Epsom Salt

[Peaches]

Epsom Salt was suggested in one of my other posts to cure blockages for Discus, however, the amount was not included in the suggestion.

Might be helpful to everyone to have that info handy somewhere. Just a though:)

Our tank is looking great though, the algae is starting to wane.

We have a ton of snails, someone suggested putting in a piece of cucumber in the tank and said the snails would go for that and we could take the piece of cucumber out in the morning. Has anyone heard of this? Does it actually work?

Thanks for all the help through all the troubles!

[sammigold]

Epsom salts - 1 teaspoon per 40 litres

Havent heard of the cucumber snail thing... but you could always try!

Clown Loaches will often make short work of snails..

[Peaches]

But will our pleco and a loach or two get along?

[Nathan]

they should be fine, i doubt they would bother eachother

[mcloughlin2]

What you do is grab a piece of cucumber/zucchini and place it in a coke bottle .... Lay this on the botton overnight, then in the morning grab it out before light hits the tank ....

Clown loaches and plecos are fine, just make sure you only keep them in a 4ft tank minimum! :)

[Peaches]

Ah, see, we didn't get the coke bottle part of that information! Thanks!

We have a 4ft tank right now. We're getting a different pleco that is only supposed to get to 4 or 5 inches. The one we have now is HUGE as he's a common sailfin.

Has anyone heard anything about the online store www.somethingphishy.com? This is where we're thinking about getting our next discus from.

[sammigold]

Hi Peaches, I have two plecos and two clown loaches living together happily in the same tank so they should be fine as tankmates for you too.
Just make sure that they get enough food.

[samir]

Has anyone heard anything about the online store www.somethingphishy.com? This is where we're thinking about getting our next discus from.
There was a member called Rytis who bought from that place and lets just say that I've culled better fish than that. Try http://www.discusfantasy.com they are in Plano TX. They import discus from Wayne Ng. I recommend buying one of his strains. There's a lot of rubbish out there in the market and you are lucky to have such quality available. Down under its very hard to see that kind of quality.

[Peaches]

Wow, those fish are beautiful.

We were only looking at somethingphishy b/c it was one of the only sellers we could find in our searches. Are there any other breeders you'd recommend to look at before buying?

[samir]

If they can provide you with the same quality as the pictures on the site I wouldn't bother looking elsewhere. their prices are fantastic. e.g Spotted Eruption (leopard snake) 6-7cm for $55. We get very average leopard snake for thrice that amount down here.

[sonflowerjoela]

what is the dosage on gallons for epsom salts? What exactly is it that the epsom salts does for discus?

[sammigold]

Hi, working on the premise of 4litres to every gallon I calculate the dosage to be 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons.

Epsom salts are magnesium sulphate which is used by many as a water softener. It tends to act as a laxative of sorts for fish and it works with other fish as well, not just discus. It can help with digestive or minor swim bladder disorders.
I think it helps the muscles to relax, I'm pretty sure that some people use it in their baths to help relax. (sort of like a "radox" bath) and I think it works on the same sort of premise for fish, by helping their muscles to relax to make it easier to expel any blockages.

correct me if I am wrong anyone!

[sonflowerjoela]

Thank you! I wondered, I have used it in baths before. :D