Are those Discus still alive? I never get an answer!

[Stan510]

You see MANY vids on youtube of large Discus in brightly lit plant aquariums. Well,I know that doesnt last long. Maybe two years before the Discus invariably get white feces. I would say many,many,only live weeks in that set up.
What they always do is post vids of an established plant aquarium THEN they add hundreds of dollars or thousands sometimes worth of Discus and all sort of have that "I spent a fortune on this big tank,equipment and for YOU,discus..now look great forever!'...And of course the fish..just ignore all of it and waste away slowly. Some are bullied to death ( Why I say keep a happy pair to themselves ) and the rest range from thin to stunted with one or two fish doing well for the 2 years or so. Only they started with a dozen or more.
ONE man..did admit.his trial with Discus in his natural aquarium was a disaster..he lost all the fish. A financial hit he admitted. He called it a horror story. In Dutch!
Anyways,take my advice raise a half dozen until they pair off...and keep just one happy pair in 50-100 gallons of not brightly lit tanks,no sand or gravel..just dark slate on the bottom and maybe a nice tannen driftwood with a Java fern or Anubias on it. Simple AND warm,86F for the rest of their lives. Do that and you might get 7,8,10 inch Discus!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Pretty good advice and pretty true statements. Especially "The King Of DIY" youtuber. He has millions of subs and a lot of "cool" tanks. But...he has killed a LOT of fish. Like his first arowna. He didn't even have a lid on the tank, and it jumped out. A poor mistake on his part. He has a lot of tanks and big fish, but he is very un knowledgeable.

 

[ChefAlex]

While I do agree that Discus are much better suited to low lighting, I do disagree that the vast majority will die within weeks as you suggest. Most blackwater species will adjust to most any light levels provided their other needs are met. There are countless brightly lit aquascapes with blackwater species living perfectly fine, think cardinal tetras. Lighting does not reduce lifespan provided the fish isn’t stressed. Many reef keepers have deeper water species that are thriving in light levels way higher than those in a planted tank.

Gabe Posada, the operations manager of Jack Wattley Discus, keeps high-light planted discus displays in both the hatchery and at his home. They even spawn in the hatchery’s display.

Many species are more adaptable than we think. There was a time when it was thought impossible to keep discus in alkaline water and German breeders have been proving otherwise for decades.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Just to cut the long story short, I realized that the key to success in keeping Discus are knowing how to treat the diseases besides giving them clean water(more frequent water change) and good food.

The two common diseases as Colin had mentioned in the past are:
1)Internal worms/parasites : symptom white poops.
2)Gill flukes: symptom - fish breathing fast and scratching against objects.

I believe these two disease started while they are still in the fish farm which I believe these are the fault of the fish breeder.
And if I'm not wrong, the fish breeders oftens treat them with medications and make frequent large water changes to keep them alive.

Hence, you have to treat them the moment they arrived in your aquarium.
To have 100% success in treating the internal worms/parasites, I believe that it's best to stop all live feeding completely.
I have successfully converted all my Discus to eating pellets and flakes only.
I used high quality pellets and flakes which I believe have higher protein and better nutrients than the live food.
I suspect that the feeding of beef heart and worms by the fish breeders are the caused of internal worms though I know that some people may disagree with me.

To treat gill flukes, I used Flubendazole. I believe you may have to treat them for at least 1.5 months.
After treating them with Flubendazole for two months, I no longer see any symptoms of gill flukes in all my fish including my Blue Rams.
Some medications like Praziquantel are no longer effective any more due to the parasites developing immunity against it.

I used the Wormer Plus which contains mainly Flubendazole.

Wormer Plus (Cloverleaf)

New Packaging, Same Great Product!We recommend the usage of wormer plus once monthly for trouble free Discus keeping. This product will kill flukes, parasites and aquatic worms. Shipping (4-7 business days) once processed 1-2days. Upgraded shipping is available at an additional overnight charge...

myrtlebeachdiscus.com

This medication isn't cheap but it will treat both internal worms and gill flukes.

You also have to constantly observe for any big bully in the tank.
You may have to remove it if it is overly aggressive.
Also, keep them in bigger number(preferably at least 6 or more) to reduce aggression.

Thankfully, I don't have any Discus that is overly dominant and aggressive in the tank.
Though I have one big bully in the tank, there is another Discus that will stop this big bully whenever it gets too aggressive.

One last tip, when buying Discus, choose carefully to prevent stunted Discus.
Observe their eyes to ensure that the eyes are not too big and not in proportion to their bodies size.
And if you buy Discus that are too small, you won't be able to know whether they will become stunted when they grow bigger.
So, it's best to buy Discus that are 3-3.5" or 2.5-3" in size.

I have one Discus that is reaching 1 year old(but stunted) and the rest are coming to 6-7 months old.
When I first bought my Discus , I didn't know about the importance of choosing healthy Discus.
You can search the internets for many tips of selecting healthy and quality Discus.

By the way, the prices of Discus at my place are still reasonable - about USD19 for 2.5-3".
Don't buy Discus that are too small nor the big ones which are too expensive and may only eat beefheart.
It's best to buy those around 3-3.5".
I'm currently using two big hang on filters but I will be switching to canisters filter soon once I confirm there is no longer any disease with my fish.

I attached photo of my Discus.