PP dip query for fry

[LizStreithorst]

I'd enjoy seeing pics, too.

[danotaylor]

Tom may I request pics of the pair and the fry? It’s always cool to see peeps are working with

[Tommy75]

Thank you! This was extremely helpful !!

[LizStreithorst]

Give the ones you're not sure on more time. Culling is an ongoing process. Faults become more obvious as they mature. Snag the ones your sure of now, and give them another look in a month.

[Tommy75]

I did treat the parents with metro and kana before the spawn and do not see any obvious signs of flukes or worms. The fry was actively going after food from about 2 weeks age. Are they still fry at 1 month Hopefully dodged a bullet!
Fry / kids come up when i approach the tank and go after granules and BH mix. I have few which are small and will try to fish them out though it will not be fun trying to net few from 80+ in the tank(took a picture to count ). I will pick out the smaller ones for now, I do not think I am a good judge of defects yet. Few are shaped v ovalish, does that count as a defect?

[LizStreithorst]

I'm not sure if month old fry would tolerate a Rid Ich treatment or not. Maybe someone else can advise on this. Flukes are usually the thing that young fry generally succumb to. They certainly will tolerate a metro treatment. It can't hurt so you might as well do it.

You said that it was the smaller fry that died so they may have had genetic defects that caused them to die. If the average size babies die, it's generally due to flukes.

As far as culling, cull the ones that are much smaller than the average fish, look for short gill plates, bent spines, and fin defects, especially in the dorsal.

Remember, we've been concentrating on problems your babies may not have. The pair might be clean and there will be no problems with illness in your fry. And if there turn out to be problems, remember that your pair has a long spawning life ahead of them.

[Tommy75]

Thank you Liz, Rid X would not have been fun for the
Unrelated and related question - i have lost 4-5 fry so far in about a month or at least that what's I saw. Mostly in last week and the ones on the smaller side. What should I watch for in the fry for 1) disease and 2) defects that calls for culling and age for culling.

[LizStreithorst]

It's easier to remove the parents from the fry than the fry from the parents. And I made a woopsie. It's Rid Ich Plus, not Rid X. Rid X is something you pour down the drain to help your septic tank!

[Tommy75]

Thank you Liz and Pat, really helpful to understand what I missed out and will do this next week as I pull the fry out. I am getting Levamisole and Rid X Plus already have metro at hand!

[LizStreithorst]

Al's advice is obviously the best, but even though I know this, I do it my way, and you did ask me. I treat for worms first using levamisole, then give the fish several days' rest. Levamisole can be hard on the fish, so if they aren't eating well or seem somehow off, wait until they are acting normally before treating for the hex. I treat for hex with metro. It is a very gentle med, but it is a 10-day process. It's so gentle that you can even use it with new free swimmers in the tank if you need to. Don't follow label directions; that lower dose no longer works for Discus. Dose at 500 mg of pure metro per 10 gallons of water for 10 days. Pure metro is available from Jehmco. I give the fish an other 3 days rest then treat for flukes with Rid Ich Plus. It contains formalin and malachite green which work synergistically.

Before the next spawn, unless I see symptoms of hex or worms, I treat for flukes, which are nearly impossible to eradicate. If you ever see your fish flashing against objects, a treatment is called for.

All that being said, I have not brought in new fish for years. I even think that I have conquered gill flukes. The lesson is, buy the fish you think are the best of the strain you like best, clean them up well, and you won't have to treat at all. Just watch your fish carefully, and if you see something off, jump on it.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Tommy and congrats on your fry. Most of us "clean up" the parents so you never have to worry about having disease issues with the fry. Many of us use Al's quarantine process. Al owns this place and has many years of discus keeping and breeding. Here's is his quarantine thread https://forum.simplydiscus.com/forum...tine-procedure.
hth's
Pat

[Tommy75]

I got this pair from one of the breeders here and unfortunately got them sick showing signs of not eating flashing in the tank. I did treat them with metro followed by kanamycin about 2 weeks before spawn. i hope that would have taken care of some cleansing! i will read about flukes to check on what to watch out for. You folks are right, too many youtube experts have content for having PP treatment and am so glad i asked here before doing it!
what is your recommended treatment before spawn? i would love to learn from your experiences and do something similar between spawns!

[jeep]

I agree on holding off on the PP. The damage that can be done to the gills is permanent, and even if it's not apparent early on, it can cause issue long term and as the discus grows. PP is being recommended way to often online these days, and the damage it can do goes beyond the gills and can affect the immune system. Almost all 30 day issues are bacterial related, although this is the age where flukes can strike. If it's determined that flukes are an issue, formalin or prazi are good choices. The best way to make sure your fry don't have flukes is to clean up the parents before they spawn. Good tank hygiene is the best way to avoid bacterial gill issues, but there are other options like formalin and methylene blue. In over 20 years, I've never experienced the "30 day syndrome".

[CliffsDiscus]

If you have a dirty pair remove the fry early as possible to eliminate the risk of causing more disease infections. You can remove the fry as early the day after free swimming.

[Tommy75]

To ensure a healthy spawn, you should do a total clean-up on the parents before they spawn. This involves treating for worms, hex, and flukes. At this point I'd leave them alone and keep your fingers crossed. All these treatments are hard on fry other than metro treatment for hex.

This is really great info, wish i knew this earlier!! Please share your total clean up on the parents so I can try to do that before next spawn after pulling the fry to the grow tank. And do you recommend the total clean up between every spawns?