What to Do When Juvenile Fish Grow Slowly? Causes and Solutions

Discus have a relatively high rate of infection with nematodes and flagellates, especially during the juvenile growth stage; after infection, juvenile fish grow more slowly. Adult fish suddenly lose appetite, waste away day by day, develop a swollen abdomen with a thin dorsal ridge, and may also develop enteritis and ascites. Capillaria and flagellates respond well to treatment. For growing fish and breeding broodstock, deworming can be done on a fixed monthly schedule, alternating with Baibichu. When discus are infected with Capillaria, obvious loss of appetite and emaciation indicate severe infection, so routine quarantine with a Capillaria treatment should be carried out regularly.

The fish gradually waste away, lose appetite, their body color fades, and they pass long white worms. Discus and dwarf cichlids are generally fed with bloodworms and silk@#@254@#@worms as food, and because their collection sites are polluted, these are easily parasitized by tapeworms and nematodes. Tapeworms absorb intestinal nutrients in the fish's body, easily causing discus to gradually waste away, lose appetite, and fade in body color, and in severe cases even causing bloating and pathological changes. When tapeworms grow into adults, they release large numbers of eggs that are expelled with the discus feces and then eaten by other discus, causing cyclical infection. Tapeworm and fluke treatments can effectively expel tapeworms from the intestine; a medicinal bath directly in the aquarium for 4-6 days, or mixing with food and feeding for one week, can both achieve the deworming goal. When the medicinal bath temperature is 30-32°C, routine quarantine for discus every 2-3 months is optimal. The adult tapeworm is white and elongated, reaching up to 7-10 cm long; when expelled from the body with medication, it must be siphoned out to prevent other discus from eating it and causing cyclical infection.

Specially formulated for discus fish farms and professional aquariums, Kechongning is a dedicated external parasite medication developed for quarantining body-surface parasites and preventing and treating protozoan infections in discus and tropical fish, with a small dosage, low cost, and good results. It specifically expels body-surface parasites such as dactylogyrus, chilodonella, trichodina, and fish lice. When using Kechongning to treat tropical fish diseases, the food should be halved, the water temperature kept at 28-30°C, and the aquarium water quality kept stable; the treatment course is 5-7 days. If water is changed during treatment, the medication dose must be replenished to maintain the same concentration and preserve efficacy. During the course, maintain higher dissolved oxygen; a high-quality biological sponge filter can be used as an aid to keep water quality stable. If water quality is poor, change the water first before treatment, and the water temperature must not exceed 30°C. If the water temperature is too high and there is too much organic matter in the water, the medication's properties can change easily, causing fish discomfort and poisoning; if this occurs, change a large amount of water, add a water conditioner and special sterilizer, and wait quietly for the water quality to stabilize and the fish to recover health.