Friday, October 21, 2011

Avoiding Discus Disease

By John White


We understand discus fish become ill, but have you learnt how you can spot the signs or symptoms or how to treat your beloved discus fish? it is not like you're able to simply take them to your doctor or even a vet, that makes it good to educate yourself concerning the warning signs and treatment options of the various discus diseases.

Much like with humans, pathogens are the primary reason for discus becoming sick. Then again unlike humans discus reside in water, if the water is not looked after properly or tanks aren't cleaned out on a regular basis it may come to be a perfect breeding ground for pathogenic agents. These pathogens could then end up getting below the scales of the discus fish causing them to become ill.

Browsing the discus forums I realized that Discus diseases are a quite common and in many cases debated topic. The major problem seems to be that quite a few owners are not aware what's causing their discus to be diseases or ways to stop this from occurring. By employing some key things you can greatly reduce the potential risk of your discus contracting diseases:

* Make sure that they're well-fed with suitable nutrition but be careful not to over feed them. Primarily insure they're getting an adequate amount of protein.

* Frequent clean-up of the tank is vital, at least one time a week.

* Make certain that their fish tank isn't too small or congested

* Regularly check out the water quality, and make sure of the right ph level (between 5.5 to 7.5 is good) and water temperature, must be between 82 and 86 Fahrenheit (27-30C)

* Keep your discus fish from getting too anxious - this will come about when other fish are competitive thus be careful in choosing tanks mates. Humans are also a major factor in stressing out fish when they act too aggressively, for instance always tapping on the fish tank glass.

You should read about discus diseases , their signs, symptoms and treatments, having said that I need to warn you to be sure you are using the most suitable medication in the appropriate dose. Likewise NEVER combine drugs without being told as overdosing or incorrectly treating problems will do far more harm than good. For anyone who is in any doubt whatsoever seek advice from a discus expert as soon as you can, tropical fish forums may also be a great place to obtain advice. Obviously it is important to be sure the individual supplying you with assistance is qualified to do so.

Equally just like human beings medical treatments may take time, you can not expect a cure immediate. If you are giving a course of antibiotics to your fish, make sure you give it the complete course. Cutting the treatment short runs the risk of creating an antibiotic tolerant strain of the disease.

Prevention is always better than a cure, if you ensure the right steps are taken in taking care of your discus many of the diseases are often avoidable.




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