Nice article Walter!
Hi Walter,
How have you been? Great photos and just the kind of stuff we hope to address in the upcoming new section. The section on educational grading of fish will be on line shortly. We'll move this to that section once its set up.
thanks,
-al
AquaticSuppliers.comFoods your Discus will Love!!!
>>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS
Al Sabetta
Simplydiscus LLC Owner
Aquaticsuppliers.com
I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images
Nice article Walter!
Sorry if this is a dumb question... but, what does the pinched forhead mean? That they might have flagelettes and aren't eating? I have seen alot of little guys with pinched forheads. Is there anyway, or any treatment to help get rid of that?
What gets me is that when you say you go online and are using the advice found there, they always say that you can't trust what you find online!!! EEESH!! I would take your guys advice any day, especially over theirs!!!
Candy
Candy
When I see fish like that, I stear clear of any and all fish from the place, even the healthy looking ones since they may carry the bug (from nets, filtration system, peoples hands going from tank to tank, etc.). The LFS in my area told me they only feed their juvie discus 1x a day (and then I see them feeding live brine shrimp)! No wonder they don't grow .
I've also seen really healthy looking babies arrive at a LFS and then slowly deteriorate to what those pictures look like when in quarantine at the store .
Tina
It makes me so sad to see them like that and that's what I see in the lfs near me, with one exception where they do a good job with their discus.
I'm with Timbo...it makes me want to bring them home and try to save them. They must be suffering like that! I actually did buy a sick discus from an lfs about 6 months ago (he was the last discus they had and was $30). I kept him by himself in my kitchen for almost two months. He's definitely stunted and not very round, but adorable and an incredible amount of personality. Not something I'll make a habit of, but I'm glad I saved him.
Kristen
.90 each?,,,blahh, what a rip off, especially because they will turn around and sell it for $30-$40. No wonder they are in business and they get the culls. I wouldnt sell my good ones for .90 a piece and then see them treated horribly. I wouldnt do it to any for that matter. I would do some reasearch first before i sold any to them.
Brings tears to my eyes to see those poor un-happy fish
Jim
... Born under a Bad Sign ...
Thanks for the pics Walter. I stickied this thread so it can be referenced in the future.
thanks again
-Ryan
Seek ye the truth and the truth will set you free.
Unfortunately it gos on here in the UK too, some lfs's really try hard and some don't care.
Very sad.
Paul.
Pinched behind the forehead means they've lost weight and aren't eating - probably have flagellates. . .
A lot of people feel bad for these types of fish and end up buying them to try and save them. My suggestion is that NO ONE buy these fish. If you do, the pet store just thinks they've got a market for them and they order more! I've seen many discus that I thought I could turn around, but all I did was throw away money in the long run, and when I went back, the store just had another batch waiting to die.
My one exception is that I went to a local African cichlid dealer, and someone had dropped off a little discus that they didn't want anymore. He had it in with some rams and angelfish and he told me he couldn't sell it, so I agreed to take it from him. He normally refuses to even bring in discus because he says they're too touchy for him.
Otherwise, as hard as it is, leave them in the store. Maybe after they go through a couple tanks of dead discus, they'll just decide to quit stocking them. No discus is better than sickly, dying discus.
Ryan
Carol... so if the fish has hex, do you think that it could be turned around or that the fish is too far gone at that point?
Candy
Candy,
I would say that once a fish is that emaciated from hex or whatever other ailment it may have, there's probably little to no chance that it would fully recover and catch back up to healthy discus growth-wise. A fish that has a severely pinched forehead has probably been ill for some time. Unfortunately for discus, they can go an extremely long time without food, which means they could slowly just starve to death.
There are exceptions to every rule I suppose... but a fish with eyes that large, a pinched forehead, dark colors, and ragged fins probably doesn't stand much of a chance, and even if it did live would probably always be an extremely small, unattractive fish.
Ryan
I agree with Ryan. Why waste space and resources on sick fish - why risk bringing something home to infect your discus . . . Buy healthy fish to begin with !
I myself would never buy a fish that looked like it was sick or had a pinched forehead. I just wanted to learn alittle bit more about that condition. I never knew if the fish could recover if it was in that condition, or if it was on it's way out. So, thanks Ryan and Carol for the info!! This is a great thread and very informative.
Candy
Candy