Hi Proff Please help

Good Evening Proff.
Can you please help me identify the strain
of the discus in the photos I've attached.

Thank you!
Attached Thumbnails

 

Hi Boo!!!!

The first two pics are of pidgeon blood discus. These fishes have a mutation so that they cannot show dark vertical stripes and this mutation also influences the general colour of the fishes. The strain has been bred into many different color forms with the result that you have fishes like the first one that has a lot of white/turquoise, whilst the second one has less turquoise and more reddish base colour. They have an inherent problem in that they cannot produce normal slime quantities as required during the raising of fry as a result of which many of this strain are artificially raised in the east or are raised on foster parents. As a result of the fact that they cannot raise their own young in most cases, they are my least favorite strain. I also do not like to markings that these fishes show which are very different to the wild types. However, this is a personal choice and those of you who enjoy pidgeons are welcome to do so, but you will never see any of these swimming in my tanks!

The last specimen is a fish that is in a very poor condition. It is most probably a wild blue discus that has not been fed properly and that has an infection of the hole-in-the-head flagellate organisms and unless he is treated and fed properly he is a dead duck that will die in about two months from now!

If he is one of your fishes, consult my mail on how to feed your discus properly. He needs proper feed urgently or else he is a gonner.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

So what do you reccomend me doing with the wild.

O yes and there are no sighns of hole in the head

 

Boo, you need to feed him properly! He is pretty emaciated and you do not need to have holes in the head for him to carry these parasites. I can see that he has the problem. He is dark and not a happy fish. What is your temperature and give us a full run down of your setup before I can even think of a reason. Also tell us where you got this fish and how long you have had him, what you feed, your filtration, temp etc.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Ok I got them from the Indian at bokburg flea market 30 to 32 degrees filtratian canaster 1500 filter and overhead filter. feeding, Bloodworms black from slagter and Aquafin Professional Discus granulated food and flacks now and then!

 

Well, that diet is a disaster!

If you have a look at what I recommend then you would see that you have food that contains very little vitamin C which is essential in the fight against hole-in-the-head. You have far too little variety in the diet are far too little protein, shame the poor fish!

Temp should be 29-30, so this is far too high.

Your description of your setup is far too brief for me to make out what your conditions are. Please give more details, water changes, water conditions, tank size, please my china!

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

hi boo just to be clear here ill tell you what the prof is looking for. you need to grab a good water testing kit and test ammonia,ph, nitrates and nitrites. then let the prof know now quik

he wants to know your water maintenece schedule so to speak. how often do you do water changes, of how many percent, how many litres in your tank.
further what do you use for filtration? this regards the material used for mechanical and biological filtration . also include how often you clean the filter media ? (not the biological I hope)

this is a lot I know but its needed to make a Informed decision as to whats wrong exactly.
the more info the beter
cool man

 

Thanks brad,

You are on the number man, if we can have these measurements please Boo!!! then maybe we can help.

Thanks guys!

 

Boo... just a tip from my side...

If you haven't been keeping fish for a LOOONG time, then I would seriously suggest you GET RID OF THE discus, and start with something more easier. By the sounds of things you appear to be new to the hobby,

Discus is considered a very difficult fish to keep, if you are a beginner. There is just too much perameters that you need to keep a check on! Buying a fish from a flea market should have been the FIRST check!

 

Good Morning Guys
Ok let me first start by saying I am Currently working in Eretria North- East Africa so I am not at home to do miracles , that I have my lovely wife Cindy to Fishsitt my flaties .
Now, I am running a 450L Chinese tank with build in filter on the top wish is pumping two filter slots filed with white batting and ceramic wheels once a month the batting gets cleaned and the ceramics gets rinsed in excise tank water
My tank gets sand vacuum ones in two months and a 30% water change weekly with RO and tap water combination of 70% RO and 30% Tap
I do not use any funny stuff in my tank with a water change I add a lit bit of heal all that’s it
I also have a 1500 cascade canister filter running with White batting ceramics and small plastic balls this filter gets cleaned ones in to months when I go home.
I have two 300watt heaters at a temperature of 26 Degrees I have asked my wife to open the top during the day to drop the temperature to 28-30 Degrees
Our fish room is quite hot during the day
Feeding time- as I told you last night, but I also add Sera Fish vitamin Vitamins pills crushed and added to frozen blood worms.
The pic's that I showed you last night was of tree new discus that was added to my tank one week ago
I am adding some of my old Discus that I have had since they were small, tell me what you think of them.
O yes ph 7.5 the rest is all good my water is 100%
I have been keeping tropical fish for more than 5 years and Discus for more than one and a half years with no loss at all!!
My concern is the Wild one thou he is eating well, out of my hand but he still looks a bit malnourished as for the rest please tell me
Thank Proff

Some More Pic's

And one off my breeding pair

 

Good Morning Guys
Ok let me first start by saying I am Currently working in Eretria North- East Africa so I am not at home to do miracles , that I have my lovely wife Cindy to Fishsitt my flaties .
Now, I am running a 450L Chinese tank with build in filter on the top wish is pumping two filter slots filed with white batting and ceramic wheels once a month the batting gets cleaned and the ceramics gets rinsed in excise tank water
My tank gets sand vacuum ones in two months and a 30% water change weekly with RO and tap water combination of 70% RO and 30% Tap
I do not use any funny stuff in my tank with a water change I add a lit bit of heal all that’s it
I also have a 1500 cascade canister filter running with White batting ceramics and small plastic balls this filter gets cleaned ones in to months when I go home.
I have two 300watt heaters at a temperature of 26 Degrees I have asked my wife to open the top during the day to drop the temperature to 28-30 Degrees
Our fish room is quite hot during the day
Feeding time- as I told you last night, but I also add Sera Fish vitamin Vitamins pills crushed and added to frozen blood worms.
The pic's that I showed you last night was of tree new discus that was added to my tank one week ago
I am adding some of my old Discus that I have had since they were small, tell me what you think of them.
O yes ph 7.5 the rest is all good my water is 100%
I have been keeping tropical fish for more than 5 years and Discus for more than one and a half years with no loss at all!!
My concern is the Wild one thou he is eating well, out of my hand but he still looks a bit malnourished as for the rest please tell me
Thank Proff

Some More Pic's

And one off my breeding pair
Attached Thumbnails

 

cool . have you read the sticky by the prof on how to feed discus? this can help in the meantime until the prof answers .cheers

 

Hi Boo!!

Ok, running this tank via long distance from Eritrea must be quiet a challenge.

What you are telling me about filtration, water treatment, water changes, heaters, the size and position of the tank all sounds OK.

If you have the two 300 W heaters, I would adjust them so that the temp does not drop below 29C. Below that discus tend to be nervous and skittish and it also has a negative effect on their appetite which may explain the condition of your wild-caught.

In general though, I would still view your diet as highly deficient. Bloodworms are like sweets and mainly contain roughage and not enough protein or anything else. Commercially sold granulates also cater for long shelf life which is not good for food quality and they are also short of proteins. I do not want to repeat myself and I do not have the time, so please look at the thread on how to feed your fishes for my opinion on this matter.

I started keeping discus in 1988, and had major problems with them until I visited Germany in 1990 and saw how the Germans fed their fish. My mouth hung open when I saw how much they fed them. I then inquired to the local fish food people if they were prepared to import frozen food and they told me that it would never sell in South Africa. I imported the first frozen food into SA in 1991 and was the first person to do so. Once I had imported the food, the industry started waking up and as they say, the rest is history. I still import food, both dried and frozen, but only the highest quality, from Germany for my own fishes primarily and I also sell it because I need to import about 200 kgs at a time to make it viable. Due to the fact that I there are no middle men, my food prices are about 50% of the normal market price. So, if you need food please contact me by PM so that I can supply you with a price list.

Kind regards,

Dirk