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Library > Diseases and Medications > General Information > Discus Help Checklist
Discus Help Checklist
Al Sabetta April 5, 2002

I don't know if this will be of use to anyone but I put together a list of things somebody will probably need to know if they post a request for help with a discus problem. I probably missed a few things so let me know if anything should be added. At the least it might help novices describe what they are dealing with, and aid others in helping them.


Discus Help Checklist


Physical condition of the fish
  1. Visible parasites (describe)
  2. Stringy feces
  3. Head-standing
  4. Bloated/constipated
  5. Hole in the head, lateral line erosion
  6. Spots, salt-like flecks, velvety appearance, cotton-like growths, etc.
  7. Excessive slime production
  8. Labored breathing, dysfunctional gill
  9. Cloudy eyes
  10. Darkened color
  11. Faded color
  12. Other unusual changes

Water parameters
  1. pH
  2. Temperature
  3. Hardness
  4. Conductivity
  5. TDS
  6. R/O (reverse osmosis) filtered, tap (well or chlorinated city water), rain water?
  7. Water change regime (example: 30% daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
  8. Appearance (cloudy, green , clear, yellowish, etc.)
  9. Odor (smells clean or sulfur-lit match smell, anaerobic indicator)

Tank parameters
  1. Size in gallons/liters
  2. Substrate (bare glass, gravel, sand)
  3. Planted
  4. Driftwood

Filter types
  1. Wet/dry
  2. Canister
  3. Hanging box (AquaClear, Whisper, etc.)
  4. Sponges
  5. Supplimental peat filter
  6. Supplimental air
  7. Carbon, resin exchanges, Ammo-chips, etc.

Lighting (important for algae problems and plant growth)
  1. Hood
  2. Bulb type, size, watts, spectrum (example: 5000K daylight)
  3. Light/dark cycle (number hours on/off)

General
  1. Diet (what and how often do you feed you fish?)
  2. Tank occupants other than discus
  3. How many discus in your tank?
  4. How long have you had them?
  5. Where did you get them (breeder, local fish store, etc.)?
  6. Tank and filter cleaning schedule
  7. Medications/salt treatments recently used or tried to treat this problem


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