Interview of Dr. Francesco Denitto, Discus Trophy

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Dizkuz
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Interview of Dr. Francesco Denitto, Discus Trophy

Post by Dizkuz » 10 Jul 2008, 21:17

1) Who is Dr. Francesco Denitto as a person and tell us a bit about your job and family

Born in Mesagne (southeastern Italy) on 1970, the aquatic environment has always been an attractive world for me since I am a child. Since I received my first aquarium back in 1978, the waterlife became part of me. When I was about 8 years-old, my father introduced me to the snorkeling activities and in 1994 I took my first licence as SCUBA diver. In 1996 I took my thesis in Biology on the ethology of hydroids and medusae before spending several years at the University, ending in 2004 with my PhD in Fundamental Ecology on the benthic life in the submarine caves. Today, I am a marine biology researcher at the Salento University of Lecce, Italy. The aquarium is still at home!
[thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitto/francesco.jpg[/thumbnail]


2) When did you first get involved in Discus? Any memories you want to share?

I bought my first Discus at the beginning of the ‘90s. They were three young discus turquoise but just one survived till the adult stage. It was a female and for the first time I saw the discus spawning. Unfortunately, she was alone in the aquarium.. I wrote my first article on Discus about this singular experience.

3) Do you have any other hobbies besides fish Keeping?

Many others. Among them, sea dives, travels, aviation, ecc.

> 4) What other fish do you keep?

I like keeping all fishes but mainly original and not well known species. Actually in my tanks swim guppies, loricarids (Ancistrus, Peckoltia, Hypacinstrus), catfishes (Agamixis pectinifrons), one big Botia macracantha, Caridina (freshwater shrimps), Apahanius fasciatus (Mediterranean killies), etc.
[thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitto/altum_2.jpg[/thumbnail]

5) What is your favourite of all fish that you had/have ?

Discus, of course!

> 6) When you choose fish to breed is it anything special that you are looking for?

Nothing in particular. Just curiosity to know the life cycle of that species.
[thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitt ... ose_up.jpg[/thumbnail]

> 7) What do you feed your discus and how often?

Discus diet is very important for their life. I administer a large variety of food: dry food (granulat and flakes but also dried Artemia and Chironomus), fresh and frozen food (fresh beefheart mixture selfmade, Chironomus, etc).

> 8) What kind of maintenance do you do on your tanks...WC , tank wipe downs etc.

In big tanks where I keep Discus adults, I change water (30%) every two weeks and I clean (or change) the filter sponges used for mechanical filtration. In pair tanks I change water more frequently but in low percentage (about 5-10% every 2 days). During the operation of water changers, I always siphon the bottom. I think that bottom cleaners are an indispensable part of efficient water changes . By moving the tube throughout the substrate (both in presence of gravel and not) while siphoning out the water, it is possible to remove most of the organic waste from the tank.


> 9) Filtration preferences..what do you use?

Mainly biological filtration. Bacteria are the most important part of an aquarium filtration system. In fact, various species feed on ammonia, which they convert to nitrite (still quite toxic than ammonia). The other bacteria feed on the nitrite, converting to nitrate, which is relatively harmless at low concentrations. If you keep many Discus in big tank (more than 350-400 litres), I suggest to use in addition also a mechanical filter system (outsider filter) to the biological internal one.


> 10) I would like to ask you to describe your quarantine procedures in detail..so that more members can benefit from your experience.

Fishes can be carrying a number of infectious diseases or parasites without exhibiting any obvious external signs. Therefore it is the utmost importance to quarantine any new fishes for at least four weeks before introducing them to your display tank. If you simply bring your fish home from the store and release them right away into the aquarium without quarantine period, it is almost guaranteed that you’ll eventually end up with a major disease outbreak that infects all your fishes. Quarantine also provides a safe, protected environment where fish can become gradually acclimated to captive conditions without the stress of having to compete for food and territory. Further, if a specimen does become ill, it is preferable to administer any medications in a quarantine system rather than in the main display aquarium.

> 11) We all have our own ethics when it comes to medication use.. can you
elaborate on your views?


I use medications just when really necessary. Generally, a good environment prevents the diseases.

12) Do you have any advice for hobbyists looking to buy discus? what should
they look for?


They have to look the behaviour of the fish in the tank in the shop. Fish have to eat without problem and it have to show natural colours and good form.

13) When you look at a fish what do you like to see,

I like to see “natural” fishes. I don’t like long fin fishes or artificially coloured fishes.

14) What would you like to personally accomplish? In the discus hobby.

To visit Amazon forest and to observe Discus in their natural habitat. I’m planning to accomplish this dream very soon…

15) Do you see any negative aspects to the Discus Hobby these days?

I personally believe that a certain number of principles should be observed and respected while breeding discus fishes. When major changes are brought to its morphological characteristics, are we still in presence of a discus fish? Varieties such as the Bulldog discus or the Veil-Tail discus highlight how business can drive breeders to the detriment of the harmonic traits of this magnificent fish. In my opinion, it is really a great aberration of our hobby!


16) What kind of strains do you work on now.

Nothing in particular. I like to keep and to breed all strains, mainly the classic ones such as Turquoise, Striped Turquoise, Red-turquoise etc. Also the Red Spotted is a very agreeable strain.
[thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitto/Foto_6.jpg[/thumbnail]

17) Tell us a bit of the your work on Trophy Discus book.

From the day Dick Au contacted me and shared with me his project of writing this book, I gave him my entire support and I thank him for his initiative. It has been a great pleasure working with two well known and well-recognized authors such as Dick and Sun See Seng. I found the project also of great interest as it gave me the opportunity to share my European experience with two different discus breeding schools, one American and the other Asian. This book is the result of our respective experiences gained from completely different environments and discus realities. For the first
time discus-lovers can find worldwide information about discus rearing in a single publication. Any information on Asian discus selection, European planted aquaria for discus, American methods for breeding discus artificially are gathered in this book which contains no less than 300 photos providing an overview of old varieties as well as the most recent ones. I personally believe that a certain number of principles should be observed and respected while breeding discus fishes. When major changes are brought to its morphological characteristics, are we still in presence of a discus fish? Varieties such as the Bulldog discus or the Veil-Tail discus highlight how business can drive breeders to the detriment of the harmonic traits of this magnificent fish. An important part of this book is dedicated to discus contests and how to choose and breed a potential champion. This has compelled us to include some information on genetics in order to make this book as comprehensive and complete as possible.
[thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitt ... _cover.jpg[/thumbnail][thumbnail]images/forumpics/interv/francescodenitt ... _cover.jpg[/thumbnail]
18) Are you planning any other books for the future? And you have done some article's for the hobby as well, can you tell us a bit of them?

Yes, I have planned to write another book but at the moment I would like to not reveal anymore ;-)
I have also written hundreds of article on Discus (and other aquatic topics) for Italian and International magazines published for example in Germany, USA, Singapore, etc. Main Discus topics that I generally treat in my articles are Discus genetic, Discus feeding, strain selection, Discus diseases, etc.

19) What is your advice to make discus bigger and average size ?

Big tank, frequent water change and the top of the food (well balanced in its components).

20) Tell us a bit of discus Italia, the past, now, future.

About ten years ago, some Discus hobbyist founded the Discus Club Italia. It organized two national meetings in 2000 and 2001. Nevertheless, this project ended after few years. Actually, another aquarium association, the “Gruppo Acquariofilo Salentino" (G.A.S.) (http://www.gas-online.org) organizes, in the city of Lecce, Mediterranea Discus, the International Competition of the "king" of the aquarium. The last edition (the 4th) was held on September 2007 and 101 Discus were displayed at the contest and more than 30,000 persons visited the Show. The next Discus Show in Italy will be organized in 2009!

> 21) Have you had any mentors in this hobby, that you want give credit to?

My mother and my father who allowed me to “follow” my passion for the aquatic world, supporting me in the studies in Biology.
No end to Karma, so we should be very careful about our actions
Poff!

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Matte_g
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Re: Interview of Dr. Francesco Denitto, Discus Trophy

Post by Matte_g » 11 Jul 2008, 13:25

A very nice Interview...

Where can we find all the articles it would be nice to read some of them :2tubsup:

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