Hi Guys,

First to baby...and some of the rest.......
Increasing the temerature is to increase the metabolism rate of the discus and of course, the appetite. This I have realised 32 years ago....but I realise later the temperature can do just that much and maintaining temperature at that level of 30C helps the discus to age faster and that discus in such condition for long term becomes inflexible to temperature change and can easily fall sick once there is a drop in temperature......and this generally happens in December (I may be wrong).

I am talking about keeping discus without temperature control...being in Singapore and Malaysia. Our temperature range from an average of 28C in the day and an average of 24C..raining days 22C without heater. Raising temperature above 30 helps in control of certain pathogen outbreak...but not solving the main problem.

Therefore, I prefer to maintain temerature between 25 to 28C as the basic range...and when I feel there is a need to increase temperature for a certain purpose.....as treatment or boost appetite or as part of holistic treatment, that adjustment will create an effect. But if all the while I have been maintaining at 32C, is there a way to make further adjustment upwards???

To increase appetite, temperature is not the only solution...

1) add B complex....B1, B2 and B6 (sugar-free)...120 to 150mg to 100 litre of water.

2) Make regular 5 times feeding and force feed to expand the stomach to make it more elastic when young. Continue to adulthood and all the discus will continue to eat like pig.

As to Stan question, it sounds logical not to give a disease-free environment to discus as if we do, they may not be immune to any disease exposed to them in the future. My answer is 40/60....why?

40% for hobbyists. In a hobby standard...constant exposure to some infections is acceptable. The discus will build resistance to the strain of pathogen...great idea!!! Your concept is quite acceptable.

60% to commercial. IN a commercial scale....this is a risk because everyday you are producing offspring and they have to fight the in-house disease, win over it, before they are immune. What happens if one fine day, some offsprings are not able to overcome the problem?....It will backfire and cause an epidemic.

Do you know that some problems are viral? Do you think it is advisable to live among the HIV postive population...eat and sleep together...contract some HIV from them and believing that the body immune will oneday builds a resistant to this virus??
What do you think? ...I don't think so.

Go to some Penang breeders...and you will see many serious split fin as explained in my book page 147 to 149. Do you think that it is good to innoculate and harbour some of these pathogens in your hatchery to hope of establishing resistance to the pathogens??? Not me....e.e.e

If I have one or two tanks...it is o.k... If I am lucky, they survive and build resistance. If unlucky,...some die...so...no problem...buy some more.

In commercial scale, this is a time-bomb...one day, due to whatever reason, may destroy your whole investment.

Therefore to be on the safe side...try your best to have the hatchery as disease-free as possible.

I may be wrong...but is my belief because I have failed before time and again.

Take care,
Andrew

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