discus plaque

[Xtreme]

hi all,
a friend of mine had just bought a number of discus over
a period of 3mths.
he bought 15cms fish 6-7cms fish nice fish too might i say
then all of a sudden 1 discus went black,1/2 an hour later
he was hiding in amongst the rocks,then within 1hr all the fish where going to the top
he checked his ph fine it was 6.8,checked ammonia 1.0ppm
he done 2 water changes over the next 2 days he took 300ltrs out each time from a 750ltr tank he then treated for plaque but to no luck
all discus r dead now.
my question is how and what do u all of you do to treat plaque
cause i think condees crystals (not sure on spelling lol)might work but
takes too long
salt might work but takes too long too
what can treat and cure within 2hrs is my other question
cheers wayne

[kalebjarrod]

i would love to have an answer for you wayne but i have never seen the plague or had to deal with it

Sorry

[kevkoi]

Wayne, the disease may be viral. The problem is that too often velvet is misdiagnosed as the "discus plague". If it is trully the "plague", there is little you can do about it as it is viral.

Jack Watley wrote an article about it a while back and he claims to have managed to halt some losses with reducing the pH down to very acidic levels (we are talking pH 4-4.5). Even then, he did sound like he was fighting a losing battle.

Malaysian fisheries and a number of Malaysian scientist are atm doing a lot of research on this and I believe they have isolated the culprit. A vaccine may be available shortly, but the innoculation process is not simple nor cheap. I have some inside knowledge of what is going on atm, but am not at liberty to say anything more as there is a lot of commercial interest riding on this atm.

[CMDiscus]

Oh! Discus plague, I think it has no more transcend man's knowledge,for this so-called "Black disease" you must based on empiricism to fix your problem ,follow sceince theory yet give you no answer. hahaha!!!

[DIY]

?????

Sorry I don't understand that statement at all I have 20 Discus - must be my childish mind LOL

[CMDiscus]

Goodday! mate,
That was the easier way to choose username and it could be writtten with many ways provided the space is wide enough to fill in. e.g:I have 20 discus .........all are in black uniform,I have 20 discus.....they have gone thru the plague,I have 20 discus ....waitng for migration. why sweat for small stuff?


Fme,discus plague is very similar to human virus ;herpes simplex,first infection will be more severe and take longer time to recover,subsequent reccurrences will be happened when they under stress condition,during the incubation period it could infect other tank mate of those which have not gone thru the "Black disease",that's why some of the fish have got the infection before will only turn black but easier to treat without any mortality,some discus said to be disease-free and healthy discus die after mixing with viral carriers is of this reason for they can't withstand the first severe infection, especially adult discus,some hobbyisits give the wrong medication can be the possiblity to kill all of your fish.

Be patient,the incubation period of the virus will take 7 to 10 days,do not raise the temp. too high,just remain between 28 to 30'c will be alright,do not express the treatment with overdosed meds.,I reckon antibiotics will be the best stuff to reduce the severity of their pains.

That is the empiricism I share with you here.

[kalebjarrod]

i am totally confused

[DIY]

Ryan - that makes 2 of us

[CMDiscus]

Vaccine for virus ? No way !
so far,there is no active immunity except passive immunity till now,the simplest way is by introduce one viral carrier into the tank with those have not gone thru the infection at the size of 2 " or a bit smaller,once the infected fish get stressed it will infect the whole tank,that's the way !
After that you will notice these fish will be tougher once they recover from the first infection. as other has mentioned in other forums the so-called "commando Discus"
But the person who shared with this method has gone to stay in China

I learnt from him that some of the red spotted strains died without any symptom after they purchase ,it could be the possiblityof internal organs damages;liver,spleen,kidneys.

Causes: Toxic chemical has been used to enrich the red color spotted or feeding with fresh water shrimp eggs to enrich red coloration which have been preserved with formalin by dealer.especially some fresh water shrimp eggs supplied from Bangkok.some using overdosoed ferrous;pill for iron deficiency or for pregnant women will damage the liver as well, and some using red booster has the same defect if overdosed.

" All that glitters are not gold"
The so-called quality discus with nice color but no efficiency considered junks. I would rather buy cheaper discus with natural color than paying a fortune for the new strians with artificial color.

Hobbyists can compare the growing rate in between then you will witness which is better.

But,don't be too happy that your fish eat like pirahnas and grow faster,remember too much feeding will result to fatty liver that they will never breed,unless you raise them for competition require the oversized Discus only for show with no production.

[DIY]

So what you're saying is that discus should be exposed to the "plague" at 2 inches in size to build an immunity to the disease.

Your'e also saying that most if not all of the new strains with red in them are "juiced" or doctored in some dangerous way that will cause problems.

and lastly don't overfeed so much as to get you're discus overweight and become sterile..

May I ask where you are from I have 20 Discus?