appearance...

[Krelean]

Lets see, how do I word this? How does the discus body evolve as it grows? I've attached a few pics of the ones I just bought. I'm assuming they are far inferior in quality to some of what you are accustomed to having, but overall at 3.5 inches how do they really look from a "senior" discus owners perspective?
Will their snouts round out more and is this just how little juvi's look?

Any feedback on their appearance is appreciated. The fish are from Hans.

I'm very new to photography, so these photos are the best I could get :) Also, I've only had the fish a few days.

[RWD HERO]

They look beautiful to me.

[William Palumbo]

Did you get those directly from Hans, or thru a LFS that he sells to?...Bill

[Melissa]

They're pretty cute looking pups! They look young to me.
As they grow a little older you will see them round out a little more (hopefully) and they will lose that footballish shape, their mouth/nose area wont be so pointy either. You never know what you're going to get when you buy a young discus... They already look so beautiful. I love the colors and patterns on these little ones. Thats another thing that evolves as a discus grows older... As babies they have virtually no pattern and it develops as they get older.

If you provide them with clean water and a quality diet they may grow up to be some real killer discus someday! The important thing is the water and food thing if you want them to grow out. Poor water quality and poor diet = stunted discus. A stunted discus will never grow to it's full potential. The body will stay small but you will see the eyes grow larger which is the tale tell sign of a stunted fish... You always look at the eyes. Some experts on here can look at a discus and judging by its eye size in relation to it's body they can tell you if it's probably stunted...
Just all of the information I could think of pertaining to your question. I hope that helps!

[Melissa]

Oh... In picture one it is a Blue Diamond, picture two looks like a Red Turquoise, and picture three is some kind of Snake Skin :) as you can see in picture two the little guy is showing his "stress bars"... I count 9 or 10 which is just normal... But the little guy in picture three has 14 bars. A 14 bar discus is referred to as a snake skin.
When you are dealing with smaller/young discus... It is also advisable to keep them in groups of 6 or more so they feel safe and secure.

Ok... I think I'm done lol :)

[Krelean]

@ discusmama you are absolutely correct on the types. red turq, blue diamond, and a flachen snakeskin. i also have a blue turq and blue snakeskin. I have 5 total. thank you thus far for all the help and info. i'm excited. i am feeding blood worm, beefheart and emerald entree with sera flakes. my water is close to perfect, i'm working on getting my nitrates below 10, they are at 20 right now.

[Melissa]

Excellent! Sounds like you've got everything under control! :)

As they grow you should post some update pics along the way! It's always so cool to see the transformation!
Best of luck with your new pups.

Btw, I love your avatar!

[Krelean]

Did you get those directly from Hans, or thru a LFS that he sells to?...Bill

LFS who buys only from Hans

[Eddie]

They look a bit set back. The dark eyes lead me to some possible problems, water or internal issues.


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[Krelean]

They look a bit set back. The dark eyes lead me to some possible problems, water or internal issues.


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I think this may be from my camera, I'm not used to taking water shots and just learning how to use my Cannon t2i. Their eyes are red/black striped in different lights in my tank. I'm going to do an API General Cure treatment on them next week just to be safe....thoughts? I've only had the fish a few days.

[Eddie]

I would deworm them.


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[Krelean]

I would deworm them.


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General Cure will take care that, yes? It's an anti-parasite fish medication-treats flukes, velvet, hole in the head, anchor worm and lice. (i'm sure you know that tho)

[William Palumbo]

De-worming is done internally with different types of meds like, Metro, Prazi, Flubendazole, also in medicated flake foods. GC is mainly for external...Bill

[Eddie]

General Cure will take care that, yes? It's an anti-parasite fish medication-treats flukes, velvet, hole in the head, anchor worm and lice. (i'm sure you know that tho)

Basically what bill mentioned. You want levamisole for a bath or fenbendazole flake.


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[Krelean]

De-worming is done internally with different types of meds like, Metro, Prazi, Flubendazole, also in medicated flake foods. GC is mainly for external...Bill

General Cure is 250mg Metronidazole and 75mg Praziquantel, isn't that the same as you listed?

[William Palumbo]

My fault...was thinking Quick Cure...Bill

[Melissa]

If I were you, I would stick with levamisole to deworm them. It's pretty safe stuff and some people use it on a schedule to clean out their fish every once in a while. Kind of like you worm other pets like dogs and cats.... You can find it sold by one of our sponsors here:

http://www.igopro-online.com/Vermisol-100-Grams-p/vermis100.htm

Sometimes if a fish looks a bit 'set back' in size or development, the problem may lie internally if they have a worm problem... When they're seemingly eating well, worms can keep them from absorbing everything they need to grow properly, thus giving a fish with worm problems a stunted or set back appearance.

A word of advice on the 'routine' use of other medications "just because"..... I don't recommend treating them with anything else at this point unless they're showing signs or symptoms of being Ill. Sometimes certain medications when not used properly can do more harm than good. Medicating your fish should always be done very carefully and with good cause! The number one mistake most new discus keepers make is over using medications! If it ain't broke don't fix it! :)

[Krelean]

Thank you for the suggestion to run a cycle of medication. I did the first part of the medication yesterday and I am already seeing a tremendous improvement in my first purchased discus that was by itself for 9 weeks. Baby blue is swimming around with the others a bit more finally.