help with my discus please

[george67]

hi all
i bred my first lot of discus about 12 weeks ago
they got to a size of 5 cms
and now they are dropping off like flies
ph levels are fine water changes 2 times a week 25%
the only thing new is that i put some baby bristle noses in with them could that be the problem
cheers george

[jos]

You better change the water every day.
I change for 90 percent and they grow like hell

[sammigold]

Yes, definitely more water changes, as fry are very sensitive to nitrites/ammonia etc the baby b/n can produce a lot of waste as can a lot of little discus fry... you just cant see it but it can build up quickly.... Water changes everyday are recommended for fry growing.
Ph may be fine but the nitrite or ammonia levels may be up.. you should have tests for these if possible, but a sure fire way to prevent these levels going up is water changes.

Have a look in our breeding forum and you are sure to find some very useful info in there.

Good luck!
hth
sammi

[george67]

THANKS JOS & SAMMIGOLD
i change the water every day. now

[samir]

first check for ammonia and nitrite like Sammi suggested. If that doesn't solve it treat them for flukes. when growing out fry there is usually a very high fish load so one cannot afford to skip water changes.
if you're doing a 90% water change after a while do it very slowly.

[stonedavid]

i wld definitely treat them for flukes even if the water changes work at 12 weeks it is likely there wld be a build by that stage in the young. I automatically treat all my batches for flukes weather showing signs or not. This is just a preventative measure so as not to have a fluke epidemic when you least expect it.

[george67]

thanks for all your help
don't laugh what to hell is flukes I AM VERY NEW WITH DISCUS
and how do i treat it

[stonedavid]

sorry george they are called gill flukes and they inhabit the gills, they literally choke off the fishes oxygen supply when they get too many. One sign is if the fish are disturbed and they panic the fish look as if they are having a fit and sink slowly too the bottom. Some recover but some dont and die then and there. Best thing for them is to go to your LFS and get some tabs for gill flukes doeage is normally 1 tab per 40 litres but jsut read the label.
Check it out may help with further problems down the track
Pete