Discus Tank Journal

[Dubs1281]

Ive had this tank set up since October and nothing has changed. The only thing that has was a colamalaris infection that killed all but one of my discus. Im going to post lots of pictures and im going to do a complete 360 starting today on my tank. Letting you know what I do as I go along.

Please ask as many questions as you'd like and im open to advise. More discus coming in a week or two.

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[cgthebeast]

Loving it. What size tank and color morph of the 1 discus.

 

[GreenLily]

Tagging along! Very interested to see how this turns out!

 

[Dubs1281]

Tank size is 75 gallons. And im not sure what strain she is. Right now im leaning towards brilliant blue spotted.

Just finished a 50% wc and moved the plants around. I did a large plant order on friday from aquariumplants.com, they dont ship until Wednesday. Shes never to happy after I do a water change so her colors arnt the best at the moment. Hope to get a pic tomorrow of just her.

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[Dubs1281]

Plants just shipped! UPS will have my tracking number by 9 pm tonight.

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[Dubs1281]

Heres a better picture shes eating her favorite, beefheart!

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[treemanone2003]

So how long ago was this problem ? Do you know how it came about ? Are you certain, WITHOUT A DOUBT, there's no possibility of getting your new fish sick ? What's your WC schedule currently ? Where are the new ones coming from ? What size are you getting ? Are you going to QT the new ones ? If so, for how long, if not, WHY NOT ????

 

[Dubs1281]

The problem occured in late march early april.

It happened because I introduced a new fish from a LFS id been going to for some time that recently got discus. After that disease. I gave the owner the benefit of the doubt and bought another from him a month and a half later after all fish were 100% for 2-3 weeks. He carried the same disease and killed himself and the other one I originally bought with the disease, leaving me with the one I had now.

I dont know. I have cories in the tank as well who have also been doing well. All have been cured of the disease when it hit. And its been 3 weeks since.

My water change schedule before the disease was 50% 2x weekly. After consulting several lfs that carry discus hours away, they all said the best way would be a once weekly 40-25%. One suggested to add trace minerals from the Amazon and thats what ive been doing. After that my two guys looked better than ever untill I introduced another fish. His color isn't good now because I just moved around a ton of plants and he is streesed. He should be good in a day or two.

The new ones im getting are from jeff moy from exoticdiscus.com (check out their youtube channel)
Im going to his store in Chicago in a week. Im getting 3.5" on up.

I cant QT them because of the resources I have. I have only a 10 gallon qt tank amd that would be a bit much for 3-5, 4 inch discus even for a few days.

I use the qt tank when I notice a problem in one fish ASAP. But when the disease hit, it got them all over night so I treated the tank.

Im never buying discus from that guy again trust me. He owes me over $500 in fish. I wouldnt go there again if he didn't give free ro water.

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[treemanone2003]

The problem occured in late march early april.

It happened because I introduced a new fish from a LFS id been going to for some time that recently got discus. After that disease. I gave the owner the benefit of the doubt and bought another from him a month and a half later after all fish were 100% for 2-3 weeks. He carried the same disease and killed himself and the other one I originally bought with the disease, leaving me with the one I had now.

I dont know. I have cories in the tank as well who have also been doing well. All have been cured of the disease when it hit. And its been 3 weeks since.

My water change schedule before the disease was 50% 2x weekly. After consulting several lfs that carry discus hours away, they all said the best way would be a once weekly 40-25%. One suggested to add trace minerals from the Amazon and thats what ive been doing. After that my two guys looked better than ever untill I introduced another fish. His color isn't good now because I just moved around a ton of plants and he is streesed. He should be good in a day or two.

The new ones im getting are from jeff moy from exoticdiscus.com (check out their youtube channel)
Im going to his store in Chicago in a week. Im getting 3.5" on up.

I cant QT them because of the resources I have. I have only a 10 gallon qt tank amd that would be a bit much for 3-5, 4 inch discus even for a few days.

I use the qt tank when I notice a problem in one fish ASAP. But when the disease hit, it got them all over night so I treated the tank.

Im never buying discus from that guy again trust me. He owes me over $500 in fish. I wouldnt go there again if he didn't give free ro water.

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A lot of things here !!! Don't take this the wrong way but, quit listening to your LFS. Next, flush the trace elements down the drain. Unless they're wild caught ( and I still wouldn't use that junk ) the best thing for them is WC's. And lots of them. I'd push the WC's to at least 3 per week of at the very least 50% each time.

I've heard of Exotic Discus but can't comment either way about them. I know of a very reputable seller in the Chicago area but if you can't commit to a good QT program she may not want to sell. Personally, I would wait it out a month before getting any more.

The small tank your using for sick fish is really a hospital tank and not QT. QT is for prevention and hospital is for curing. And there's nothing that will guarantee these new fish you're getting are not going to have issues. Or the ones you have still have a problem and will get the new ones sick.

Something to consider would be to get rid of the one you have and introduce all new ones ( from the same seller ) together. That would cut your chances of any problems but not totally eliminate them as you still have existing fish in your tank. I agree a 10 is way too small to QT that many Discus regardless of size.

 

[Dubs1281]

The peopel that I talk to at the lfs that I talk to arnt the employees but the owners who personally keep discus. I also read in some books that the water changes around 30% are good because once you find your balance of ph, hardness etc you cant stray from it to far, and my tap waters ph can range from 7.7-8.2 and the ro water I get and mix with tap is 8 because he buffers it for saltwater or something. I got my ph from 8 to about 7.4+/- .1 in 2 months and I dont plan on losing it with frequent water changes because ive noticed better color and vigor in my fish with the new method.


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[treemanone2003]

The peopel that I talk to at the lfs that I talk to arnt the employees but the owners who personally keep discus. I also read in some books that the water changes around 30% are good because once you find your balance of ph, hardness etc you cant stray from it to far, and my tap waters ph can range from 7.7-8.2 and the ro water I get and mix with tap is 8 because he buffers it for saltwater or something. I got my ph from 8 to about 7.4+/- .1 in 2 months and I dont plan on losing it with frequent water changes because ive noticed better color and vigor in my fish with the new method.


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Is that the same owners that you got sick Discus from you mentioned in your other post ?

As far as 30% IMO/E, it's really not enough. Yes finding a balance is as proper as consistency is key for Discus. Discus can live in a wide variety of pH levels as long as the consistency is there. As for him buffering for "saltwater or something" that doesn't make sense. And once again I wonder if this is the same guy that told you the Discus need trace elements from their natural environment. There's a really good chance you're buying tank raised fish as the pic of the one you have now is not a wild. If so, you need to explain to me the logic of putting in a trace element buffer to fish that haven't been around their natural environment in many generations.

Lack of WC's will wind up stunting your Discus to the point it could mean an early death. 1 year olds should be 5-5.5" as long as proper husbandry has been performed in the juvenile to young adult stage. You will notice much better color and more vigor with larger, more frequent WC's.

 

[Dubs1281]

No the guy who I bought the discus from locally specializes in saltwater but also has a decent freshwater background, but I would never take freshwater advice from him.

My discus I currently have is 6 inches +/- .5.

And the reason behind the trace minerals is because someone else used it, had success, and passed me the information. And ive noticed that his colour has improved after using the product.

The fish I intend to buy will be 3.5 inches at the smallest. Largest potentially being 7". So my wc wont need to be as frequent. And these people arnt the only sources im getting. Ive read other books and forums that give similar advice. This is what ive been trying recently. Ive tried doing the more frequent wcs and the results were good, but not the same as what im trying now.

The one I have now I know to throw "temper tantrums". When I change anything, like move a plant, add or remove fish, she goes in her corner and sits there for hours. While the discus I had before would come out after 20 mins. After a wc she will do it all day which is why I do them in the evening and feed her first because she wont eat untill the next day. Ive noticed with these smaller wcs, she doesn't hide as long as she used to.

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[Dubs1281]

New plants arrived!!!!

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[Dubs1281]

I bought some new guys yesterday. Here they are the day after!

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[Dubs1281]

Sorry I haven't been posting much. After buying my new discus and talking to jeff from exoticdiscus.com he helped explain alot of things.
First off he change 75% of the water daily.
He told me that the 30% water changes a week are fine if you have full grown discus. But when trying to grow them out as fast as possible, the more water changes the better.
He raises them in tap water extremely similar to my own. And says ro is fine but not necessary. Ph dosnt mater when trying to get them to be more active. He said there is a possibility on color though.
Ive changed my water change schedule to 50% 2x a week. And 15% 3x a week. I'll post some more photos tomorrow.

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