Whirling Disease | Uncovering the truth

Chris Englezou Fish Health 1 Comment

For some time there has been a debate about the causes of the so-called “whirling disease” in discus fish (Symphysodon) and other tropical ornamental fish species. I hope via this article to inspire further research and discussion and highlight some of the facts and myths surrounding this problem. The illness itself is known to cause fish to whirl violently in a circular manner often with no apparent or obvious cause and usually die some short time later. Many theories have come about as to how and why this strange behaviour occurs ranging from infectious organisms to dietary deficiencies or even …

Are discus really that difficult to keep?

Chris Ingham Discus Fish 1 Comment

For years many hobbyist have said that discus are difficult fish to keep, years ago many said impossible to keep. Easy for me to say I know after over forty years of fish keeping. But now we are all armed with up to date knowledge we now know about them, discus are not as difficult to keep as you might have imagined. Even today, many new discus hobbyists keep discus in the same conditions as normal tropical fish. The discus look great and are swimming around, feeding and getting on great with cardinals, neon’s, Cory cats and all the other …

Fishing for Heckel Discus in the Rio Demini

Marcelo Fernandez Biotope, Discus Fish 2 Comments

In this article my intention is to give some insight into the world of the Heckel Discus (Symphysodon discus) before they arrive to our aquariums. This prior world is less well known but holds all of the joy and satisfaction as keeping the fish themselves. I will tell you only things which I experienced personally in the ten days of this trip, things which taught me a great deal. Amazonia Any ornamental fish lover at some point has thought about what it would be like to see or visit the Amazon. The vast majority of all freshwater fish in the …

Searching for Discus in Peru & Colombia

Antonio Silva Biotope, Biotopes of South America, Discus Fish, Fish History 2 Comments

The discus was a high body Red-Spotted Green. It looked like the high body form commonly reared by Asian breeders. This specimen, however, was unique. It was caught in the Nanay River in Peru. I have seen wild caught Snakeskins, Pigeon Bloods and solid Blue Discus. These examples suggest that the forms developed in Asia have comparables swimming in the wild in South America. The Green Discus was one reason why I had travelled to Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon and subsequently to the city of Leticia in the Colombia Amazon. I had never visited the habitat of this discus …

Aquatics Live 2012

C.E. Fish Essentials Events Leave a Comment

We ended the 2012 event season at the Aquatics Live exhibition in Kensington Olympia, London. Here’s how it went.. This event was organised by OnShow Events and was supported largely by the companies Tetra, Tropica, Geisemann Aquaristic as well as The Big Fish Campaign and OATA (The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association). We were very proud to be exhibiting for the second year among a list of other innovative, interesting and reputable companies, groups and associations including the likes of Maidenhead Aquatics, JBL, Pets at Home and UKAPS (The UK Aquatic Plant Society) among others. As a young company with a …