vidocha
01-06-2018, 01:22 AM
My arrival to the fish keeping hobby came by happenstance. We purchased a house this summer and the previous owners asked us if we wanted to keep their community tank, I thought sure why not. The first few days we would just stare at the fish until we realized 30 minutes had passed by, we became enamored. Fast forward 6 months and today as I am typing this my fish are dying off one by one, I am devastated to say the least. I had already made the decision to primarily keep Discus a few weeks back. In preparation for the Discus, one day I vacuumed the gravel extra thoroughly, and I might have kicked up too much debris. I also saw ich on some of the fish that same week, I don't know if there was a correlation.
My question to the community is, how do I prep the tank for Discus? Any fish that survive will be going to a new home. Once I remove all the fish, what should I do? Should I just let the tank sit dry for a few days, should I use soap, or any other cleaning solution? I will be permanently removing all the gravel and decorations, but should I reuse the HOB, or is that contaminated? I will also include my answers to the questionnaire below for any extra tips that can be provided.
Experience: No experience with Discus, but I have amassed hours now doing my research. I have kept my current tank thriving for 6 months, and one of the species was even spawning.
Tank: I believe it's a 50 gl tank, and it's set up as a display tank. Dimensions are roughly 4ft x 1ft x 1.5ft. I say roughly because I can't measure it exactly since it's built into the wall! The previous owners made a space in the wall that separates the family room with a small room. The tank sits flush with the wall in the family room, and it looks spectacular. The previous owners said that some of the fish were 9 years old, and the tank had been in the family for decades.
113784
Decor: Currently there are lava rocks, plastic plants, and gravel. For the Discus I will go BB at first, then transition to pool filter sand. Although I know sand is more difficult, I prefer the look and I am willing to increase the maintenance. I also plan to include plastic plants and a rock or two for decor.
WCs: I plan to do 2-3 water changes per week. I have purchased an API Master Test kit, and I will adjust my WCs based on my readings. I am planning to use only tap water.
Filtration: Currently the tank uses undergravel filtration and a 150 Penguin/Marineland Biowheel HOB. I am going to remove the gravel and replace the current HOB with two 50 Aquaclear HOBs and place sponges and biomedia in them. I will adapt intake sponges on the HOBs as well. I have one thermometer, but will be adding another one. Tank has a 4ft Current LED USA Satellite which I'll keep using.
Water Parameters: Temp 82, Tank PH 8, Tap PH 8, Ammonia: 0-4, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 80, from municipal water. My nitrates have always been high, but I think it may have to do with the undergravel filtration.
Discus: I plan to purchase 5 Discus from Uncle Sam's, a sponsor of this site . Luckily, they're 45 minutes from where I live and I've already had the chance to meet an owner and see their beautiful Discus. I am going to get them around the 3''- 4'' size. I will start with just the Discus at first, but plan to add more fish in the future, either 8 Cardinal Tetras, or 3 Blue Rams, or 3 Cory Catfish.
Feeding: Not sure what I will feed them, need to investigate more, but plan to feed at least 3 types of food 3 times a day. I will have to set up a feeding timer so that they can be fed while I am at work.
Goals: I intend to keep my tank as a display community tank. Probably with just one other species as mentioned above. Keeping these extraordinary fish that originated from the Amazon in my living room, is just mind-blowing to me. I know a 50 gl tank isn't ideal, but once they outgrow the tank I will most likely sell the fish to get smaller Discus again. I know that's easier said than done now, and I wonder how long it would take them to get to their mature size.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to any suggestions or tips.
My question to the community is, how do I prep the tank for Discus? Any fish that survive will be going to a new home. Once I remove all the fish, what should I do? Should I just let the tank sit dry for a few days, should I use soap, or any other cleaning solution? I will be permanently removing all the gravel and decorations, but should I reuse the HOB, or is that contaminated? I will also include my answers to the questionnaire below for any extra tips that can be provided.
Experience: No experience with Discus, but I have amassed hours now doing my research. I have kept my current tank thriving for 6 months, and one of the species was even spawning.
Tank: I believe it's a 50 gl tank, and it's set up as a display tank. Dimensions are roughly 4ft x 1ft x 1.5ft. I say roughly because I can't measure it exactly since it's built into the wall! The previous owners made a space in the wall that separates the family room with a small room. The tank sits flush with the wall in the family room, and it looks spectacular. The previous owners said that some of the fish were 9 years old, and the tank had been in the family for decades.
113784
Decor: Currently there are lava rocks, plastic plants, and gravel. For the Discus I will go BB at first, then transition to pool filter sand. Although I know sand is more difficult, I prefer the look and I am willing to increase the maintenance. I also plan to include plastic plants and a rock or two for decor.
WCs: I plan to do 2-3 water changes per week. I have purchased an API Master Test kit, and I will adjust my WCs based on my readings. I am planning to use only tap water.
Filtration: Currently the tank uses undergravel filtration and a 150 Penguin/Marineland Biowheel HOB. I am going to remove the gravel and replace the current HOB with two 50 Aquaclear HOBs and place sponges and biomedia in them. I will adapt intake sponges on the HOBs as well. I have one thermometer, but will be adding another one. Tank has a 4ft Current LED USA Satellite which I'll keep using.
Water Parameters: Temp 82, Tank PH 8, Tap PH 8, Ammonia: 0-4, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 80, from municipal water. My nitrates have always been high, but I think it may have to do with the undergravel filtration.
Discus: I plan to purchase 5 Discus from Uncle Sam's, a sponsor of this site . Luckily, they're 45 minutes from where I live and I've already had the chance to meet an owner and see their beautiful Discus. I am going to get them around the 3''- 4'' size. I will start with just the Discus at first, but plan to add more fish in the future, either 8 Cardinal Tetras, or 3 Blue Rams, or 3 Cory Catfish.
Feeding: Not sure what I will feed them, need to investigate more, but plan to feed at least 3 types of food 3 times a day. I will have to set up a feeding timer so that they can be fed while I am at work.
Goals: I intend to keep my tank as a display community tank. Probably with just one other species as mentioned above. Keeping these extraordinary fish that originated from the Amazon in my living room, is just mind-blowing to me. I know a 50 gl tank isn't ideal, but once they outgrow the tank I will most likely sell the fish to get smaller Discus again. I know that's easier said than done now, and I wonder how long it would take them to get to their mature size.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to any suggestions or tips.