The respiratory rate allows conclusions to be drawn about well-being.
Healthy discus have a breathing rate of about 50 breaths per minute. The exact value depends heavily on the temperature.
Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. 3.0 Author: Doronenko
The normal range of variation is between 40 and 70 breaths. With fully grown discus and a temperature of 30° C, e.g. B. counted 64 breaths per minute.
Younger discus have a higher breathing rate than adult discus.
The respiratory rate increases during vigorous activity, e.g. B. when feeding, if the animals are frightened or with a larger water change.
When nitrite levels rise rapidly, respiratory rate also increases.
If the breaths are constantly at the upper limit of 70 and above, i.e. 70, or if the breathing movements are very deep, i.e. the animals are pumping heavily, something is wrong with the animals.
Discus live in their homeland in oxygen-poor water. The oxygen content in the aquarium is therefore not extremely important. If necessary, the oxygen content can be measured with test reagents from specialist shops.
Treat discus with medication
Should new discus be treated with medication as a precaution?
Newly purchased fish are often already contaminated. Newly purchased discus must be quarantined for several weeks. Even the transport and insertion can trigger typical weakness diseases such as intestinal flagellates, bacterial infections, etc. in weakened animals. There are such experiences with weakened discus in juvenile fish and in adult specimens.
There are different views on how to proceed.
Quarantine with precautionary drug treatment
After purchase, discus belong in a quarantine aquarium. Temporary hiding places are installed in the quarantine tank, e.g. B. Flower pots. A thin layer of sand prevents initial irritation.
The water movement must not be too strong so that the fish that have been struck are not further weakened in the current. The animals must be gently placed in the quarantine tank.
First, the body’s own defenses are improved or restored.
Temperature treatment is carried out on animals that are not too severely weakened. The temperature is slowly increased from the temperature in the dealer pool to 35°C. This temperature is maintained under constant supervision for two days.
After that, the temperature is lowered to 33°C for at least a week. Then the temperature is lowered to 30°C.
During this period, the water is aerated and changed every 3 days. It is fed rich in vitamins and leftover food is sucked off. Flake food is not always taken immediately.
These measures can usually eliminate the weakness-related illnesses. After that, the animals are no longer too frightened. They keep themselves busy with small demonstrations of power, territorial disputes and food envy.
Now parasitic diseases are treated. First, copper compounds are used against gill worms because there are no other effective remedies. Flubenol resistances are also becoming more common. The use of CQD has proven itself. Sera mycopur can also be used. The treatment is repeated after a week. If the filter is sufficiently dimensioned, there will still be enough biological filter performance after this treatment to keep the pollutant degradation going.
After these three weeks, an additional treatment with Preis Coly is carried out. The agent is based on natural ingredients and is said to work against gill worms and intestinal parasites. The drug is well tolerated even in larger doses. Above all, it can be mixed with the feed. Frozen red mosquito larvae can be dissolved in it. The larvae are dried beforehand so that they absorb as much active ingredient as possible. Flake or granulated food is also suitable.
This treatment is also repeated after a week.
This is followed by treatment with Concurat for nematodes and with Droncit for tapeworms. Possibly a treatment with malachite green makes sense. But this is not always necessary.
After these treatments, the animals should be lively, show typical species behavior and pose no risk of infection for existing fish.
Arguments against such treatment:
- Discus will surely be killed in the long run.
- The fish are tortured with a drug cocktail.
- A lot of chemicals are poured into the aquarium.
- The causes of any illnesses are not taken into account.
- Drugs should not be used without an accurate diagnosis.
- Medicines have side effects that should not be accepted without good reason. So it’s illogical and animal cruelty.
- It does not matter whether the medicines are put into the aquarium at the same time or a few days apart.
- The drugs accumulate in the liver and kidneys.
- Parasites on fish do not necessarily lead to the certain death of the fish.
- Even recognized treatment methods do not exclude a search for the cause.
- The purpose of the quarantine is to condition the fish in the best possible way and to prepare them for future water conditions.
- Fish bought healthy that fall ill in the home aquarium indicate errors in the water treatment or the water values.
- The water must be suitable for the well-kept fish to avoid such total losses.
- Drugs are used far too often in the discus scene.
- It is not known how many total failures there are after or during the use of the medication.
Arguments for such treatment:
- The procedure is a recognized treatment method.
- It’s not a drug cocktail because drugs are used one at a time.
- In a period of several weeks, treatment is given with breaks.
- Only such treatment protects against total losses after a new purchase.
Quarantine without drug treatment
A prerequisite for keeping discus fish permanently healthy is optimal water values and varied food. Unfortunately, many owners do not think about this. Not many values are measured apart from carbonate hardness, pH and nitrite. Many owners assume that the water is fine if these three values are correct. Practice shows that this assumption is incorrect.
In the case of uncertain sources, e.g. B. dealers, there is always a risk that diseases are introduced. If new animals are kept in quarantine under good conditions for about 6 weeks, most pathogens are no longer a problem.
In addition to ichthyo and fungal diseases, the most frequently introduced pathogens are probably skin parasites. Symptoms include chafing and uncontrolled scratching. This is usually over after 6 weeks of good posture. Keeping warm accelerates the shedding and death of parasites.
Treatment with medication is only necessary in exceptional cases and may only be carried out after a reliable diagnosis. If imported diseases were really so critical and every animal had to be treated in advance, the aquarium hobby could actually be ended. Ultimately, this also applies to discus, although higher standards have to be set here.
Discus have holes on their foreheads
Healthy discus have small ca. 0.3 millimeter holes on their foreheads. The holes are mirrored but arranged symmetrically. There are 3 holes on each side. The two bottom holes are slightly deeper than the four top holes.
The so-called hole disease can occur in the upper part of the head, mostly above the eyes. However, the hole disease can also occur in other parts of the body. After healing, a more or less large crater remains, which is white-grey in color. The color pigments are destroyed there.