Stressed by Discus

[jaddis18]

hi,

i recently bought 2 discus not too sure of the breed thou. totally new to this and totally unexpected. the skins seem to be peeling or darkening, unsure of the problem or just panicky due to being new and amazed by it. i have attached a picture of the problem.

the time i bought the discus is the time i bought the tank(4x1.5x1.5ft), originally wanted to purchase bottom dwellers for a 7" arowana i am expecting at the end of the month.

im guessing my discus is roughly 2 1/2" along with another 3 2 1/2" clown loaches.

i've had the fish for 5 days now and loaches 4 days. using 2 ohfs with white wool and cr. no heater, no ph kit, nothing. unprepared. assuming the ph lvl is resonable due to no problems with previous arowana.

recently did a 40% wc on sun with armour coat by AP, fish seemed relaxed but spots spreading, did 60% wc today with 3 doses of quick cure. gona do another 30-40% wc in the morning with another dose of quick cure. dose the whole day again n repeat for another day. fed fishes 4 times daily sparingly and in less than 10mins tank squicky clean.

[Second Hand Pat]

When you say the skin is peeling or darkening are you referring to the blue specks in the white areas of the fish? Also is this tank cycled?

[Chicago Discus]

Hello and welcome to Simply sounds like you have a bit of an issue, Please fill out the questioner http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?38545-Disease-Questionnaire-please-complete and at this point I wouldnt put any Meds in until you know what your treating.......Josie

[DLock3d]

No heater is an issue. Discus need a minimum temperature of 80 degrees F.

[Elliots]

Jaddis, on your SD heading please post where you are located, it might help getting answers.

[DiscusDrew]

I dont see how that would make a difference. Anyway, repost with the questionair and Ill tag the thread to stop back in and help. But if your temps are low thats a big issue. Your also talking about combining some not so compatible fish to begin with, not to mention it appears you have low numbers which is never good with discus unless they are a pair, and even then they need to enter a community occassionally. I also would not be treating until you know what your treating, Ive seen both bacterial and pathogen issues cause this problem, quick cure is formalin and malachite green which is only treating a potential parasite but no benefit on bacterial issues. I have a favorite combo I like to use but I wont speak of it until you give me info. Hope to see you take the time to repost.

[jaddis18]

thank you for your quick responses.

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started

problem is the 'white area' of the skin is fading to black or greyish. started a day after i got the discus.



2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/ white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds)

white areas turning dark, scratching, clamped fins once in a while. one of the 2 discus isnt really eating well.




3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.

thought it was due to high chlorine, treated with 30% wc along with armour coat by AP, discus seems happy after wc but the next day still spreading of the grey patches. took another precaution thinking its somekind of parasite. did 60%wc with 3 doeses of quick cure, seems to be alright. lights are all off during quick cure phase. fishes seem a little relaxed again n doesnt scratch so much on the filter pump. in another 3hrs will do another 40+% wc again n doses of quick cure the whole day.



Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish

4x1.5x1.5ft, got it on 29th nov, 5 fishes( 3 clown loaches, 2 discus) all around 2 1/2"

5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?

explained the wc in 3, tank been running 24/7 since i got it, bare blue bottom. no water aging. still short of equipments n budgets at the moment.

6 Parameters and water source;

- temp - no clue

- ph no clue

- ammonia reading no clue

- nitrite reading no clue

- nitrate reading no clue

- well water eh?

- municipal water eh?

i am from Brunei Darussalam

7. Any new fish/plants added recently
added 3 loaches the next day of the purchasing the tank n discus.


When you say the skin is peeling or darkening are you referring to the blue specks in the white areas of the fish? Also is this tank cycled?

yes i am refering to the white areas of the fish but seems to be turning greyish to black. no cycle for tank. brand new tank n filters. just rinsed and added fishes. using 2 OHF filters of 2800l/hr and 2000 l/hr. no hurricane or turbulence in water. very calm n fishes seems to like it.

[jaddis18]

could someone identify my discus type? very inexperience with this type of fish. but colors are amazing n i can see the potential of it. the first pic is the discus with the strongest red areas n eating like a monster while the other is showing hints of blue around its fins n body but im sure they are both the same species of discus. the other fish in pic 2 on the back is blue im refering to. but very shy, eats at its own time n very sparingly, bottom fin doesnt seem to open.

[h4nh4n]

you should know your temperature

there is no way keep discus without knowing the temp of your water.
discus is tropical and to be kept in 28-30 celcius

[cjr8420]

they look like checkerboard/carnation pigeon blood discus.pretty much everything ur doing is opposite of by the book read the stickys in the beginners section see if ur up for discus.gl on them making it thru a cold cycle

[Trier20]

I see a couple things off the bat. Temp, tank not cycled?, clown loaches causing stress, not quarantining the loaches before adding them could've brought a disease into the tank. I suggest buying a API master test kit to find out the tank parameters. While your there pick up a thermometer. Did you add anything to cycle the tank before adding the fish? Are you adding any dechrolinator?

[jaddis18]

thank you for your responses again.

i will be purchasing a heater for the tank later on with a thermometer feature with it, a china brand. capable of 34 celcius i think. the ph kits here are relatively pricy.


clown loaches causing stress, not quarantining the loaches before adding them could've brought a disease into the tank.

from my observation the problem occurred before the loaches were added.


thought it was due to high chlorine, treated with 30% wc along with armour coat by AP
the armour coat containts anti chlorine and anti chlo-something along with aloe vera.

could someone please direct me to the correct thread for my problem?

[Etek]

The problem is not cycling your tank and not having a heater. I'm not sure what you can do about cycling a tank now that fish are in it. Never had that experience..as for heater get yourself a good heater not some cheap Chinese brand that will fail as many of us will attest to. Then get a thermometer they're only a few dollars.

[cjr8420]

thank you for your responses again.

i will be purchasing a heater for the tank later on with a thermometer feature with it, a china brand. capable of 34 celcius i think. the ph kits here are relatively pricy.



from my observation the problem occurred before the loaches were added.


the armour coat containts anti chlorine and anti chlo-something along with aloe vera.

could someone please direct me to the correct thread for my problem?
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?28937-How-do-I-set-up-my-first-discus-tank

[jaddis18]

Just bought the china heater. Gona use it till it breaks then i'll replace it. Also bought a pond test kit, complete with ph, ammonia, nitrate n nitrite. Asked the lfs, said also suitable for aquarium.

What should i be testing when im home? Should i do another 50% wc or more? Havent done wc since yesterday. Tank still contains yesterdays quick cure.

[Second Hand Pat]

Take a read through this

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus

[Teakwood]

As soon as you can go to a local fish store and ask if you can have a used filter or some filter media from there tank. It will be in the form of a sponge(most likely) keep it wet in a bag till you get home and shove it in your filter with your other filter media, it will at least help get some good bacteria going.

[Teakwood]

Just bought the china heater. Gona use it till it breaks then i'll replace it. Also bought a pond test kit, complete with ph, ammonia, nitrate n nitrite. Asked the lfs, said also suitable for aquarium.

What should i be testing when im home? Should i do another 50% wc or more? Havent done wc since yesterday. Tank still contains yesterdays quick cure.

Test for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. Your going to end up needing to do daily water changes to keep your ammonia and nitrites as low as possible, you probably won't have any nitrites at first but once they start showing its a good sign because that means your biological filter is starting to grow. But that also means you will have to monitor them and do water changes to keep it as low as possible. Your nitrates showing is a really good thing, because again, your biological filter is doing good. With daily water changes your nitrates shouldn't get to toxic levels and of they do your probably not doing as many water changes as you should. When you change water make sure you touch your tank water and tap water and try to get them as close to the same temp as possible, big water temp variances will be really bad for the fish. Good luck!

[Trier20]

Just bought the china heater. Gona use it till it breaks then i'll replace it. Also bought a pond test kit, complete with ph, ammonia, nitrate n nitrite. Asked the lfs, said also suitable for aquarium.

What should i be testing when im home? Should i do another 50% wc or more? Havent done wc since yesterday. Tank still contains yesterdays quick cure.

Yes I would do a wc and retreat. Daily water changes are important for water quality and fish growth. I do daily WCs of 80-90%.

[jaddis18]

Yes I would do a wc and retreat. Daily water changes are important for water quality and fish growth. I do daily WCs of 80-90%.

are you informing me to do repeat the 'quick cure' treatment?

i am still in a panic mode, due to the discus.better to panic rather when my arowana is here. seems to me that taking care of an arowana is 100times simpler than caring for a discus. haha! now i understand why they are known as the king fishes. discus requires pampering of a king. haha!

will check the water parameters and post my updates. it also seems that the water heater is not inclusive of the thermometer i hoped but rather the thermometer is the temp intended.(worst problems occur when in panic).

im loving this forum, very helpful and informative.

found out that there aren't any discus sold in any of the lfs here, except one which informed me that they did purchase a batch but soon died. the lfs bought it for Brunei$ 50 n selling at $75. while i bought mine in malaysia 2hrs car travel away for only $25 each.

hoping not to lose these babies, never seen such beauty in a fish in my whole life.

[Trier20]

If the quick cure says to treat again then yes. The key to keeping discus is being consistent in water parameters. That's why daily WCs are important. Keep them full of food to grow big and the water clean to keep them healthy.

[jaddis18]

alright thank you Trier20,

gona do a 60% wc when im home, along with the quick cure treatment, installing the heater, checking water parameters.

will take more pics of my discus after water change, before retreating of quick cure. along with my tank & filter, just to get some suggestions. e.g. more aeration, additional media for filters.

[jaddis18]

observation when i got home,
1)discus spots seems healing not as dark in color.
2)still scratching when lights are on
3)silicone gone blue(expected)
4)reading of water parameters

before wc:
ph-5
nitrate-0
nitrite-0

after wc:
ph-5
nitrate-0
nitrite-0

how to buffer the ph? coral chips?

[jaddis18]

76814
this is my tank infront of the heater is a hose for aeration.

i also added a pinch of salt into the tank with the quick cure. just to see any other benefits.

heading to a friends house to pick up old media and maybe a thermometer to constantly monitor the temp.

[Jeff O]

Problems that I see as of right now include,
-Tank isn’t cycled
-Adding a 7 inch arowana
-Not knowing the temperature.
Okay, I would highly advise you DONT add the arowana for at least another month so that you can monitor your discus and make sure they are not sick and give them a little time to grow. An Arowana WILL try and eat anything that fits in their mouths (sometimes they miss judge the size of their mouths ;)) I would be surprised if your discus don’t survive through a cycle they are small juveniles, there systems are not very strong yet and it will be very hard for them to handle a strong ammonia spike. Your "china" heater is most likely a very un reliable heater as well so you may want to invest in a reliable heater. Best of luck...
-Jeff

[Teakwood]

Unless you know you are treating with the meds for something specific, I would consider just focusing on the water quality, the meds may not be necessary, but that's just my unprofessional opinion. Also someone else correct me if I'm wrong, I've read that a ph that low can affect bacteria cycling...

[jaddis18]

thank you for your responses,

i have done another 50%wc an hour ago, with pinch of salt. before i did the wc i noticed my 2 discus were healing slightly, where the black spot were reducing ever so slightly and the white is covering ever so slightly. i also noticed that both of the discus were on the bottom of the tank playing dead with the loaches. might of inherited that skill from them or they might be having another serious problem. hmmm.

as of last night, i grabbed a friend's ph tester and results were.

before wc 7.2
after wc 7.2
tap water 6.8

today's water change
before wc 7.2
after wc 7.0

would like to ask you experienced keepers if the water is at 32 degrees will it be warm or a hint of cold? since i have not have a thermometer just yet. i also grabbed some old media and goral chips from a friend last night.

my findings is that the old media turned slightly blue, is it due to the quick cure?

would it be advice able to add slight salt in my tank after every wc? from my research it helps the fish from suffocating of nitrite or was it nitrate? and for aro keepers salt is the king of all cures.

regards,

Jaddis

[jaddis18]

update,

temp - 30
ph - 7.2

only added salt to tank, but both my discus are at the bottom of my filter head lying down sideways. why is that? ammonia spike? i dont have any test kit for amonia, nitrite & nitrate. due to the test kit being expired.

gave food but not eating. no more scratching thou.

[leo1234]

I'm sorry if i'm being rude but before you get any sort of animal. You should do some research on how to take care of them
What there needs are, get everything ready that they would need and so on. Keeping fishes without the right equipment to start off from is a big no no.
But aleast you are trying to fix the problem!
And good luck with them and hope all goes well.

[Teakwood]

They should be between 82-86' Degrees F.

[h4nh4n]

did you age your water before water change?

[jaddis18]

hello everyone..

bought myself a thermometer yesterday and was reading at 30 Celsius. started to fidget with the heater to get a good temp for discus and loaches. finding that discus are well happy at 29Celsius and yet loaches still showing lack of activity. going to give it another day and analyse if i have to lower it, since multiple web states they are recommended at 26-28Celcius.

also noticed that ph is maintaining at 7.2. also been changing the water twice a day each at 10% to prevent amonia and nitrite spikes, with anti-chlorine. added sponges on the filter inflows (seems to be large pore filters).

been adding salt after every water change. noticed both discus having torn side fins. what would be an estimate recovery period for torn fins? 3 weeks?

overall my tank is looking clearer and clearer.

[bogia99]

26 is cold for small discus

[jaddis18]

just finish cleaning my tank. removed all fishes from tank, cleaned it inside out. changed the bottom cover(previous one was having bubbles), now looking smooth as a baby's butt. changed the right tank background color to blue as per bottom, no background for the back, wall paint is creamish.

dechlorined and dechloramined the tank with armour coat by aqua master. hoping this product would provide some stress relief or a speedy recovery due to aloe vera properties. also added salt for fin issues.

the brightest colored discus(as per previous pics) is now behaving oddly from before. now its him thats hiding along, very inactive aswell. while the other is showing a much speedy recovery. seeing from his bottom fin that the broken parts are growing transparent sharper ends.

trying to maintain a 29Celcius for tank, sometimes when i wake up my tank drops to 27Celcius must be due to being in air conditioned room.

[jaddis18]

i just checked on my babies again.

being very paranoid now. im thinking that my discus are having fin rot, where the brighter discus had a ripped tail fin, a few hours later a chunk of the top half has been bitten off. only having 2 discus and 3 clown loaches. dont think that they are tail biting. also the side fins are damaged as well.

here are a few pics of 1 of my discus. it seems to me that shes recovering but starting to doubt. could get a pic of the other discus(tail).

any help would identify would be beneficial.

also added another teaspoon of salt. just to see any benefits in the morning.

will salt alone cure this problem?

[jaddis18]

just checked up on discus again. saw one of them dashing around for a moment(happened last night as well as i was posting my previous post) im thinking this is because of the ammonia spike after the 100% water change yesterday.

still unable to identify if the fins are recovering or worsening. appetite seems to come back but loaches are still inactive as when they first got in the tank.

did a 50% WC with armour coat and 1 tablespoon salt per 10 gal.

what would be an estimate time of my tank being cycled? added the used media from a friend. roughly 2-3 weeks? or can i expect 1 week from now?

[Crystalwaters]

Clown loaches are sensitive to medications and salt in the water because they are scaleless. (Not certain, but I thought it was a half-dose of quick cure for clown loaches.) I recommend that you stop adding salt and keep up with daily water changes.
Hope you can make some of the changes recommended, up the temp, separate them from the loaches, get more discus, age your water. Once the environment is ideal for them, i think some of your issues might resolve. Best of luck with the little guys.

[sandy]

Remove the loaches they are disturbing your discus I had some loaches long back in my discus tank when light goes off this loaches become very active and disturb discus

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[jaddis18]

thank you again for your responses,

1) stop adding salt(noted), might stop it or might reduce dosage due to loaches but wishing a much faster recovery. do you think i can still add the salt for another week, with same or lower doses? - Crystalwaters
2) i understand where you are coming from, but i wont remove the loaches, need them to be harmonious together before big daddy gets here(arowana, if u read the previous posts) - sandy

an update,
my loaches are getting rather active again, started to eat again earlier, swimming around often when lights are off.
discus are rather hungry from what i have seen, feed them 2 hours ago and now they are scanning the bottom for food. looking very healthy(probably the best i've seen them since i got them). still rather worried about the fin problems.

spots are slowly fading, not really fading, just turning greyish now.

im also thinking of doing a DIY canister filter to promote more BB growth, just going to use my current OHF and change one of the tray to an air tight container with Jap mat and CRs from the OHF tray and probably white wool before the outflow just to polish the water.

done more research and found that constant water changes are to help the discus grow to a larger than normal size, due to their excessive waste when in groups. and it is also noted that discus needs a high content of protein to help them grow during their juvi stages.

hoping for a speedy recovery. also been observing their behavior, to indicate that i need a water change. found that doing a 50% WC in a day or 2 is better than 10% WC 3x a day from my observation of their behaviors.

[Crystalwaters]

When you mentioned your loaches being inactive, I was concerned about them. They can tolerate salt but not for long periods of time (weeks). I've kept loaches and they are very playful, worried they might be too much fun for the discus.
My opinion, sometimes medication and salts can be more stressful than fresh clean water. Of course medications can be needed, but a lot of problems will resolve with a few good water changes.
Sounds like your fish are doing much better :D I feed my juveniles 5-7 times a day (every few hours). I'm new to discus too, so I understand your paranoia. LOL It's great to hear that you're doing a lot of research, and I hope the fish continue to do better for you!

[jaddis18]

Hello Crystalwaters, thank you for your concern about my loaches appreciate it(very). My loaches are inactive/active at different times. Still trying to understand them, they started being inactive since I got my heater. My tank temp is maintaining at 29 Celcius, I think they don't like the temp. But I'm cool with it, them being inactive is making my discus eat a ton, without them devouring everything before discuses manage to grab a bite.

Update:
I have also completed my DIY canister filter, it's just an add on container(a few leaks). Still needs work on it, might just silicone it shut, since it's only holding white wool(might take it out)Jap mat, CRs and plastic cr thingy but might not as well due to CRs having to be replaced or something like that in a few years(still unclear about it). It's just a container with the inflow being from the original OHF. The container is is just resting in the OHF, where the outflow is just continuing out into the OHF which contains white wool and arranged CRS at the bottom. Will take a few pics in the next post(quite hard to explain).

Also, I think one of my discus is affected with tapeworms, I have noticed a few white poo on the floor. I'm talking about the discus from the earlier pic where the bottom fin is like bitten off.

Man this really bites that I'm having soo much problems with my babies. Hmm, should of done more research about these fishes. Arowana keepers with discus community seems to be doing roughly 1-2 WCs a week. Why is that? Seems to me the bio-load is off the chart! Found out that discus has a large bio-load, the poops since yesterday, seems large. Haha!

[Crystalwaters]

White poo doesn't necessarily mean tapeworms. Tapeworms prefer to keep the host as healthy as possible so they don't lose their home. The host fish will not grow as fast, feces are usually normal, fish has a ferocious appetite. If you're concerned about internal issues, I suggest you fill out the disease questionnaire. Someone may be able to help you there. (They've helped me tons!) I don't have much experience when it comes to discus illness, (new discus keeper).

Your discus are still juveniles, because of the frequent feedings, the bio load goes up fast. When they mature, you'll feed less and then need less water changes. It's a balance :) Each aquarium is a little different when it comes to how many tankmates, filtration, plants, size of the tank, so there is no set rule as to how much water to change. But there are good guidelines for beginners. Hope you're using a pre-filter sponge, it will make maintenance on your canister much easier.

You're making a lot of changes for the better for these guys, and I hope it pays off for you. You're getting great advice from members with a lot of discus/fishkeeping experience, hope you continue to follow their advice, your discus will thank you!

[jaddis18]

Update:
this is my DIY OHSC(Over Head Something like Canister). water doesnt fill all the way to the top, almost touching the cover of the container. its just resting on top of the original OHF.
76891

These are the medias within the container top to bottom(Green Jap Mat, White Wool, CRs & plastic CR thingy)
76892

This is my other OHF for the same tank and medias are are identical for both OHF except the one with the canister doesnt have Green Jap Mat in it.
7689376894

This is the prefilter sponge for both powerheads.
76895

[jaddis18]

this is my second oyama paper for the bottom of the tank and it is still peeling as per attached.

any advice to not make this happen again? will try straightening it out again this weekend. but im having a feeling that the bubbles with appear again.
76896

[jaddis18]

I have recently noticed that my water is rather dusty, can see tiny specs of dust circulating around my tank, this also happened when I first setup the tank. It might be due to my new sort of canister filter. Is this due to BB bloom?

I have also noticed that my discus are loosing tiny patches of fin. There is white specs on the fins of my discus. Is this fin rot? I did a WC a few hours ago. Will do another WC in the morning, because after WC discus was playing around the bubbles at the back of the tank.

At certain times of the day I noticed my discus would just be day dreaming at something(pre filter sponge or CCs) I'm guessing it's due to the items being new to the tank and they're still not custom to it.

Been trying to get a good pics of the fins, rather failed at it. I have also been feeding them hikari bio gold+, trying to colonize more BBs due to the wheat germ process.

[jaddis18]

In the morning i noticed no change in the fin condition of one of the discus, and i did the usual 60% WC.

When i got back from work, noticed that the white ring marks were still visible, until 3-4 hrs later where i noticed that the fins were getting slightly worst where edges of fin started missing, so i left it hoping that tomorow's WC will make a difference. While i was watching tv i noticed the effected discus was scrathing on the pipes, so i straight away did WC. Then both discus n all 3 loaches were hiding after, turned lights off they were fine.

I also noticed that the other discus has recovered fully from the fin damages and the black spots on skin were fading except when i disturb the tank(fidgeting with the filters or whatever). The discus with the broken bottom fin has fully grown it's 4 bones back just waiting for the tissues to grow back but it worries me about those white rings. Will it effect its recovery? Should i be worried about it? This discus rarely eats.

Please advise.

Thank you

[Crystalwaters]

I see you filled out a questionnaire, hope someone can help. Your tank probably isn't cycled yet so the discus could be reacting to that or something else, wish I could help you with the fin damage. When you say black spots, are you referring to the peppering on the pigeonblood, mine shows a little more pepper when stressed. Good luck

[jaddis18]

When you say black spots, are you referring to the peppering on the pigeonblood, mine shows a little more pepper when stressed. Good luck

i not 100% sure if my discus are PBs, lets juat say 75% sure that they are. haha. i am unsure if it is peppering but lets hope that it is and what would be a remedy to eliminate the pepperings? my bottom of the tank is somewhat dark blue, while the back and sides will be having white soon. just need to figure out why the bottom is always having and spreading bubbles.(oyama paper)

i have purchased ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits and cost me $50!! (total bull).

will be using it when i reach home, will be posting the readings later on. hope my tank is almost complete in cycling.

here is a pic of my discus problem(white feces, torn&broken fins and pale).

7692376924

1) is referring to the broken bones of the fin, probably unclear but the bones are now sharp and pointy, at times i can see the tissues recovering sometimes i see white like fungus around it.
2) referring to the white ring like problem, the tissues are slowly getting worst
3) referring to the white ring like problem as well, but it has faded yet the edges of the fins are slowly missing.

it has come to my understanding that it might be due to bullying. i have still noticed white feces on the bottom of the tank which is moving, it might be moving due to the waterflow but other feces are just not moving. its a thin like feces probably 1/4" - 1/2" in length. the white like feces is sort of transparent.

[Crystalwaters]

Pigeon blood strains, the black spots are called "peppering". It's an undesirable trait if you are looking for show quality discus. Professionals say it makes the discus look "dirty". They are cosmetic and don't hurt the fish. A pigeon blood will pepper more in dark environments, like black backgrounds or dark substrates. They also show temporary peppering when stressed, like during a water change or bullying. From my observations, some of the pepper will disappear when stress is removed, but some of it is genetic (the fish will have them no matter what). Not sure if peppering from a dark environment is reversible.

I see the white fin areas in your photo, anal fin, almost looks like it's fin regrowth. I'd get a second opinion on that, but the fin does look longer then it did in your previous post. I can see what you mean though, more fin damage on the tail and dorsal. It's tough to see the "white ring problem" in your photos.

Have you checked out? Great photos and symptom descriptions there :)
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/disease_medications/external/index.shtml
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/disease_medications/internal/index.shtml

[jaddis18]

I have just completed my water parameter test.

Results:
Felt like a scientist without the lab coat. Haha

Ph - 7.2
Ammonia - 0.5 mg/l
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

This was probably 1/2 hr after feeding. I haven't don't water change in almost 24hrs.

Is my tank fully cycled? Or am I still having to observe the water parameters?

[Trier20]

Doesn't look cycled.

[jaddis18]

Doesn't look cycled.

What could or must i do to allow it to cycle?
Less WC? I think i'll let the waste of the discus be for the next few days and just collect it when it's too much.

[Trier20]

60-75% WCs daily and treat with prime or safe

[jaddis18]

Thank you for your response. I will do that.

questions:
Discus can tolerate ammonia at what amount?
0.2?

[jaddis18]

Another question,

My 4ft tank has only been filled 1/2 way. If I were to increase the water volume to let's say 3/4, would this help with my ammonia problem?

Or let's say I gradually increase the volume to dilute the ammonia while maintaining the cycle? And if it's reading 0.5 once I find the volume is too high drop it to 20-30% and add fresh water till volume is back to 50%, and repeat.

[jaddis18]

i have stumbled upon this website, which explains about ammonia toxicity.

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html

with the provided link, does it indicate that my ammonia level for discus is safe?

[jaddis18]

I had signs of nitrite early this morning 6.30am and now 7.30pm. My traces of nitrite is gone and nitrate is still non-existent.

[dghby]

Any signs of ammonia is to much, as Brandon mentioned, 60-75% daily WC's with prime or safe added will get you thru this, but it needs to be daily.

[jaddis18]

hello everyone,

it has been a week since my last post. here is an update of my water parameters.

ph 7.2
ammonia 0.3(roughly)
nitrite 0
nitrate 2(roughly)

i have been getting slight traces of nitrate but i havent really seen much changes in my nitrite.

i have been going to every LFS in the country, i have found no prime! just Tetra safe start, where the LFS has been stocking expired stuff!! what a useless franchise. it has been expired for more than 2 years! but i have found Sera Filter BioStart and Nutrafin Cycle. i am unsure which to purchase. from my research both of these products are ineffective.

Please advise.

my discus has been growing rather well, i can see that they are larger than when i first bought the, i did manage to get a 2"sq sponge filter the other day from a rather pleasing LFS. i might go back and grab the jap mat that i left in their tank soon. within the following week.

i also added more aeration in the tank, research tells me that more oxygen promotes faster cycling.

7706577066

[jaddis18]

Advice please.

Does nutrafin cycle work? Any experience from members here?

:)

[Trier20]

Advice please.

Does nutrafin cycle work? Any experience from members here?

:)

Yes it works ok.

[Tommy Saville]

Yes. Nutrafin Cycle works fine. I add it after a big water-change, when I have replaced fiter pads..

[Susie]

It looks like you are having trouble finding the supplies you need locally. I buy large amounts of fish supplies from Amazon.com. If you buy much, join their Prime membership. You get two day shipping on many items for free. It is a great way to keep from driving all over town.