G]

I AGREE, GRAHAM,AMONG OTHERS HAVE GIVEN ME ADVICE IN THE PAST.ALWAYS RIGHT ON TARGET THANKS TO ALL.