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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WICKILEAKS" data-source="post: 14694337" data-attributes="member: 326944"><img src="http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36517&thumb=1&d=1319395662" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />B. Sources of Livestock PurchasesProbably the most critically important element in successful discus-keeping is to buy your fish from a knowledgeable,experienced, reputable and fully reliable source. This is almost your guarantee of getting great- looking, healthy fish.There are, generally, three sources for discus:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Local Breeders: They will usually provide healthy fish, acclimated to local conditions. You will first need to obtain positive references to fully satisfy yourself that the breeder sells healthy, quality fish. This route does of course support local breeders, but the fish being sold generally tend to be very young. Reputable breeders understand that sales are often by word-of-mouth and so they want to maintain a positive reputation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Importers: Like the breeders, reputable importers strive to maintain a positive reputation. Again, get references. This source generally costs more than local breeders, but the variety available is much better and the size bigger.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> LFS: This source is usually expensive. They are unwilling or unable to invest the time and money discus require. It would probably be non-profitable if they did. The fish are often on a central water system, and so pick up illnesses from other fish. The quality, even if healthy, tends to be poor. This source is not recommended.</li> </ul>While some LFS sell healthy, quality discus, most do not, so you would be well-advised to buy your fish from anexperienced long-term breeder or importer in or near your area. Many discus keepers acquire their stock from wellknownsources of high quality discus, and have them air shipped to their location. If and when doing this, it is importantto ask for photos in advance of the fish you will be buying. The delivered product should equate to the photos you weregiven. Do your homework here, and seriously consider getting your fish from one of several experienced and reputablesponsors of the The British and International Discus Keepers Association (BIDKA), the Simply Discus, or other forums.Check them out and make enquiries of other forum members.C. Stocking RatiosHow many fish should you buy? Discus are social fish and have shown to be most comfortable when kept in a group offive or more. They are generally peaceful, but being cichlids, they are prone to somewhat aggressive behavior towardtheir own kind . They will almost always develop a “pecking order” – quite normal behavior for discus. While thissomewhat “bullying” behavior can be quite stressful to those being picked on, it is rarely physically harmful in a group ofthis size. Discus rarely show aggression towards other fish. Keeping fewer fish than suggested above will often result inone or two being bullied to an undesirable extent by the dominant one as the pecking order is established. So, there issafety and security in numbers.The generally accepted ‘rule of thumb’ is to keep no more than one adult fish per 40 L (10 gal.) of water, or five or sixadult fish in a 220 L (55 gal.) tank. If raising juvies, double the number of fish should do well in the same-sized tank untilthey grow out to 10 cm (4”) and over. Then you will have to consider downsizing your group of fish, getting a larger tankfor them, or getting another tank and splitting the group.Overstocking is never a good idea. It can be stressful on the fish, and it ties the hobbyist to his or her tank. One can’t missa wc, and one is completely dependent on a never-fail source of electricity.D. Potential Tank Mates For DiscusThere are a number of types of fish which are compatible with discus, and which are more or less tolerant of the higherdiscus tank temperature. Avoid smaller fish which could become ‘lunch’ for discus, or fast-moving fish such as zebradanios which can make them nervous. Some fish are “nippers” and are to be avoided, such as tiger barbs. Many fishcannot tolerate discus temperatures.Examples of generally good discus tank mates include some species of tetras such as Cardinals, Rummy-noses, Glowlights,and Lemon tetras. Harlequin or Copper Rasboras and Hatchet fish are acceptable. Bushy-nosed Plecos andGerman Blue Rams are also good tankmates. A number of bottom dwellers are good mates as well, such as sterbai,peppered, bronze, or emerald Corydoras, to name a few. Dwarf or Pearl Gouramis should do fine as well, but not otherstrains of Gouramis which may tend to be overly aggressive and stress the discus, or out compete them for food. Anumber of discus hobbyists have successfully kept bettas and angelfish with discus.<img src="http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36518&thumb=1&d=1319395901" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />IV. CARING FOR THE DISCUSA. Acclimatizing the FishThere are two commonly used methods for releasing newly-purchased fish into the home aquaria. One is often referred toas ‘drop and plop’, where the discus are simply removed from the bag and placed in the tank without any further prep.The following second method eases the transition.Once you get your newly-purchased fish home, you should properly acclimatize them to the temperature and pH of yourtank water. This is a fairly simple procedure, taking no more than an hour or so from start to finish. This will limit stressand shock caused by a large change in temperature or pH.First, float the bag of fish in your tank for 20 minutes to equalize the bag water temperature to the water in your tank.Then open the bag and check the pH in both your tank and the fish bag to satisfy yourself that there is no wide variance.If the pH is approximately similar, the fish can be added without further acclimation.If however, there is a variance of more than 0.3 or 0.4 in the pH, then begin to add water from your tank into the bag,slowly and in small increments – 15% or so of the bag’s water volume each time, allowing five to ten minutes betweeneach addition, until you have approximately doubled the volume of water initially contained in the bag. Finally, do notpour the water, with fish, directly into your tank, as the bag water will be polluted with fish waste. Gently pour the waterfrom the bag through a fish net into a bucket. As each fish slides into the net, pause your pouring and place the nettedfish into your tank.As a slight alternative to this method, some hobbyists place the fish and bag water in a bucket or other container. Then,using an air supply hose with a gang valve, water is rapidly dripped from the tank into the bucket to at least double thevolume over the course of about an hour. The fish are then netted out and placed in the tank.B. Quarantining New FishIf you bought your fish from a reliable source, your tank is cycled with no other fish in it, and you have acclimatized yourfish as above, then you may place your new fish directly into the tank.If you already have fish in your tank, you need to quarantine the new ones. Quarantining means completely isolating thenew fish from all other fish, in a separate tank specifically set up for this purpose, and preferably located in a separateroom. Also, a heater, filter, hoses, bucket, thermometer, etc. should be set aside for use solely in the quarantine tank. Takecare that water on the hands from the quarantine tank does not get into the other tank, and vice versa.You need to do this as the new fish may be harboring pathogens they are immune to, but the existing fish are not. Also,the stress of the move may cause problems for the new fish, and you don’t want to transfer this to the existing tank.Finally, if the existing discus harbor pathogens they are resistant to, but the new fish are not, then one risks the potentialloss of some new fish. Therefore, all new fish, whether purchased from the same source or not, should be quarantined.A quarantine should be of four to six weeks duration. Then, take one fish from the main tank and one fish from thequarantine tank, place them into a third tank and quarantine for a further two weeks. If there is only one fish in thequarantine tank, the fish from the main tank can be added to the quarantine tank. This needs to be done in order tominimize the impact to only one fish if a problem develops. If problems do arise, either the new fish or the existing fishneed to be treated.Alternatively you may opt, as many hobbyists do, to use a single quarantine tank rather than two. Add one fish fromyour main tank to the new stock of fishes and observe them during the quarantine period. This approach may proveriskier, in that if your original fish have something they are resistant to, but the new fish are not, then you risk infectingall of your new fish, rather than only one. If this were to occur during this method of quarantine you would need to treatall of the fish, new and original. If the previous method had been followed, only the original fish and the two fish in thethird tank would need to be treated.A tank in the 40 L to 120 L (10 gal. to 30 gal.) range will usually suffice as a suitable quarantine tank, keeping in mind thenumber and size of the new fish being quarantined. Remember the ‘size of fish per litre’ rules. Before using it, this tankshould of course be cycled, filtered, and of the same temperature and pH as your main tank. This tank can also laterserve as a hospital tank for medicating sick fish.C. Diet and NutritionYour discus need to be fed a varied, healthy diet which provides them with sources of protein, minerals and vitaminsessential to their health and development.Packaged frozen foods are excellent sources of most of the essential elements. Some examples are blood worms, mysisshrimp, krill, and brine shrimp, all of which are usually fortified with vitamins and minerals. Discus will usually, readilytake a variety of good quality flake foods and pellets. Many aquarists feed homemade foods to their discus, often usingrecipes with beef heart. Some are heavy on protein, while others contain large percentages of vegetable matter. Fourgood recipes may be found @ <a href="http://www.buzzle.com/articles/discus-fish-food-recipe.html" target="_blank">http://www.buzzle.com/articles/discu...od-recipe.html</a> Google’ing discus fish food recipeswill provide many links.A general guide is that the younger the fish, the more frequent the feedings should be. A juvenile discus of 6 to 10 cm(2.5”to 4”) should grow well with four to six feedings daily. Feed only small amounts each time, usually only as much asyour fish can consume in under five minutes. A 10 cm (4”) fish should be fed two to four times a day, and an adult discus,once or twice daily.<img src="http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36519&thumb=1&d=1319395999" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />V. HEALTH OF YOUR DISCUSWhen quarantine procedures are not followed and cross-contamination occurs, or the fish are experiencing stress, theycan succumb to parasites, bacterial infections or funguses.Causes of stress are many and varied, but the most common are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Poor water quality and conditions</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Poor diet</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Overcrowding</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Bullying</li> </ul>While most, if not all, discus harbor some form of parasites or other pathogens on or within their bodies (just as animalsand humans do), healthy discus’ immune systems are well able to deal with this, keeping matters in check and nontroubling.When the immune system is weakened and starts to break down, pathogens get the upper hand, causing poorhealth.A. Recognizing a ProblemIf and when any of your fish ceases acting normally and begins to behave in strange, unusual ways, it’s almost always asign that something has begun to go wrong. Examples of strange behavior include isolating itself from the rest of thegroup and hiding a good deal of the time. It may refuse to eat, face the rear of the tank, display clamped fins, show a lackof color, or a very darkened color, or rub itself on plants or driftwood. All of these behaviors are signs of distress in thefish.B. How to ProceedFirst, test your water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. If your tests show any unusual abnormality, such as thepresence of ammonia or nitrites or a significant change, up or down, in your normal pH level, immediately do a largewater change. Check the pH of the wc water before you do the change, and then test your tank water again after the wcto see what changes have taken place in either ammonia, nitrite, nitrate or pH levels.There is no need to panic. Stay calm, observe the characteristics of your tank and all your fishes’ behavior, and beginseeking the help of other forum members by posting a thread, detailing all of your tank conditions. Explain the problem,outline the symptoms, which meds you have already tried and the results, and state the tank size, age, number and size offish, your wc regime, whether bare-bottom or other, temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings, and anythingnew you have recently added to your tank.<img src="http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36520&thumb=1&d=1319396226" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />source : Internet</blockquote>

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