# Why I believe all wild discus should be periodically dewormed



## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

PLEASE - this is all only my own opinion and I would NOT RECOMMEND WHAT I DO FOR ANYONE, because even if you try, your set up will NEVER replicate mine and what I do as far as maintenance so PLEASE do not assume that what I do will work for you. I'm only saying it works for ME and my fish 

About a year and a half ago, April hooked me up with some dewormer for my wilds. I let it sit on the shelf for a couple of months because I SWORE I would never deworm my wilds. I figured water changes and LOTS of them, the odd bit of salt, buffer and Equilibrium, maybe the odd almond leaf, and they would be fine. Usually, all that works, but sometimes it doesn't. I was watching the fish get paler and less active and a lot slower to eat. They all still ate, but not like they used to - I thought they were just bored. I dug out the medication and dewormed them. EGADS - what was on the bottom the tank the next day was DISGUSTING!!!! And SO MUCH of it. And then my heart sunk. I thought I was looking at a tank full of the "dreaded white poop" that discus get before some of them take months to die from whatever it was that caused it. Anyhow, I was impressed. So much so, that I contacted the manufacture in the UK and they sent me TONS of it which I shared with all my discus buddies. I only use it at most 2X a year. You can do it as often as every month, but that seems a bit much to me and unnecessary. I use it now after I add a lot of new fish, or if they ALL start acting differently. I can't tell you how amazing the difference in the fish is. They are so much more colorful. They fight for food again and a higher spot in the pecking order. I would NEVER use Kusuri with any other fish in the tank. PERIOD. I don't care - tetras, plecos, I don't care if you have sardines in your tank - don't do it. I have used it in my community tanks, no problems. I have used it with discus only, no problems. I have used it with wild discus and cories and plecos and things didn't go too good with the cories and plecos. Again, MY OWN EXPERIENCE.

If you are interested, here's what I use:
Kusuri Products - Secure Online Shopping

Here's what the bottom of the tank looked like within approximately ONE HOUR after a 95'ish% waterchange tonight. As soon as the fresh water went into the tank, the fish, of course, decided to foul it right back up 






This is a link to the thread I posted about how the wilds look tonight after replacing all my bulbs from J&L Aquatics today.
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/sale...coralife-bulb-sale-mods-feel-free-move-27383/

EDIT: An interesting thing I find with wilds - they don't develop the "beak nose" that skittle domestic discus can get after being medicated. I have a gorgeous red cover throwback in the tank that I medicated last year - no it was actually almost two years ago now - and right afterwards, she got all beak-faced. I still love her , but the wilds - I've NEVER seen that. And another thing about all the wilds in this tank, not ONE of them can be used to open an envelope!!! I HATE that skinny head thing that old wild discus get. YUCK. The three in the QT tank have that and it's just nasty.

BY THE WAY: Can anyone remember when Rainforest shut down? That's when I got my little wild ica/heckel cross. I've had her the longest out of my current wild discus. The red cover throwback even longer.


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

i checked the link i wouldnt mind trying it. Where did you purchase it? From that site?


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

no problem with shipping?


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

group order?


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

Kusuri is a great product . I use on my discus tank and my wife's tank. I have also tried the discus food they offer. My fish loved it. I highly recommend it


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## seanyuki (Apr 22, 2010)

I have been Kusuri Dewormer for years.....never had a problem using it......Flubendazole can be use in foods or directly into to the tank......do not blast a product which is highly recommended among discus hobbyists ......reading from yr post OP that you got bad discus from the start....ie rainforrest discus......look up in SD forum .....bad choice getting discus from Tom......

please do not buy discus from rainforest international



Chappy said:


> PLEASE - this is all only my own opinion and I would NOT RECOMMEND WHAT I DO FOR ANYONE, because even if you try, your set up will NEVER replicate mine and what I do as far as maintenance so PLEASE do not assume that what I do will work for you. I'm only saying it works for ME and my fish
> 
> About a year and a half ago, April hooked me up with some dewormer for my wilds. I let it sit on the shelf for a couple of months because I SWORE I would never deworm my wilds. I figured water changes and LOTS of them, the odd bit of salt, buffer and Equilibrium, maybe the odd almond leaf, and they would be fine. Usually, all that works, but sometimes it doesn't. I was watching the fish get paler and less active and a lot slower to eat. They all still ate, but not like they used to - I thought they were just bored. I dug out the medication and dewormed them. EGADS - what was on the bottom the tank the next day was DISGUSTING!!!! And SO MUCH of it. And then my heart sunk. I thought I was looking at a tank full of the "dreaded white poop" that discus get before some of them take months to die from whatever it was that caused it. Anyhow, I was impressed. So much so, that I contacted the manufacture in the UK and they sent me TONS of it which I shared with all my discus buddies. I only use it at most 2X a year. You can do it as often as every month, but that seems a bit much to me and unnecessary. I use it now after I add a lot of new fish, or if they ALL start acting differently. I can't tell you how amazing the difference in the fish is. They are so much more colorful. They fight for food again and a higher spot in the pecking order. I would NEVER use Kusuri with any other fish in the tank. PERIOD. I don't care - tetras, plecos, I don't care if you have sardines in your tank - don't do it. I have used it in my community tanks, no problems. I have used it with discus only, no problems. I have used it with wild discus and cories and plecos and things didn't go too good with the cories and plecos. Again, MY OWN EXPERIENCE.
> 
> ...


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

She got fish from Rainforest on Hastings in Burnaby .


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I didn't have any problems with dosing Kursuri in my tanks, but it also didn't have the same effect. I didn't get mounds of stuff excreted by the fish, but then I have white sand on the bottom so who knows.


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Well it's not actually allowed to be shipped into Canada..but if you get a small packet and something else it can make it through customs. Depends how they declare it. 
Best to get each on their own incase it's confiscated. 
Fluvendazole works on things like capillaria which is a common problem with wilds. Poo that is in clumps and thin pieces like sausage links and some yellow colour. Different than white poo. It's what makes wilds waste and get tht skinny head.
It works well...there used to be a flubendazole treatment that required on and off for a few weeks. Flubendazole can cause head standing...so careful measuring is important.


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

my understanding is that it is not water soluble, Untergasster (sp?) recommends mixing in a polar solvent (acetone?, DMSO?) first to allow for water borne treatment. Plus, doesn't it have the same effective range of iradication of parasites as Levamisole? 

Levamisole has the same underlying problem with shipping to Canada, but there are some local sources 

You can try pigeon fancier supply shops as well. 

I don't know for certain is Levamisole is effective against tapeworm, and so you may to treat with Prazipro as well (readily available here)


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

seanyuki said:


> I have been Kusuri Dewormer for years.....never had a problem using it......Flubendazole can be use in foods or directly into to the tank......do not blast a product which is highly recommended among discus hobbyists ......reading from yr post OP that you got bad discus from the start....ie rainforrest discus......look up in SD forum .....bad choice getting discus from Tom......


Hi Francis: It's me!! I asked Shawn to change my user ID. The fish are pretty damn healthy, I'd think  No, I meant Rainforest as in James on Hastings Street a few years back. Joe has had fish from Tom at the Rainforrest place they trash on Simply and he got some VERY nice fish with pretty good customer service from what I can remember being told. I think the folks on Simply were a little too quick to bash him because of other things that had nothing to do with fish which I felt was very wrong and unfair.
Shelley


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