Discus Health Question

[ifarrell93]

i was thinking about saving up for a discus tank and while i was at my Local fish store i saw a discus that had an odd amount of waste coming out of it. was wondering if when i do get said tank if i were to have a discus develop this type of status what i would do. to be a bit more descriptive it looked like a crap explosion on the end of a huge turd.

 

[ifarrell93]

never mind....

 

[kevinjames]

quick answer is not to buy discus from any lfs.

 

[laura120381]

it is likely that what was coming out of that discus is a direct result of what the lfs has been putting into it!! Discus are fussy eaters and some (not all!) traders feed unsuitable, low quality food. i used to keep discus and there are some foods that just don't agree with them!! i used to feed sinking pellet food for my corys and if one of my discus (the ocean blue) decided to have a munch on this, i would later find him floating upside down at the top of the tank!! it later became clear that this was due to constipation and once he had emptied his bowels, he returned to normal!! don't let what you saw put you off keeping these beautiful fish. i will not lie to you...they are not the easiest to keep!! they can be very demanding but as long as you feed them well, have excellent water conditions, correct temperatures and suitable tank mates they are very rewarding fish to keep.

L

 

[ZoddyZod]

quick answer is not to buy discus from any lfs.

why is that?

 

[kevinjames]

Cos they are usually overpriced and of poor quality!

 

[ZoddyZod]

Cos they are usually overpriced and of poor quality!

so what is the better source?

The counter argument is that if they have survived living in LFS tanks, then they are more likely to be 'hardier' and do well in aquariums that don't experience the frequent and extenisve large water changes that discus breeders employ.

 

[kevinjames]

Do you keep discus?

They are some good quality lfs stores that give the young discus the time and attention they need but they are few and far between. The problem with lfs discus is the age they acquire them the discus need a lot of fresh water and frequent feeding of good quality foods. Discus are a fish that need a good start otherwise their shape becomes compromised and they become stunted.

Discus when they are adults are quite hardy fish as long as the water is kept consistent.

Also the price they charge for bad quality discus is ridiculous.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Do you keep discus?

I don't. I did look into it previously, but found a lot of the information to be conflicting. One of the reasons I was vary wary of keeping them.

 

[kevinjames]

If you ever venture to discus you quickly find that buying good quality fish is half the battle so seeking out local suppliers with good reputation is vital.

 

[hillmar77]

Yeah I have to agree with Kevin on this one as well. Sure the discus at the lfs might have survived alot ( bad water conditions, cheap food, etc.). But would you want a expensive fish that just went through all that or would you want a fish that was brought up properly with lots of care and given the proper start in his life.