discus died

[USMCfishcrzy]

See I'm trying to figure out how but I may drill behind the tank. I'm limited cuz I have one a few inches to spare but didn't want to spend a bunch on a nice canister filter if I wasn't going to have any changes. I was going to keep the hob but if I don't need them it would be nice to do away with them

 

[thras]

Well one option is to cut the dry wall between the studs and run the hoses behind the stand/wall if u don't have room that is

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

It my addition to the house so instead of drywall its wood I might be able to cut out just enough to run the hoses through by the problem being the stand was well built so the backing is pretty thick plus the tank being so tall to reach behind it is quite an effort

 

[HUKIT]

Either your tap water has ammonia or your filtration can't keep up with the bioload of the fish. So test your tap water , increase filtration or start changing water every day to keep the water levels correct.

The grams in NLS is not the size of the pellet but how much the package weighs. What your looking for is Thera A in 1mm.

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

Thanx for the food tip just ordered it. And I will figure out something for my filtration

 

[HUKIT]

Good luck and let us know how it's going.

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

Wat is it that helps the Bio load. The filter padding, carbon or the bacteria in the filter

 

[thras]

The filter pad is just as important as the bio wheels because they hold bacteria I don't suggest using carbon in a planted aquarium if ur using ferts because it will remove some of the minerals the plants need and most of the bacteria from what I'm reading gets stuck in the pad that's y u should change them one at a time once a month and clean them in tank water once a week one at a time

 

[thras]

Sometimes u can get away cleaning once every two weeks depends on how dirty the pads get

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

If there's symptoms all the fish need to be treated, don't go crazy and start throwing meds at them yet! Watch them for a few days and go from there.

When fish are younger they need food with higher protien but as they age they don't require that, but even that it's where the protein comes from that makes a difference. Compare the labels from foods like NLS and Hikari and you'll see a huge difference in the ingredients. Trust me make the switch and within 30 days youll see color and health that will amaze you! I've kept discus for quite a few years fed exclusively on NLS, mine were are purchased from Jack Watley so they were a little more fragile than some of the local tank raised.

I thought about I noticed the discus that died was the biggest eater by far. He ate anything that looked like food. So now I've worded the NLS. Wat should I do in the mean time. Stick with the hikari or just blood worms

 

[HUKIT]

I would feed the pellets for a few days but lighten up on the amount of food, this will also help to keep the ammonia lower too.

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

Will do

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

Big problem ammonia nitrates and nitrites are still high. Even with prime and two 50% water changes today. I didn't feed today at all

 

[thras]

Did u test ur tap water for ammonia? Nitrites and nitrates?

 

[Hondatek]

Feeding discus too many bloodworms will block up there intestines. Try some spiralina brine shrimp . That will help their digestive system. Also try to find hikari discus bio gold or omega one cichlid flakes

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

For those of u that have been helping me. Didn't feed any of my fish yesterday and it spiked again! I did a second pwc lastnight and woke up to another spike. I'm clueless never had this problem other than I started adding plant growth additives that's the only change I have made.

My tank water
Temp 84
Ph 6.4
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrate 20ppm
Nitrite 1.0ppm

My tap water
Temp 76
Ph 7.6
Ammonia between. 25/.50ppm
Nitrite 1.0ppm
Nitrate 5.0ppm

I have gravel vacuumed each water change. I did have a bacterial bloom two weeks ago when I switched put fake coral rocks for driftwood. The water took about a week to clear up. So this week I lost one discus and gourami. And I'm having spikes 2-3 times a day even without feeding them. Only thing I have been adding is Kent pro plant to help growth. Right now I'm stupped on this issue

 

[Hondatek]

Are you waiting at least 8 hours between changes?

 

[USMCfishcrzy]

Yes it has been at the least 12 hours. Could that end up to much??

 

[Hondatek]

Not really as long as u wait 8 hours for the bacteria to multiply it's ok I have been doing 10 percent everyday on my discus tank because my ammo is at 2.0 but all mine are ok . The only suggestion is to stop using the plant food because you don't really need it IMO. I would say just do small daily pwc. And maybe try to drop the ph to 6 to make the ammo turn into it's non toxic form but if u do drop the ph do it very gradually .

 

[Hondatek]

But you water parameters aren't really too bad so it might just be a case of fish just dying