I give up!

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Got Discus from reputable breeders and Im doing 50% daily water changes and feeding them different types of food.

Yesterday I noticed 3 of my 8 are using 1 gill sometimes and sometimes they use both. Ive also noticed some of the ones that use 1 gill, they dart fast and make the others dart as well. Not sure if I spook them or what, but after doing some reading around here it seems to be serious. Ive also seen them scratching maybe once or twice a day. Could be more, but I don't sit there and wait till they scratch.

One other thing is my tank has been cloudy since I started doing daily 50% water changes. Water parameters have been good. So I don't understand why. I gravel vac everyday as well and wipe down the glass every other day. I also clean filters once a week and replace if need be.

I don't know what Im going to do with the discus cause I will not sell them like that. I have just had it. I have been pampering these fish better than I pamper my wife.

Maybe what I have is a serious problem??? I have a hospital tank set up and cycling, but its a 40gal breeder and all 8 will be overcrowding that tank. Dont know what to do anymore. I dont think all 8 are sick either. So, I dont know what or if I should move all of them or just a few.

If anyone is willing to help I would appreciated. What are my options here and what do you recommend? Would you be able to walk me thru this and help me get what I need to get these fish healthy? Will all 8 be ok in the 40 for now or leave them in the 125 and keep doing water changes. I thought I was doing good. Guess not.

[Second Hand Pat]

Tony, can you post some pictures and maybe a video?

[rickztahone]

Also, what size are these discus? I may have missed that.

[jmf3460]

when you say you clean your filters once a week, what exactly do you mean? It is possible that you are overcleaning, and depleting too much beneficial bacteria with each clean, starting a mini cycle every time you do a filter cleaning. A mini cycle every week would definitely keep your water cloudy. you also mentioned gravel, gravel makes it really hard to keep all the nasties out of the water column. do you have juveniles?

[Chicago Discus]

Got Discus from reputable breeders and Im doing 50% daily water changes and feeding them different types of food.

Yesterday I noticed 3 of my 8 are using 1 gill sometimes and sometimes they use both. Ive also noticed some of the ones that use 1 gill, they dart fast and make the others dart as well. Not sure if I spook them or what, but after doing some reading around here it seems to be serious. Ive also seen them scratching maybe once or twice a day. Could be more, but I don't sit there and wait till they scratch.

One other thing is my tank has been cloudy since I started doing daily 50% water changes. Water parameters have been good. So I don't understand why. I gravel vac everyday as well and wipe down the glass every other day. I also clean filters once a week and replace if need be.

I don't know what Im going to do with the discus cause I will not sell them like that. I have just had it. I have been pampering these fish better than I pamper my wife.

Maybe what I have is a serious problem??? I have a hospital tank set up and cycling, but its a 40gal breeder and all 8 will be overcrowding that tank. Dont know what to do anymore. I dont think all 8 are sick either. So, I dont know what or if I should move all of them or just a few.

If anyone is willing to help I would appreciated. What are my options here and what do you recommend? Would you be able to walk me thru this and help me get what I need to get these fish healthy? Will all 8 be ok in the 40 for now or leave them in the 125 and keep doing water changes. I thought I was doing good. Guess not.


Hello Mustang,
Lets take the issues apart here. Cloudy tanks are usually one or two things one being that your tank is not cycled or two your not aging your water.
Gill issues and darting are usually a sign that there is something irritating them in the water= Try larger water changes with aged aerated water...........Josie

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

2.5 to 5in discus. sand substrate. I rinse the spongers in tank water once a week. I dont have video or pics right now. Im at work. will try to get some video up

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Hello Mustang,
Lets take the issues apart here. Cloudy tanks are usually one or two things one being that your tank is not cycled or two your not aging your water.
Gill issues and darting are usually a sign that there is something irritating them in the water= Try larger water changes with aged aerated water.

I do not age my water. Tank has been cycle for a couple months and before I added the discus and started doing 50% water changes, the water was always clear. Nothing changes after aging the water.

[Second Hand Pat]

Could you please test for ammonia and nitrite tonight?
Pat

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

I will do 90% water change when I get home. I use prime and as I type this something comes to mind. I might have put more than the recommended dose of prime accidentally. I went to pour it into the cap like I always do and I over filled the cap and a lot fell into the water then I added another cap full to make sure I had enough. Im sure I added too much, but I dont think that would do it because it says I can double the dose if needed. my tank is a 125 and I do 50% water changes and add 2 cap fulls of prime and an additional 5ml which is the first line in the cap. My water temp is 84-85

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Could you please test for ammonia and nitrite tonight?
Pat

yes I will. I tested this morning and I had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and less than 5 nitrate. I did 2 water changes yesterday. my normal water change and another at night after I noticed the fish using 1 gill. I freaked out and did a water change. I hope that was ok.

[rickztahone]

I will do 90% water change when I get home. I use prime and as I type this something comes to mind. I might have put more than the recommended dose of prime accidentally. I went to pour it into the cap like I always do and I over filled the cap and a lot fell into the water then I added another cap full to make sure I had enough. Im sure I added too much, but I dont think that would do it because it says I can double the dose if needed. my tank is a 125 and I do 50% water changes and add 2 cap fulls of prime and an additional 5ml which is the first line in the cap. My water temp is 84-85

That wouldn't be the problem. Double dosing isn't bad.

[Chicago Discus]

That wouldn't be the problem. Double dosing isn't bad.

In my opinion double dosing prime is not a good idea.

You need to look at this like yin and yang :). to much of an Oxidizers (breach, chlorine, potassium permanganates) will definitely cause problems with your discus if not kill them. On the other side of the coin using to much of a Reducers (Prime, ship-shape, chloro-max) will also cause issues with your discus.......Just my two cents....Josie

[jmf3460]

your cloudy water could just be dust particles from the sand. I do not do gravel vacs on my sand, just syphon the poo and uneated food off the top of the sand with the end of my hose (no gravel vac attachment) with your corydoras constantly churning up the upper layers of sand, you don't need to do gravel vacs on the sand every week. Could this be causing the cloud, do you rinse the sand before adding it?

I just realize ive confused two threads, do you have corydoras?

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

yes I have 10 cory cats. the sand is pool filter sand and it was cleaned and rinsed very well and water has been clear before so I dont think its the sand. I dont have super fine sand.

[jmf3460]

what are you using as bio media for the beneficial bacteria?

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

what are you using as bio media for the beneficial bacteria?

I have 2 aquaclear filters that replaced 2 emperor 400 trying to get rid of the cloudyness. the aquaclears have the sponge filter, on top of that I have purigen and then ceramic bio balls. I also have a marineland 350 magnum canister filter with ceramic bio balls in it.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

the aquaclears are the 110

[zimmjeff]

It says that you clean and replace filters if needed. What do you mean replace? Jeff

[Jason.M]

Got Discus from reputable breeders and Im doing 50% daily water changes and feeding them different types of food.

Yesterday I noticed 3 of my 8 are using 1 gill sometimes and sometimes they use both. Ive also noticed some of the ones that use 1 gill, they dart fast and make the others dart as well. Not sure if I spook them or what, but after doing some reading around here it seems to be serious. Ive also seen them scratching maybe once or twice a day. Could be more, but I don't sit there and wait till they scratch.

One other thing is my tank has been cloudy since I started doing daily 50% water changes. Water parameters have been good. So I don't understand why. I gravel vac everyday as well and wipe down the glass every other day. I also clean filters once a week and replace if need be.

I don't know what Im going to do with the discus cause I will not sell them like that. I have just had it. I have been pampering these fish better than I pamper my wife.

Maybe what I have is a serious problem??? I have a hospital tank set up and cycling, but its a 40gal breeder and all 8 will be overcrowding that tank. Dont know what to do anymore. I dont think all 8 are sick either. So, I dont know what or if I should move all of them or just a few.

If anyone is willing to help I would appreciated. What are my options here and what do you recommend? Would you be able to walk me thru this and help me get what I need to get these fish healthy? Will all 8 be ok in the 40 for now or leave them in the 125 and keep doing water changes. I thought I was doing good. Guess not.

I literally could have wrote this myself a month or so ago. Went through the exact same thing for a couple weeks trying to get things right with my first ever group of discus. Got an aging barrel.... problem solved.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

It says that you clean and replace filters if needed. What do you mean replace? Jeff

replace filter floss or sponges I had in my emperor 400. I don't have that anymore as of a week ago. just have whats in my aquaclears 110 which replaced the emperors

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

I literally could have wrote this myself a month or so ago. Went through the exact same thing for a couple weeks trying to get things right with my first ever group of discus. Got an aging barrel.... problem solved.

what do you recommend for an aging barrel? and where can I get one? thanks

[rickztahone]

In my opinion double dosing prime is not a good idea.

You need to look at this like yin and yang :). to much of an Oxidizers (breach, chlorine, potassium permanganates) will definitely cause problems with your discus if not kill them. On the other side of the coin using to much of a Reducers (Prime, ship-shape, chloro-max) will also cause issues with your discus.......Just my two cents....Josie

I should have been clearer, I meant that one double dosing as the OP suggested will not harm the discus. Doing it every single water change might, but who knows.

[rickztahone]

what do you recommend for an aging barrel? and where can I get one? thanks

Try your local craiglist. Type in "food grade 55g barrel" and you should get some hits locally.

[warblad79]

I got mine from eBay

[CANAMONSTER]

Sounds to me like a mini cycle. You loose a bit a bio when you clean everything, then your Beneficial Bacteria has to catch up again to your tanks bio load. The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom.

If your changing water everyday the water in your tank is very similar to your water out your tap. Only diff is your tap has chlorine which is fixed with a dechlorinater. I never understood why one would use aged water for a single tank when dechlorinater can be used. If one has multiple tanks a water reservoir is useful so you are not spending money on dechlorinater

[CANAMONSTER]

Don't clean your aquaclears. Put a presponge on the intakes and only rinse those.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Don't clean your aquaclears. Put a presponge on the intakes and only rinse those.

what do you mean and where can I get a presponge. you mean on the down tube that's inside the tank?

[rickztahone]

Sounds to me like a mini cycle. You loose a bit a bio when you clean everything, then your Beneficial Bacteria has to catch up again to your tanks bio load. The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom.

If your changing water everyday the water in your tank is very similar to your water out your tap. Only diff is your tap has chlorine which is fixed with a dechlorinater. I never understood why one would use aged water for a single tank when dechlorinater can be used. If one has multiple tanks a water reservoir is useful so you are not spending money on dechlorinater

You use aged water because because many people have water that fluctuates in pH after 24hrs which stresses out the discus. A dechlor will not help with this. Aging is a good way to stabilize the water with air and a heater inside the aging barrel.

[Second Hand Pat]

Tony, when you measured your ammonia/nitrite was it right after your water change? If so measure just before your water change. This will tell us if you have a on going mini-cycle. Also aging your water might be just what you need to do. You will be an aging barrel and a way to aerate and heat the water.
Pat

[Chicago Discus]

I should have been clearer, I meant that one double dosing as the OP suggested will not harm the discus. Doing it every single water change might, but who knows.

You were very clear, in my opinion double dosing with prime does nothing but causes more issues. stability freshwater and consistency is key :)......Josie

[MD.David]

I dont believe double dosing prime will cause any issues.
with out getting into a science lesson, could you plz explain how you believe this "causes more issues"?


You were very clear, in my opinion double dosing with prime does nothing but causes more issues. stability freshwater and consistency is key :)......Josie

[MD.David]

HI TONY,
I am sure, (I am safe to assume) we have all been where you are; (frustrated, discouraged, etc) and all you want is to be successful.
A majority of all problems in discus keeping can be summed in to two categories and two sub-categories:
1)the water quality i]quality of the water in the tank
ii] quality of the water from the source (ie;your tap water, well water, city water)
2) fish quality i]health of the fish from source and nutrition
ii] quality of fish genetics

Everything you have told us have pointed more experienced aquariumists in the direction of "the water quality".
1st we must make sure your water quality is superb in the tank, after all this checks out, and you feel you have a good handle on the inner water workings of the tank then we may have to venture to your water source itself.
You said your "using seachem Prime" so i will assume your using city water treated with chlorine, ozone, etc.
Have you ever tested your water out of the tap, to see how much chlorine you actually have in it? if there is very high levels you may need more prime then your putting in, if there is zero chlorine this may cause other problems (bacteria, micro parasites, protozoans, etc.)
You said your tank goes cloudy, this would also lead us to think your tank may be cycling again, you also said you were cleaning your filters once a week and or replacing. If your replacing the filters media/sponge in the aquaclear, this would cause it to cycle again, but if you have two AC110 you could replace media in one and not replace the media in the other, so I don't think this would cause a mini cycle again because if your alternating the replacement then it shouldnt reclycle at all.
I maybe jumping the gun but we are trying to figure out a few things:
1.is your tank cycling again?
2.are you treating the water properly?
3.is something weird going on in your tank?
4.Any road work in your area where the road crew is doing something to the water lines/pipes?
5. How do you do your water changes?
6. do you age your water? and how and how long?

You did say that your Am and Ni readings are zero, so this would lead us to believe the tank is 100% cycled.

a few things I would try:
1) Loose the sand, Im not a big fan of sand, I love the way it looks but it can harbor many negatives to a discus keeper
2) Get a sponge filter (like an ATI hydro sponge #5 or a XY380 Chinese brand) seed it. [Im not a big HOB fan either, i have my arguments but others love them and they do have there place (for removing water particles), however IMO a sponge filter has greater nitrification then any HOB].
3)Change 80% water daily [it is possible (however unlikely) all your filter cleaning is wiping your BB out and you levels are high and your test kit is wrong.

Note: I dont think you have any physical problems with your discus yet, I honestly think its a water issue, either its cycling, your cleaning your HOB filter too much, you possibly have way to much chlorine in your water and your simply not putting enough declorinator in.

[rickztahone]

OP, if you currently do not have sponge filters, get a couple of them and don't rinse them but once or twice a month and they will keep your cycle going.

[Chicago Discus]

I dont believe double dosing prime will cause any issues.
with out getting into a science lesson, could you plz explain how you believe this "causes more issues"?


Basically I agree with Rick. Double dosing with Prime once or twice will not cause any harm. But consistently double dosing could lead to build up of harmful substance within the fish. This is just my opinion... consistency is the key! But a lot of hobbyists tend to overprime to compensate for poor water quality. That's the only point I am trying to make... Josie

[MD.David]

You mean instead of doing 80% water change because of a high Ni level they dose with prime?
I have heard of this before, doesn't sound like a good plan to me either.
However in Tony's situation I don't think that's the problem.
It sounds more like a cycling issue and not enough water have been changed out.
After the water issue is sorted I may also recommend treating with paraguard. But one set at a time.

[Jason.M]

what do you recommend for an aging barrel? and where can I get one? thanks
I picked up my barrel from a commercial pool servicing company that gets in pallets of 55 gallon barrels that are full of chlorine. The barrels can only be used so many times for transport. Found them on kijiji for sale by this company. Cheap, safe, clean and only ever had chlorine in it and nothing else.
Careful buying a used one though and be sure of what it had in it. I wouldn't get one that had oil in it of course, and it seems like a lot of the ones available had car wash detergents in them. Not sure I'd trust those either.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Tony, when you measured your ammonia/nitrite was it right after your water change? If so measure just before your water change. This will tell us if you have a on going mini-cycle. Also aging your water might be just what you need to do. You will be an aging barrel and a way to aerate and heat the water.
Pat

I do it before water changes Pat. I'm working on getting a barrel. I already went and bought a airstone and the little air machine lol(drawing a blank can't think of the name now) and a heater.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

HI TONY,
I am sure, (I am safe to assume) we have all been where you are; (frustrated, discouraged, etc) and all you want is to be successful.
A majority of all problems in discus keeping can be summed in to two categories and two sub-categories:
1)the water quality i]quality of the water in the tank
ii] quality of the water from the source (ie;your tap water, well water, city water)
2) fish quality i]health of the fish from source and nutrition
ii] quality of fish genetics

Everything you have told us have pointed more experienced aquariumists in the direction of "the water quality".
1st we must make sure your water quality is superb in the tank, after all this checks out, and you feel you have a good handle on the inner water workings of the tank then we may have to venture to your water source itself.
You said your "using seachem Prime" so i will assume your using city water treated with chlorine, ozone, etc.
Have you ever tested your water out of the tap, to see how much chlorine you actually have in it? if there is very high levels you may need more prime then your putting in, if there is zero chlorine this may cause other problems (bacteria, micro parasites, protozoans, etc.)
You said your tank goes cloudy, this would also lead us to think your tank may be cycling again, you also said you were cleaning your filters once a week and or replacing. If your replacing the filters media/sponge in the aquaclear, this would cause it to cycle again, but if you have two AC110 you could replace media in one and not replace the media in the other, so I don't think this would cause a mini cycle again because if your alternating the replacement then it shouldnt reclycle at all.
I maybe jumping the gun but we are trying to figure out a few things:
1.is your tank cycling again?
2.are you treating the water properly?
3.is something weird going on in your tank?
4.Any road work in your area where the road crew is doing something to the water lines/pipes?
5. How do you do your water changes?
6. do you age your water? and how and how long?

You did say that your Am and Ni readings are zero, so this would lead us to believe the tank is 100% cycled.

a few things I would try:
1) Loose the sand, Im not a big fan of sand, I love the way it looks but it can harbor many negatives to a discus keeper
2) Get a sponge filter (like an ATI hydro sponge #5 or a XY380 Chinese brand) seed it. [Im not a big HOB fan either, i have my arguments but others love them and they do have there place (for removing water particles), however IMO a sponge filter has greater nitrification then any HOB].
3)Change 80% water daily [it is possible (however unlikely) all your filter cleaning is wiping your BB out and you levels are high and your test kit is wrong.

Note: I dont think you have any physical problems with your discus yet, I honestly think its a water issue, either its cycling, your cleaning your HOB filter too much, you possibly have way to much chlorine in your water and your simply not putting enough declorinator in.

Have you ever tested your water out of the tap, to see how much chlorine you actually have in it?No I have not, but I know there is a lot cause I can smell it.
1.is your tank cycling again? It could be. Its a white cloudiness and today I did 90% water change and its not so cloudy but its not clear.
2.are you treating the water properly?I use Prime after my 50% water changes. I add 2 capfuls and a little more to the 1st line in the cap for a 125 gallon tank.
3.is something weird going on in your tank? Nothing weird. I have 8 discus 10 corys and 8 neon tetras.
4.Any road work in your area where the road crew is doing something to the water lines/pipes? No
5. How do you do your water changes? Drain water, vacuum, wipe down glass, service filters, add Prime, refill from tap using Python with the same temp as tank water.
6. do you age your water? and how and how long?No
You did say that your Am and Ni readings are zero, so this would lead us to believe the tank is 100% cycled.Yes, I just did a test when I got home and before I changed the water. 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5 Nitrate. I do deep sand gravel cleanings. Maybe its that? I read that it could disturb the bacteria.

Im ordering some sponge filters. After I did the water change just now the discus are not using 1 gill. they seem good and using both. Before the water change I noticed that the ones that were using 1 gill were still doing it but with the opposite side. Hope I covered everything.

[Las Vegas]

Answer #5, is anybody wondering if maybe he burned the Discus gills by adding prime then adding water? I don't use chemicals for my Discus. But if you do use chemicals aren't you suppose to mix chem into water before you add to tank?

[MattArmstrong]

Answer #5, is anybody wondering if maybe he burned the Discus gills by adding prime then adding water? I don't use chemicals for my Discus. But if you do use chemicals aren't you suppose to mix chem into water before you add to tank?

This thread is the first I've seen that implicates Prime for a fish ailment. More often it is failure to use Prime that causes problems!

The OP is dosing Prime correctly according to Seachem's instructions, and for a 50% water change the transient Prime dose is at most 2x the recommended, which is quite tame.

I don't think Prime is the problem. Do follow directions, but I don't think it "burns" gills if used properly, and it has a fair amount of leeway before "overdose" conditions are reached.

For truly huge water changes, I'd would think about dosing Prime a few times as the tank fills, so the transient dose isn't absurdly high (e.g. 20x recommended if a 5% full tank has the 100% dose added). But even if that isn't done, I would expect the impact to be a transient reduction in O2 levels, fixed with the addition of new water and aeration.

That said, I have found that aging tap for 24H seems to make water changes less stressful for my fish. I've also found that the benefit of aging seems to be more pronounced with larger water changes. E.g. my tanks can take a 10% water change with untreated tap water (my tap water has low chlorine levels) and the fish hardly notice. I can't do a 50% water change and say the same. Larger changes done without aging (and throwing full-tank doses of Prime in the water) make my fish breath unusually fast for a while after the change -- I notice off gassing bubbles forming on glass and decor, so I assume it is also possibly on their gills and thus giving them troubles. Prime is also a reducer, which can cause low O2 levels in the tank as the chemical reactions play out. Seachem's tech support says it is "unlikely" for this to be a problem, but also recommends trying to get away with half dosing Prime for tanks kept at 86F and higher -- so for Discus tanks I read that as a caution! All things equal, best to let all this off gassing and Prime "reducing" play out in a container that doesn't hold your fish.

[Filip]

The only time I had milky whitish cloudy water in any of my tanks I ever owned, was only in the establishing phase. As the filter ages it goes away by its self.
I think its only a cycling phase issue .Just keep on doing what you do so far and it will turn all right eventually.

And don't give up. Your discus are still doing OK and that's most important.

[CANAMONSTER]

The only benifit of Aging water depends on the differences of PH out of your Tap and the PH of water that has sat for 24 hrs. That difference will tell you if you should be "aging" water. Some have very little difference hence no need to age water just dechlorinate. Some do so you can have a PH change when a large WC is performed.

Check your PH levels of tap and aged.

[Filip]

The only benifit of Aging water depends on the differences of PH out of your Tap and the PH of water that has sat for 24 hrs. That difference will tell you if you should be "aging" water. Some have very little difference hence no need to age water just dechlorinate. Some do so you can have a PH change when a large WC is performed.

Check your PH levels of tap and aged.

Dissolved gasses and microbubbles in water are also things to consider with ageing water.

The best parameter to measure and to follow IMO is the discus behaviour and how they cope with large WCs.
They can tell us what we should do and what to avoid.

[Akili]

Gill issues may due to cross contamination with new additions OP had 3 Discus in 125 gal in his earlier post on Date 01-08-2016 and now has 8 discus in 125 gal In my opinion it is clear failure to quarantine.
Date 01-08-2016, Time 03:05 PM quote from following thread
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122561-Fist-time-caring-for-Discus-and-need-help&highlight=

Hello,

I have a 125 gallon glass tank with 3 Discus, 10 Neon Tetras, 10 Cory Cats, and 2 Gold Skirt Tetras. the Discus were purchased from a very reputable breeder in town. The acclimation process took and hr to do as instructed by the breeder. 2-Marineland Emperors 400 and a Magnum 350 Canister. In the emperors I have blue carbon cartriges and poly fiber floss in the grey media containers and in the canister I have the micro polishing filter. My water is fine(0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5 Nitrate, PH 7.6, temp 84-86), and I have been doing 50% WC(do I have to do that many, a 125 gal is not easy to do) every other day, and also picking up the poo and fish food with a battery powered gravel vac everyday. I will be getting 3 more discus by end of the month. I just purchased the discus this past Saturday and they are very shy and when the light come on they hide. They are still their color but darker since the move. one of them has the black stripes, that I was told were stress. I want to make sure I am doing everything correct. They are eating some. I feed them 3 times a day, and I just drop the food where they are and they get it once I leave the room. Otherwise they seem healthy. What do you all recommend or advise me to do to get them happy and colorful again. Thanks
any help and advise is appreciated.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

dude get off my post and go troll someone else.

admin, how can I block this person.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

all discus were quarantined with the exception of the 1st 3 which were quarantined for me at the breeders place because I did not have a tank. I do have a qt tank now and all new fish will be quarantined.

[DiscusVince]

Did you happen to Deworm your fish prior to setting them into the tank? If not that would explain the Discus scratching against objects (Better known as Flashing). This would also explain the darting.

If you never dewormed them they can have internal parasites that you would never see until dewormed. There are some microscopic parasites that are external that you can't see with the naked eye as well.

[Hoboken Ed]

I think you should leave the filters alone and continue water changes. You shouldn't have to clean them every week, just put a prefilter sponge on the intake tubes to prevent food from being sucked in, and rinse the prefilter sponges weekly. You should clear up. Oh, and when you do, alternate cleaning filters just in case you screw up the beneficial bacteria.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Did you happen to Deworm your fish prior to setting them into the tank? If not that would explain the Discus scratching against objects (Better known as Flashing). This would also explain the darting.

If you never dewormed them they can have internal parasites that you would never see until dewormed. There are some microscopic parasites that are external that you can't see with the naked eye as well.

Yes they were dewormed by the breeders.

[Second Hand Pat]

Did you happen to Deworm your fish prior to setting them into the tank? If not that would explain the Discus scratching against objects (Better known as Flashing). This would also explain the darting.

If you never dewormed them they can have internal parasites that you would never see until dewormed. There are some microscopic parasites that are external that you can't see with the naked eye as well.

There are other reasons for scratching, flashing, darting etc. Best to handle water quality issues first before moving to other things.
Pat

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

I think you should leave the filters alone and continue water changes. You shouldn't have to clean them every week, just put a prefilter sponge on the intake tubes to prevent food from being sucked in, and rinse the prefilter sponges weekly. You should clear up. Oh, and when you do, alternate cleaning filters just in case you screw up the beneficial bacteria.

Ok thanks for the advice!

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

There are other reasons for scratching, flashing, darting etc. Best to handle water quality issues first before moving to other things.
Pat

I'm still doing 90% WC. Fish seem to be doing better and not darting unless I cause it. I haven't seen them scratch except one that did it for a sec and hasn't done it since.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfDHTfTQFg

Here's a video of the discus. Please advise what I should do from here or if all is ok. Thanks

[rickztahone]

I didn't know you had wild discus in there. What was the time line when you added the WC discus, or were they there before?

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

They have been in there for a couple of weeks after quarantine.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

I didn't know you had wild discus in there. What was the time line when you added the WC discus, or were they there before?


Do they look ok to you?

[MD.David]

Your doing OK my friend, just keep up with water changes.
If they are all eating well and your large water changes solved the cloudy issue, then I would say your filters weren't totally cycled yet for your bioload.
I would certainly add a large sponge filter (or maybe two! :), u really only need one AC110 after that sponge filter is cycled in 3 weeks.
But I think your doing better now.

Cheers mate!

Do they look ok to you?

[rickztahone]

Do they look ok to you?

One looks more healthier than the other really, but your discus don't look bad. Keep up the water changes. Alternate filter cleaning and don't clean them till about the 2-3 week mark while alternating between the two.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Your doing OK my friend, just keep up with water changes.
If they are all eating well and your large water changes solved the cloudy issue, then I would say your filters weren't totally cycled yet for your bioload.
I would certainly add a large sponge filter (or maybe two! :), u really only need one AC110 after that sponge filter is cycled in 3 weeks.
But I think your doing better now.

Cheers mate!

Ok thanks. I feel better now. I was only able to get a 80gal sponge filter. Would I be able to use it and leave both ac110 or is it best to still get rid of one ac110?

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Ok thanks. I feel better now. I was only able to get a 80gal sponge filter. Would I be able to use it and leave both ac110 or is it best to still get rid of one ac110?

Ok thank you! Yea one of them looks skinny but that's how I got him.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

I think I found the culprit. When I remove the driftwood for a water change the discus immediately get active and they color up very nice. After I did the water change they came out and were swimming around. Before, after I was done, they would hide for a while. I checked all of them and they were breathing from both gills. I picked up the driftwood from the local river. You think it could be that. I would have thought that if it was the driftwood it would also be in the water? I wouldn't think by removing the driftwood alone without a water change, it would make a difference. Any input?

[Jack L]

i just read through your thread. i like the wilds in your video! i didn't watch all of it, but the fish seem fine.

i would agree w/ you about the wood. but you are finding the reaction different than that, so if taking it out makes them happy, i'd leave it out.

did you do any cleaning/boiling/etc of the wood?

people go to some lengthy measure before adding wood to tank.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Yes...it was boiled for a few hrs and waterlogged for 4 weeks.

[Second Hand Pat]

Tony, sounds the driftwood is releasing an irritant in the water. Perhaps best to not use it.
Pat

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Yes I took it out and tossed it.

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Here's another video. Still seeing the scratching and shaking and darting. What should I do? They are eating fine and come up to me. https://youtu.be/8FYOMKDjEyo

[Kyla]

do all of them eat for sure at feeding times? some seem to have skinny foreheads... how many times a day r u feeding? what r u feeding? i could be wrong, some just looked pretty slim in the face when they faced directly towards the camera

[HappyFace]

Some of them look very thin. I'm still a noob to discus keeping so my opinon may be off.

From what I've read if a discus is thin they're not eating enough because of bullies or their not being fed enough or they're not given enough time to eat. If you rule those things out then it's either something in the water or they have a parasite/infection and are not digesting the food properly.

I'm not sure what other people feed but this is my daily routine. I have 6 discus over 6" all thick and healthy. My discus are picky and refuse everything except frozen blood worms and freeze dried tubifex. Each discus eats on average 1 cube of fbw and 1/2 to 1 cube of fdtw per day. I feed half the pre-thawed fbw in the morning. I break it up all over the tank so the discus spread out and no one gets to hoard and bully others. I hand feed two fdtw 2-3 times during the day. I make sure everyone comes up to eat from my hand. I swish the agressive ones away. I give the other half pre-thawed fbw at night about 1 hour before bed. I always give them 30 minutes to eat then I turn the pumps back on.

[HappyFace]

Oops I mean I feed a little under 2 cubes fbw (10 total cubes per day) and 1 cube of fdtw each day per discus (4-6 cubes per day) so they get 3 total cubes each day. I also add one extra cube of fbw and one extra cube fdtw for my four small angel fish and 1 small zebra pleco. They are small and don't eat as much.

They would eat more if I added more feedings.