Best Discus Practices

By Andrew Soh

Keeping discus is not as difficult as most aquarists make it out to be.
Though it is an established fact that discus is more sensitive to its
environment and easily affected by the waters parameter and
quality as compared to other ornamental fishes, it is nevertheless
simple to care for if issues pertaining to best discus practices are
satisfied.
In fact, whether an amateur pursues discus hobby to a higher level or
gives it up for other less demanding aquarium fish, the first step into
the discus hobby is the most crucial and decisive stage. Let us assume
that he is psychologically convinced by close friends that keeping
discus is a challenging hobby. Hence, making purchase or acquiring his first discus should be his
first move into the discus hobby...his first innocent step amid venerability and ignorance. But how
complicated could that first step be? Well, within this phase of uncertainty, the most detrimental
is to acquire sub-standard discus. Sub-standard here refers not to the phenotype but the health
of the discus and amateurs are ignorant, not knowing how sick discus look like and what to avoid?
He is at the mercy of Chance. Did he bring back a discus that is pathogen-free? If not, is he able to
handle and treat his discus? If the new arrival dies within days or that the discus keeps falling sick,
would he not be discouraged and deterred from future investment in the discus hobby?
Therefore, acquiring quality discus, good basic knowledge and having solutions to discus
adversities are important criteria. Viewing the issue from a different prospective, it literally means
that the supplier of that discus should provide as healthy discus as possible through good
husbandry management, the hobby itself should be knowledge-based and lastly, hobbyists should
understand and able to apply Best Discus Practices.
Best discus practices encompass three major areas divulged below:
a) Water parameter and quality

Potential of Hydrogen (pH): Though tank-bred discus can thrive in pH range between 5 and
9, discus is more susceptible to infestation and infection in the upper alkaline range. Having
said that, the lower the pH in the acidic range, more aggressive will be the discus. Adjusting
the pH is crucial and caution must be taken. A drop of 1degree is a ten folds drop in acidity
and a drop of 2 degrees within 24 hours is a total drop of one hundred folds in acidity. With
this in mind, 2 degrees drop within the alkaline range (above pH7.0) is much less stressful
and less lethal than a drop of 2 degrees in the acidic range.

Hardness (GH): This is referred to as general hardness and can be divided into temporary
hardness or bicarbonate hardness (KH) which can be removed by boiling and permanent
hardness which are mainly sulphate and chloride salts in the water and can only be
removed by ion-exchange or reverse-osmosis. Hardness is measured as CaC03 (mg/litre).
Generally, hard-water is more preferred for growing-up discus while breeding requires
soft-water. Hardness can also be measured by micro-Siemens (uS), unit for electrical
conductivity.
Hydroponic
Minerals: These are very important to fishes being kept in confinement. Without the
essential trace elements and minerals in water, not only will growth be affected but all
other physiological and psychological functions like spermatogenesis, oogenesis-ovulation,
fertilisation efficiency, foetus development, sexual drive and responses may be affected.
[Deformity and retardation may also set in as have been found in researches on Tadpoles
(frog larvae) cultured in distilled water (pure rain-water) and totally deionised water]

Temperature: Holding everything else constant, a perfectly healthy discus that is free of
pathogen can tolerate and thrive well at temperature as low as 22c but the range most
preferred is between 25c and 28c. Temperature between 31c and 33c is favoured by
certain micro-organisms for propagation hence undesirable proliferation and parasite-load.
Therefore, in some cases, by the act of raising temperature, we encourage organisms that
are hidden beneath the scale (safe haven) to detach from host and come into the open to
propagate hence a window period where prophylactic treatment is deemed most effective.

Ammonia: Everyone knows that
ammonia can be lethal. But besides
being lethal, ammonia can retard
growth and supports micro-organisms.
That is why a culture-system that is
without biological filtration is a setback
hence more frequent water-changes
daily are needed to ensure better
growth. This is also why besides the
100% daily water-change, some
breeders swear by partial water-change
and siphoning of leftovers and bio-
waste an hour after each meal.
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis

Dactylogyrus Gyrodactylus
Capillaria spp. Oxyurida spp.

But even a re-circulating system with an efficient biological filtration may not necessarily
be the ultimate design or an answer to all issues. Though functioning bio-filter means zero
ammonia, the by-product, nitrate, which is less lethal, is known to retard growth too.

Above is a diagram of a closed-filtration system. Having daily water replacement of 10
percent will help to improve the water quality. It is also logical to assume that higher the
daily water-replacement, the better. But then again, though large water replacement is
highly recommended, the concentration of nitrate will continue to surge unless more than
50% of the culture water is replaced daily. To bring nitrate down or to have it totally
removed, there are three methods. One method is to culture special anaerobes under a
near oxygen-starved environment to consume and remove the nitrate as the nitrated-
water passes through them. The second yet convenient and effective method is to
incorporate hydroponic into the system. The plant I have used was Pandan plant because
of its nitrate-absorption efficiency. The third is to incorporate planted tanks within the
system. But for proper plant-growth, additional requirements need to be implemented.

Water-fish ratio: Holding everything else constant, the more discus stocked within a given
water-volume, the slower will be the growth-rate and limited growth-potential.

b) Diet and Nutrition

Live aquatic feed: It is a fact that aquatic feeds like moina, tubiflex, mosquito larva and
bloodworm are good sources of food for fishes. Unfortunately, they are cultured in
freshwater and contaminated with micro-organisms that are harmful to your discus. For
hobbyists with few discus, feeding such should not pose a problem as the financial risk is
minimal. Looking on the lighter side, going through anxiety, feeling anxious looking for
solution to save their discus excites the heart and is part and parcel of the hobby. But for
commercial breeders, such an excitement is lethal and can lead to huge financial losses.























Therefore, if you strongly believe freshwater feed is your choice of feed, the least you can
do is to disinfect them with chemicals and freeze them before feeding. Freezing can, at
least, eliminate micro-organisms that are produced by binary-fusion but unfortunately
quite impossible to destroy those parasites that are living within the organisms or the cysts
of egg-layers. A better option is to buy commercially-prepared frozen bloodworms with
claim of having gone through treatments and guarantee 100% sterilisation by the producer.
The sketches in the previous page depict live-bearing and egg-laying micro-organisms.

Non-aquatic feed: The above organisms are difficult to eliminate totally. So far, the
chemicals I can acquired were able to eliminate free-swimming organisms including
bacteria but yet unable to find a way to destroy pathogens hidden within the tissue of dead
feed or chemicals that can penetrate inside the cysts of micro-organisms, destroy and
prevent them from reviving while retaining the freshness of the feed.

So for fear of introducing pathogenic micro-organisms into discus culture, I advise the use
of land-animal feed like beef-heart or pork-heart. Though these are considered unnatural
food for our aquatic pets, they are nevertheless a major source of protein for our
carnivorous discus. Never try to pamper your discus by giving treats of live aquatic animals,
not even once. You may regret it in long-term. Besides land-animal meat, some processed
dry feed are good for discus too. But whether they can give the same feed-efficiency ratio
as wet feed, you have to experiment with them and draw your own conclusion.

Important ingredients: Preparing your own discus food is nothing daunting. But if the main
material is land-animal meat, attention has to be paid to the additives in your recipe.
Basically, not only are essential proteins and vegetable necessary, addition of multi-
vitamins is a must to work the proteins and ensuring proper bodily-functions.

Feed regime: The wider the span the better. For example, if one wants to feed his fish
twice daily, a feeding regime of once at 7am and the second feeding at 10pm is preferred
over a regime of 12noon and 6pm. High feed-frequency is also preferred.

Hence, small quantity per feed (amount that can be finished in 5 minutes) and given 4 to 5
times in the widest span and longest interval possible is an acceptable feed regime.

c) Disease and trouble-shooting

Quarantine: History has been repeating itself time and again. Professional breeders and
veterans knowing the importance yet in numerous occasions, overlooking the quarantine
process or giving it a miss, resulting in disastrous consequences, even across-the-board
cross-contamination and epidemic in their hatchery.

By now, everyone knows what quarantine is yet maybe due to being over-confident,
laziness or just not believing in the odds that quarantine is omitted for new arrivals and
innocently mix new arrivals with the existing culture immediately upon arrival.

From the catch-phrase of our local comedian...Dont play, play. In other words, it is not
worth to take risk. Quarantine is utmost important and never, never...give it a miss! A well-
programmed quarantine period takes only two weeks. Quarantine tanks should have their
own utensils and never share usage with existing fishes. There are certain things you need
to do as precautionary measures against certain threats and there are non-immediate
Hexamita spp. Spironucleus spp. Trichomonas spp. Bodomonas spp.

Trypanosome spp. Cryptobia spp. Trypanoplasma spp.
threats that can wait, yet many people waste their time and money on that. What they are,
are explained below.

Anti-ectoparasites treatment: Due to handling and transport stress, be it from a local farm
to another or import from another country, the possibility of injuries cannot be ignored or
taken lightly. Unless the senders and recipients husbandry management is commendable,
open wound inflicted will be venerable to secondary bacterial infection. Therefore, the
immediate concern for most arrivals should be bacterial-related problems and
dehydration. All other treatment can wait, kept on hold and be implemented later.

a) So, the first prophylactic treatment needed to be administered is an antibiotic(s), one
to suppress bacterial activity so as to allow wound, if any, a chance to heal.

b) Long bath of 8 to 12 days is recommended.

c) Salt is to be added @ a dose of 100gm per 100 litres of water. This is to replenish the
body with salt that may have leached through the wounds, a condition we call
Dehydration. Treatment should last more than 5 days, preferably more than a week.

d) Immediate chemical treatment to eliminate other ectoparasites is unnecessary as most
infections at that point are bacterial. Further to that, lethal chemical treatment given
while the arrivals are still harbouring injuries/open wounds may do more harm than
good and may stress the discus further hence forcing them into weaken-immunity and
even mortality from chemical-poisoning.



























e) About 8 days into the antibiotic treatment, all tissues should have been repaired and
adapted to the new environment. You may now wish to start or incorporate anti-
ectoparasites (besides bacteria) treatment(s). Chemical of choice may be potassium
permanganate; formalin; chelated copper sulphate or even dipterex.

f) As for other parasites like the flagellates in the previous page or round worms and
tapeworms, treatment can be given on a later date as they are not life-threatening as
far as quarantine is concerned. But treatment against flagellates or suspected worms is
best to be completed before mixing the new arrivals with your existing culture.

Identify changes: Having brought forth some of the important pointers on discus hobby as
a whole and the basic steps and precaution we need to take while indulging in this
wonderful hobby, there is still an important issue we have to look into and that is
Sharpening our observational skill. We need to commit more time studying the behaviour
of our so-called normal and healthy discus. Only after perfecting this basic observational
skill, understanding what behaviour is considered normal, can we spot changes, signs of
distress or abnormity. Also, hobbyists must be prepared for the worse scenarios.

Common symptoms and infection

There are three infestations or infections that are affecting discus fry of today and are
discussed in detail in my new book, Discus, Problems and Solutions. But I will highlight some of
the important points here and hope they are of help in your endeavour.

This is known as a Discus Two Weeks Syndrome

a) This infection starts around two weeks old and the initial symptom is blurring of the fins.
b) Then discus fry start to clamp-up their fins and body darkens.
c) Whether the fry are dark or lethargic, they do rush for food but stop short of ingesting it.
d) As days pass, those that are weak die off.
e) Those that have built resistance suddenly recover and surge in growth.
The discus succumbed to the fourth week syndrome but
recovered after the treatment. Recuperation does not
lead to regain of full coloration and appetite and will
always look weaker than the rest of them
f) A tank affected by this infection will have uneven-sized discus in a brood.
g) This problem is bacterial-related and can be solved by antibiotics.
h) Without human intervention, mortality can reach 70 to 80% or more.
i) Condition that triggers this may be ammonia, insufficient water-changes. or sick brooders.
j) The main cause is Bacterial infection and not protozoa or monogenean worms.
This is known as the Discus Four Weeks Syndrome
a) This literally means that it happens on the fourth week of free-swimming or after.
b) There is no blackening or darkening of the fry.
c) Fry are swimming and feeding happily but suddenly, one or two fry drop dead.
d) They die suddenly without warning and can be on a full or on an empty stomach.
e) There is no obvious symptom and is unrelated to constipation, diet nor water quality.
f) Every day, a few die and finally as the problem becomes chronic, some stay in corners.
g) Those that die, die off with a light bodily colour-tone.
h) In my opinion, it is a sign of blood leaching resulting in dilution of bodily colour-tone.
i) This mortality can put to a halt with potassium permanganate.
j) 2.2mgs of PP per litre of water for 24 hours x 3 treatments with intervals.
k) Also, 1.5gm salt per litre of water upon first sign (for salt replenishment) for long bath.
l) Follow-up treatment with antibiotics is advised.
m) If untreated, mortality can reach 80% to 90%.

The third and the most common infection is Split-fins
a) This split-fin is different from those that were inflicted due to injuries.
b) This is caused by bacteria.
c) The degree of damage depends on how virulence the bacterium is at time of infection.
d) The bacterium is transferred from parent to wrigglers
e) It is not due to water (chemicals) or diet (nutrient-deficiency)
f) It can be prevented from happening.
g) Treating the parents before spawning to prevent transmission is the best option.
h) Second option is to treat the wrigglers or eggs with a concoction of fry-friendly antibiotics.
i) The invasion has been observed to happen during wriggler stage.
j) When condition favours, it can be fairly virulence, attacking the whole hatchery.
Hope this short discussion will give readers a better understanding and a
more cautious and calculated approach to discus handling. Discus is
definitely not the most difficult ornamental fish to manage.....

Have a happy ride on the Discus Learning Curve!!!