Selecting your discus fish

To select good discus fish is not an easy work. You have to be very observant and alert. Below are some of the guidelines to help you
EYES
To judge the age of fish you will notice the eyes. Small eyes mean young age. A big body with small eyes means well growth. Small body size with big eyes means old age or stunted.
DISC-LIKE
Disc shape means round. So discus fish means round fish. You must select round shape. Elongated shape is call “bananas fish” by breeders. It is a low quality fish.
ACTIVE & ALERT
Hiding at a corner and feel shy is not active at all. Knocking at the glass asking for food and fighting for food while feeding, this is active and alert. They are healthy fish.
BRIGHT COLOR
The color of fish is bright, shiny and attractive. This means it is a beautiful fish.
FINS
All the dorsal, tail and anal fins must be in good shape. They are clean and transparent, no torn, no clapping.
CHARACTERISTIC OF FISH
This is the most specific points that ones should know the special characteristic of the certain fish that you want to select.

• Spotted fish
  Evenly spread spots and with no join spots or spots sticking together
• Solid color
  The whole body covers with same color, no dust or peppering
• Melon
  The color must be red like watermelon. Red Turquoise must have nice stripes with red base and so on

Good quality pays good money. Insist of buying good quality fish. It is worth buying and you get your money worth!

Keep discus fish with great results

Guide to keep discus with great results and to win in competitions.
Frequently asked Question
“I have been keeping discus fish for a year and would like to know how to produce beautiful and high quality fish. Are there any secrets or tips so as we can enjoy keeping discus as an interesting hobby?”
There is no secret in keeping discus fish. The way to succeed is dedication, patience and constant caring for them. You may know every thing about discus but if you do not put in the effort, all that you know is not put into good use.
If you aspire to be a successful hobbyist in keeping discus fish and hope to win the best price in discus competition then read this:

TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST.

First and foremost you have to enjoy keeping discus as this is your hobby where you spend your leisure hours. You should not complain when faced with difficulties or work in the process. You would overcome them smartly and correctly. You assure yourself you will get your achievement by getting good results, being a proud owner of the best discus and win competitions.
TIPS that you will have to follow
1. TANK
The tank is the fish’s home. It should be clean and free from parasite and bacteria that will do harm to your fish. You have to keep the tank very clean and perfectly safe for fish to live happily.
Before you introduce fishes into the tank, you should get the tank prepared and ready for the fish. The tank must be free from parasites and bacteria. There are many ways of doing it.
1. Fill the tank full with water. Add in Chlorine for over night.
2. Add Formalin for over night.
Then wash the tank and fill up the tank with clean water. Add in Anti Chlorine if you use tap water direct. If you have done the above and your fish has already been quarantined then you can put the fish into the tank.
2. QUARANTINE
Before introducing new fish into your tank, they should be quarantined. This is to prevent the fish bringing in bacteria, parasites and disease from outside. You cannot skip this process; otherwise it will give you endless of disease problems.
You will quarantine your fish in a special tank using the steps below:

1. Give the new fish a Potassium Permanganate bath
2. Wash the tank and add in new and clean water
3. Apply acriflavine solution with salt or Apply antibiotic plus salt for a week
4. Keep the fish in this tank for two, three weeks
5. If you think they are okay then you can mix your new and old fish together.

3. WATER
Tank bred discus, unlike wild fish, can adapt easily to the water. As long as the water is clean. pH is best around 6 to 7. Temperature is around 26 to 30 Centigrade is excellent. Changing water is necessary. It should be managed properly and systematically. The fish will gradually adapt to your method of changing water and it will reduce stress to your fish.
You can change 20%, 50% or 100% of water. As long as you have checked the content of Chlorine and apply Anti Chlorine accordingly. Do not leave your fish immediately after changing water. Observe their normal behavior and reaction until you feel happy with it, then you can leave them.
For show tank with complete set up of aeration, gravel and filter, water changing can be done once in a week. Frequent water changes can stimulate growth. Sudden drop or raise of water temperature can cause stress to the fish. Discus fish like water temperature around 28 to 30 Centigrade. If temperature of water drops below the range, a heater is required, otherwise it is not necessary.
4. FOOD
Live foods like worm, bloodworm, daphnia, artemia (brine shrimps) are natural food which they love to eat. Unfortunately they carry bacteria and parasite to the fish externally and internally. They bring in disease to your fish tank and you must handle it carefully. Fish will grow rapidly if they are fed on natural food.
You have to disinfect your fish monthly if you feed them live food.

• Internal
  Mix your raw food with blended garlic and worm medicine.
  Feed them as a first meal while they are hungry.
• External
  Give them a Potassium Permanganate bath.
  Or apply Formalin in 1 to 2 ml per 100 liters of water.

Prepared Raw food (Burger)
It is the best food for discus fish. It is your own preparation with different ingredients for different discus fish. You can have baby food, food for growing and food for breeders. You can add in ingredients to make-up your fish beautifully. Add in vitamins to build up resistant against diseases. Add in garlic and worm medicine to clear parasite and worm inside the body.
This raw food is also very handy. You can preserve them in the fridges. It is worth to spend time to prepare it.
Dry food
It is handy and cheap. But it is not a perfect food. If not handled properly it can pollute water. It is good as a supplementary food. If you take it as a main diet then you need to feed some live food occasionally. You need to train them to eat dry food. Although it is a small matter but you enjoy it.
If they insist not to take dry food then for today feed them other food. Be flexible.
5. FEEDING
Feeding is an important task. Best to have the same person feeding them as the person knows how much the fish will eat and how much to feed them. Observe the fish while feeding.
If the fish do not eat, there is something wrong, such as is not feeling well or sick. If she eats little bit, she has no appetite. Check the water quality or food. If she hides at one corner, check the surrounding, lighting or inside the tank activities. Do they fight, mate or hatching? If you detect the problem early and apply medication in early stage, the result will be more effective.
If they knock at the glass at your presence, they are welcoming you and say Good morning to you, saying “Food please?” This is what they reward you in return. You will feel happy for what you have done for them.
Overfeeding can cause a tank to be polluted. It will kill your fish. Do not over feed them. Feed them little bit at a time. Stop feeding if the fish are not eating. Do not allow your fish eating too much. 70% full will be enough. Overeating will cause stress to the fish.
6. FILTER
Overhead filter is easy to clean and wash. It is good for decorated or community tank. If you do not over feed and the water is clean, you do not have to change the water but just top up the water. There are many types of filters. You will make a smart choice to suit your requirements.
7. LOCATION
Where you locate your tank is also very important to the fish. Place should be quiet and not much activities around the tank. Fish are very sensitive to shadows. Position lights correctly so that shadow does not fall on the tank to frighten the fish. Fish prefer overhead lighting. They feel secure.  If you feel your present location is not suitable shift to another place. Correct it.

Going away for Holidays

Leaving your discus unattended while you are away for holidays or vacation
When going for holidays … how to leave them unattended? You can leave your fish and go for holiday.
Check the following:

1. Change water with clean tank
2. No feeding as the water will get polluted after heavy feeding
3. The fish can go without food for one or two weeks provided the water quality is good
4. When you come back feed them lightly and slowly increase
5. Over feed them after long starving they will get shock and die

Discus illness & how to cure

Why Discuss fish are going black and staying very still?

Reply:
Your fish are not feeling well.
Could be bacteria infection or parasites attack (1)
Could be water quality that stress the fish (2).
Could be environment factors that cause the fright to the fish (3).
(1) Apply flavin solution with salt.
(2) Change water .
(3) Find suitable location for placing the tank.

Potassium Permanganate

For potassium permanganate bath what is the dosage require as I know its very strong medicine.
Reply:
Potassium Permanganate (P.P)
It is good to kill bacteria and parasites.
Method of application A) Overnight or B) Bath
You prepare your P.P in solution.
A) For overnight you drop the solution drop by drop into the tank.
You will stop until the water is light purple.
B) For P.P. bath you apply strong solution.
Check every 5 minutes. Until you see the fish is uneasy, you
either transfer the fish to other tank or change water 100%.
If it is a serious case, it is good to apply combination of B then A.

Potassium Permanganate

For potassium permanganate bath what is the dosage require as I know its very strong medicine.
Reply:
Potassium Permanganate (P.P)
It is good to kill bacteria and parasites.
Method of application A) Overnight or B) Bath
You prepare your P.P in solution.
A) For overnight you drop the solution drop by drop into the tank.
You will stop until the water is light purple.
B) For P.P. bath you apply strong solution.
Check every 5 minutes. Until you see the fish is uneasy, you
either transfer the fish to other tank or change water 100%.
If it is a serious case, it is good to apply combination of B then A.

Potassium Permanganate dosage

I mean how many grams of Potassium Permanganate per. liter water. Is there a chance of overdose? Or is it enough that the color of the water is just light purple?
Reply:
PP is in crystal form.
Make PP solution with distil water.
Dosage:
Over-night treatment: The color of water in light purple.
Change water and repeat the treatment next day.
PP bath: Dark purple for an hour: When the fish shows stress, change water
or transfer the fish to another tank.

Gill fluke

I recently found that one of my fish had gill flukes and so I read about them in one of my books and they sound very serious, when I asked my local fish store about it they acted like it
was not a big deal. They gave me meds and told me one treatment would be enough but according to the book I have this sounds very life threating but the book didn’t elabrate on long term care. Will this spread through the tank? do they come from the gravel? Should I replace gravel or take out completetly? Is there a nutrition regimine I could use to bring everyone back to good health? I have a 55 with 5 discus. Biggest is 5″ smallest is 3.5″
Reply:
Gill fluke is quite common in discus.
In those days may be but it is not a big deal nowadays.
All big problems begin from small problems.
If leaves uncared, it will spread to all others.
They will die of suffocating.
They are parasites attacking the gill.
The gill will be damaged and cannot breathe.
The best treatment for gill fluke is Potassium Permanganate.
Formalin is risky in handling.

Parasites like polluted and dirty water.
Clean water will get rid of parasites.

Gill fluke

I see some like yarn out from gills, still rapid gills and gasping, white spot and some like cotton on the skins and all them is black small size 2.5 INCH, and the fins are black diaphanous …
Reply:
Your fish is suffering from gill fluke and bacteria infection. Treat them with Formalin and Methylene solution.
Treatment & dosage:

• Tank water 100 liters
• Formalin 2 – 3ml Methylene solution – Dark blue
• Change water and repeat the treatment for 1 week.

Hole in the head disease

I recently acquired 6 discus and one of them started getting white spots, which I thought was ick. About three days later even more of these spots appeared and now they have resulted in a lesion about 0.5cm in diameter. All the other fish are fine with the exception of the affected fish. I’ve already stepped up on water changes and added a little salt into the hospital tank, where he is now kept in isolation. Its also worth stating that I had an undergravel filter and removed it. A lot of detritus was stored there and perhaps that was infested with bacteria, parasites etc. Can you perhaps shed a bit of light on the topic of Hole in the Head disease in discus, as it appears to be a very mysterious condition with various authorities on the subject attribute the cause to many different causes.
Reply:
Hole in the head
Reasons: Lack of nutrition and deficiency of minerals.
Hexamita
Drastic fluctuation in water quality.
Symptoms: Small holes appear the head of the fish.
The fish become inactive as the hole slowly grow deeper and bigger.
The excrement of the infected fish becomes whitish and sticky.
Cure: Use medicine for treating Hexamita.
Adjust the diet.
Add minerals especially calcium to the food.
Rats make hole, snakes eat rats and stay in the holes.
Holes in the head is actually not a disease but lack of mineral especially Calcium.
The treatment is actually to get rid of external parasite that stays in the holes

Acriflarine Potassium Permanganate

Why everyday a few baby discus will die as reach to the size of 10cent and 20cent until leave a 10 to 15 pieces of fries . Is the parents got problem or fries take care problem?
Does methylene blue has expiry date?
What is acriflarine and potassium permanganate?
When I use the metronidazole to deworm my discus in 3 feet aquarium , half water why the discus will die? Is it the medicine i put is too much or less ? How much is the accurate ? I put 2 tablets
When treating chlorine poisoning what is the water level because I am afraid the dosage is not enough?
Reply:
1. You can keep the fries till 10 to 20 cents coins size means you know how to take care of babies. They start dying at this stage means the breeders (Parents) must have problems. They carry certain bacteria or parasites in their bodies. These bacteria and parasites would not affect them as they have already immune to them. The fries have antibody which is only temporary while they are with parents.
2. No idea that whether the methylene got expired date. They can keep quite a long time.
3. Acriflavine can heal wound and P.P. can kill bacteria and parasites.
4.Metronidazole is to deworm the discus fish. 2 tablets in 100 liters of water. Raise the temperature to 31 degrees C.
5. Treating chlorine poisoning is to add more Chlorine conditioner. Apply antibiotic can help. There is one product from Thailand name ?Tran Fish? very effective to this poisoning.

Rapid Gill Movement

Why my discus has a rapid gills movement?
Reply:
The fish is suffering from gill fluke.
Formalin and potassium permanganate can treat gill fluke.

Milky Eyes

I recently bought my first discus from a KL shop. One of them has milky or cloudy eyes, one worse than the other. It is only young, about 1″ head to root of tail, and seems to be able to see okay. Have I just bought a bad fish or is this likely to be transit damage that will heal? I didn’t notice this problem when selecting in the shop.
Reply:
This is bacteria infection.
Apply acriflavine solution plus salt.
Water change and repeat the treatment for a few days.
We do not sell 1″ fish. It is too difficult to take care.
We sell at least 2″ fish. This is the best size to buy.

Pectoral fin Stick to the body

My discus got pectoral fin stick to their body. In fact one got the left pectoral fin stick and the other the right pectoral fin. I’ve also notice that the pectoral fin beating is not regular. The discus also swim in a semi vertical position. Can you please advise the best thing to be done?
Reply:
This is bacteria infection.
Apply strong dosage of Potassium Permanganate for a few minutes (Bath). Then apply P. Permanganate in light purple color for over night. Water changed and repeat the same treatment for a few days.

Raw Food and Deworm

Question:
I used to feed my discus with frozen bloodworm (their only preference), What kind of medication that I have to give them every month for deworm and how?
Reply:
You need to do the following:
– Fortnightly apply Epsom salt after changing water.
– Treat them Metronidazole B.P. Tablets – 200mg
Dosage: 2 tablets for 50 gallons water.

Salt to water

When there is explanation about discus health treatment which requires “add salt to water”, how much salt to water should I add?
Reply:
Salt is very useful to control certain bacteria and parasites.
When the fish is stress or not feeling well you can add salt to the water.
Dosage for the treatment is a very critical thing. One must have seen the fish, how serious or how bad the conditions then only he can decide on how
much the dosage to apply.
We have to follow trail and error method to gain experience. We always start from the low dosage and slowly increase.
For 100 liters of water, you can add salt 1 to 5 tablespoons.

Large white bumps

I have a discus that is full grown – 2 years old and 6″ long. Reecently some large white bumps appeared on his head between his eyes. He is listless and stopped eating and hides near the bottom and back of tank. I’ve looked at pictures on the net and the only thing that looks close is hole in the head. Would this be your opinion or would it be something else? If so what is the absolute best treatment?
Reply:
Holes in the head is because lack of minerals.
Adjust the diet with minerals.
There are probably worms in the holes.
Apply Formalin at 2-3 ml/100 liters of water.

Fish out of balance

I have discus pair but female fish balance is out pointing head downward. Can you please suggest me what I have to do to cure it?
Reply:
This is an internal problem.
It could be swim-bladder disease or intestinal blockage.
It is difficult to cure.
Anyway you can try:
Epsom salt bath and followed by Antibiotic treatment.

Discus skin problem

I have two small discus ( 6-7 cm ) as long as some other fishes. Last week I noticed one discus (dark Blue) has some fine spots on fins and a small
silver area on her skin. I immediatly raised the temp to 30 and changed 1/4th of the water and then added ContraICk from tetra and 2-3 spoon od salt into my aquarium. The spot disappeared after 2 days, but the silver area become white and now I noticed another discus is seemly biting that area.
Shall I separate the ill discus? What else I should do ?
Reply:
Repeat the same treatment for at least one week.
Most of the fish in the tank should have affected.
The one with the wound will be transfered to a hospital tank.
Treat her with Acriflavine solution plus salt.

Discus will not eat

I have four discus in a 75 gallon tank. Two of the four stay hidden in the back of the tank even during feeding, which is unusual. I have recently noticed that the two hiding will sometimes excrete a white blob of fecal mess. What do you reccomend for treating internal parasites? The temp of the tank is 86 degrees> pH is 5.5> There are no nitrites/nitrates> Optimal water conditions- I have started to add vitamin supplemnt to their frozen food, but the sick alpha only pecks at it and doesn’t seem to be ingesting anything, as he’s real skinny. Is there anything I can do to help them gain their appetite while they are sick?
Reply:
1st. Day
Treat them with Epsom salt.
One to two tablespoon of 100 liters of water
2nd Day
Metronidazole – Pure form. Used when discus will not eat, white feces are
present. Dose 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallons daily for 5 days.
Dose may be repeated

Blue dimond is always dark

My blue diamond is always dark in color.  It is almost black!!  It has clamped fins. We medicate the food and clean the tank every day. The temp is fine and same with the ph level. What should we do??
Reply:
Blue Diamond can easily turn dark in color.
This indicates that she is not feeling well. Clamped fins mean bacteria attacked.
Apply antibiotic plus salt. Change water and repeat the medication for a few days.

Why discus change dark color?

Can you please tell me why my fish disdus change to dark color and it does not eat about a week. It doen’t seem sick, acted normal. I keep it with 3 other discus those are eat a lot. Is it okay to keep a baby silver arowana together with discus fishes?
Reply:
The fish changes dark in color mean she is not feeling well. She will be sick later on. Put her in a hospital tank. Treat her with Acriflavine solution plus salt. Change water and repeat the treatment for a few days. It will not be okay to keep Arowana together with discus fish.

White Spots

I had an outbreak of white spot in my tank a couple of weeks ago. This was due to being sold infected fish which did not show signs of the disease until a couple of hours after I put them in my tank. I lost nearly all of my fish after this outbreak. I carried out a complete water change and now have my fish replaced however the same thing has happened again. I am using white spot control which I purchased from the pet shop and I have turned the temperature up in the tank. Is there anything else I can do I would be devastated to loose all my fish again?

Reply:

White spots is a very common parasites . You can apply the white spot medicine.

Method:

• Raise temperature to 30 degree C
• Apply medicine follow the instruction and dosage
• Continue the treatment for 10 days.

Antibiotics and Fish Ailments

Here in your website you mentioned numerous types of medicine for discus treatment. Where would be the best place to look for these medicine? Are they available in any local pharmacy? If yes, what should I must make sure that it is safe for fishes?
REPLY:
Yes, you can buy those medicines from the pharmacy. The treatments are safe if you follow carefully for the instructions of the dosage. Overdose will kill your fish especially parasites and bacteria treatments.

Eating and Waste

My discus is not eating as much as he did when I got him a month ago, I am now finding that his waste is white and not black like it was.

Reply:

Treatment:

1. One tablespoon of Epsom salt in 100 liters of water For 24 hours
2. 100 liters of tank water Raise water temperature 31 – 32 degree C Metronidazole : 2 tablets in water For 3 days

Internal worms

Internal worms the fish is discharging like  fluffy cotton wool

Reply:

1. If fish not eating:

• 100 litres of tank water
• Raise water temperature 31 to 32 degree C
• Metronidazole : 2 tablets in water

2. If fish eating:

• One tablespoon of Epsom salt in 100 litres of water For 24 hours
• Raise water temperature 31 to 32 degree C
• Grind 2 tablets metronidazole
• Mix 500 gram of fish burger
• Feed them when they hungry
• Half an hour after feeding, change water

Methylene Blue

I took the advise on putting Methylene Blue in the tank when my discus layed eggs.   Works great,  question is when to return the carbon to the filter to start to clear the water  and how much of a water change should be done when they go from wigglers to free swimmers.  Almost appears to me that the parents have a little bit of a hard time following the fry with the tank being blue?  Please let me know if i should let it run its course or do frequent water changes to lighten the water after they become fry.
Reply:
The breeding tank should be bare bottom.
You need only air stone and no filter.
You will siphon the dirt at the bottom of the tank then top up the water.
The color of water can even be in dark blue. The parents will feel more secured. They do not feel much shadow falls on them.
You can change water 2 – 3 times a day. (20%)

Discus color turn Dark and fin is down

I have 30 adult discus in 115gal tank. One of my big Red turquoise (3.5′) just turn very dard color and the fin is down. The fish looks very stress and keep hiden on the top or down on the bottom. (only happen in last 24 hrs). What should I do to save the fish?
Reply:
When the fish hides at a corner and turns dark in color, it indicates she is
not feeling well or falling sick.
Put the fish in a hospital tank.
Treat them with acriflavine solution add salt.
Water changed and repeat the treatment for 3 ? 4 days.
The main tank:
Apply Formalin for precaution.
Dosage: Formalin 2 – 3ml. / 100 liters of water.

My Discus have dark colour and set in the corner …

I have a new 60 gal tank that I bought from a trade show that the pet store in town was having. It came with two wild caught green Discuses, I had to move the tank and start it that night it was stressful for the discus and for me. The discuses have been in the tank for 3 weeks and they just set in the corner and hardy move about the aquarium, I was wondering if this is normal. The water in the aquarium is, soft dH 4.48 mg/l, PH 7.5, KH 80 mg/l and the water is tanned with driftwood and peat and softening pillows. The temp is at 83.5 and there are a few plants and I am planning to get more. The discuses are dark in colour and set in the back corner. Is there any think I can do to get them to move around more?
Reply:
When the fish hide at a corner, it is because of the new environment. She needs time a adjust it.
When she turns dark in color, it indicates she in not feeling well or falling sick.
Put the fish in a hospital tank.
Treat them with acriflavine solution add salt.
Water changed and repeat the treatment for 3 – 4 days.

Gill Fungus problem

What is a Potassium Permanganate solution and what is the trade name?
I have a breeding pair which I’ve had problems with from day one. The
female is a green wild caught, and has always had problems with the gills. I
have tried many medications but not successfully. She also have white tissue
on her gill-mebranes,fungus?Do you think the gills is damaged forever?
She also get dark once in a while but this only last for a day or two!
I know the pair has gill parasites (dactyl…), but what treatment do you
suggest?. I can see in the forum that you suggest Potassium Permanganate
bath every two weeks for external parasites but is there a medication which
will solve this problem for good, not only controlling?
Reply:
Potassium Permanganate is best to treat gill and skin fluke. It is a crystal form. Many solutions for treating gill and skin fluke are used PP as a base. It is purple in color. I think you can get PP in pharmacy.
White tissue on the gill is fungus. After PP bath, apply Methylene Blue solution over night. Repeat the medication for one week.
She also gets dark once in a while. It is happened during stress or not feeling well.
I know the pair has gill parasites. Then you have to treat your fish.
Is there a medication which will solve this problem for good, not only controlling?
Yes with your cooperation.
If you cannot get PP, then you can use Formalin.
Dosage: 100 liters of water in hospital tank
2 to 3 ml. Of Formalin
Plus Methylene Blue solution (Light Blue ink)
Change water and repeat the treatment for 5 days.
The fish will get well and no more parasites.
If for good, you don’t have parasites in the tank.

Parasite or egg tube?

I have 2 mature pigeon blood discus (male & female) and a week ago the female had what looked like a clear tube (2 inches) protruding from underneath her. After 4 days she rubbed it off and now she is very sick and will not eat. I’m not sure if the tube was a worm or possibly her egg tube and I’m not sure how to treat her. The male started picking on her, so I put a divider in the tank. What should I do next? She seems to want to survive.
Discus fish hobbyists often ask:
a) Why my discus fish won’t eat?
b) Why my discus fish eats but won’t grow?
c) Why my discus fish color very dull?
a) Why discus fish refuse to eat? Most of the time people often say. They don’t like this food. They like that food. Actually healthy discus fish eat anything you give, when they are hungry. If they don’t eat, there must be something wrong. Its the fish, not the food. Then what happens to the fish? They have no appetite to eat. What makes them no appetite? The parasites. The internal parasites. WORM
b) Why the discus fish eat but they don’t grow. When the fish eats the food, the food turns into nutrition for the fish to grow. But they eat and do not grow. Where has the food gone to? I think we should blame the worm.
c) My discus fish look very dull. The color doesn’t look attractive. They eat and grow. Even we enhance them. It doesn’t have much improvement. Why? There is a block. Who is responsible for it? I think we should blame the worm.
I keep dogs. Every month I treat them worm table. If I don’t do so, she will slow down in eating. Sometimes she refuses to eat. She loses weight. She becomes moody and not active. Her fur looks dull. She will recover after treating them worm tables. Every three months, I treat them with heartworm tablet too.
So, we should treat the discus fish the same. We must de worm them every month. The fish eat tubifex worm and bloodworm. There is no ways to avoid the parasite grows. I used to treat all my fish and get rids of worms every month. They eat and grow. They look attractive.
Reply:
The white faeces show internal parasites.
Treat them either antibiotic or metronidazole.
Increase the salt content in the water.

Fungus

There is a white cotton like materials on the body and fins of my discus. It do not eat and sometimes it lie down at the corner.What can I do? Please give me an advise.Thanks
Reply:
1. Fungus attack.
2. Step 1. Salt bath.
3. Step 2. Apply Methylene Blue solution plus salt
4. Repeat the above for 3 to 5 days.
5. No feeding.

Adding the Methylene Blue Solution

In your discus care section after adding the Methylene Blue Solution what shall i do?
Shall i change the water or keep it for some days?
Reply:
1. Day 1. Apply the blue solution and salt.
2. Day 3. Change water and repeat the medication.
3. Day 5. Repeat.
4. Day 7. Repeat.
5. No feeding during the treatment.
6. If you feel you want to feed them, feed them before you change water. (If they eat)