my stocking list

[Loretta]

I have had this tank going for over 2 months. It is going well!

29 Gallon Tank
HOB filter
UGF

Fish:
2- 3" turqouise
4- 2" pidgeon blood discus
6- 3" powder blue discus

2- 3" blue rams
8- 1" neon tetras


I'm planning on adding 3 more turquoise discus to complete the tank.

[marilyn1998]

Loretta,

Are you sure you meant to type 29 gallon??? If so, you are WAY overstocked. The amount of room, food and waste produced by this brood is gonna keep them stressed and sick and stunted.
I have a 30 gallon with 4 juvies. Everytime I tried to go with 6, my daily water changes werent enough to keep up with the load and taxed my biofilter.

I suggest you get a bigger tank ASAP. As this brood grows, you will see disease and fighting and spikes in your water levels.

It is only a matter of time!

Also, the UG filter helps to keep the muck in the tank. It will build up under the gravel and casue problems with your nitrates. I found this out from experience. The more fish you have, the closer you want to have a bare bottom so you can keep it clean. The BB is more forgiving when you are overstocked.

[Cosmo]

Hi Loretta, and Welcome To Simply :)

Sounds like you've got a serious cause of Discus addiction going there so welcome to the asylum :D

If you've been reading the forum for awhile before you posted, you'll probably be expecting people to tell you that that is an awfully lot of Discus for a 29 gallon tank! You'll also probably expect people to tell you that UGFs aren't really good in a Discus tank :confused:

Both are true of course, but, since you've already read that I won't say it over again :) :p

Since you've been bitten so badly by the bug already though, and will end up with more tanks in the very near future... you might want to consider getting a larger tank sooner rather than later. Will be extremely difficult to keep that many fish healthy in that small an aquarium with gravel and a UGF.

When you post next, tell us a little more about what and how often you feed, water changes, and water parameters and such. Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind and I'm sure everyone will pitch in and try and give you good answers.

Really glad to have you as a member though, and looking forward to hearing about how things progress :)

Jim

[Cosmo]

See, someone went and said both before I was even finished typing :D

[Loretta]

I was told by my LFS owner that these fish stay in groups of 100 in the wild and should be kept in a group of at least 8 in captivity to stay healthy! I do weekly water changes of about 30% and have noticed that lately my discus are getting these small, indented holes in their faces.

I feed them a diet of chopped bloodworms twice a day which they happily devour and produce little waste from this which is why I was told I can get away with it.

My LFS owner is pretty knowledgeable, are you sure you guys aren't being paranoid? :noway:

[ShinShin]

It is recommended that novice discus hobbyist allow 10/gal per discus to maintain a healthy tank. You ought to be changing more water on a daily basis and feeding discus that size at least 3 times daily. Vary the diet as well. You are already showing signs of poor nutrition and bad water with the disease of "hole in the head" (aka HITH) that you describe.

Your lfs person is correct in that discus do better in larger groups.

Mat

[discus2010]

i have had past experience and can tell you that they just ACT knowledgeable u CANT really believe them since they DONT REALLY KNOW and they do stay in schools in the wild of large number but you need a HUGE tank for that amount. The amount of fish you had planned is an overstocked 55 so you might want want to increase the tank size since they prefer 6 or more and get about 8-10 fish and sell them off as they grow (keep 6). I would recommend getting rid of the gravel since it just collects dirt. Then if you want a planted tank when their older and w/c's rnt as necessary you can add plants and gravel or w/e. I would recommend more w/c's as well at least 2 per week since the water gets real dirty. i would recommend a variety in the diet as well as something a little healthier to grow em up.
Good luck

[Cosmo]

Loretta,

Discus are schooling fish, so the part of being in groups of 8 or more is right on the money. The "rule of thumb" though is approx 1 fish per 10 gallons of water, so 8 Adult Discus would be a good number for a 75 gallon tank. If yours are small juveniles you might get by for a short time, but the little indented holes in their head are most likely a sign of stress caused by less than ideal water quality.

Do you own any water test kits? You should test the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates which should read 0, 0, and <10 respectively. Discus are more sensitive to water quality than are many other species which is one of the reasons UGFs can be a problem. Like mentioned above, they tend to trap detritus under the plates and start pumping out nitrates.. which is bad :( If you don't have test kits, they are available relatively inexpensively, though your LFS will charge you more than an online store will.

You'll find many of us use BB (bare bottom - no substrate) tanks, primarily because they are easier to clean and keep the water quality high. Gravel hides much more detritus than you might imagine - even if you vacuum the gravel daily. Many of us change 30% to 50% of the tank water daily, many every other or every third day.... with aged water of course ;)

Are we being paranoid? :D Maybe a little, but we've found that the higher the water quality, and the more stable the environment, the healthier the fish remain :)

You should spend some time in the library reading up on the nitrogen cycle and water parameters such as ph. Then post the results you get from testing the water parameters and fire away with any questions that come to mind :)

Jim

[White Worm]

Come on Mat, you can do better than that. You must not be feeling like yourself. :D

Loretta.....dont worry.....if you just listen to the experts here for a while and look around and do some research, you will find that your LFS is full of ....! Buy a bigger tank and wc at least every other day 50% and you had better prepare to treat your guys for HITH soon before it gets worse. We are not being paranoid, trust me. Your LFS just wants return business, thats why they dont worry about cramming large numbers of discus in a small tank. They will get stressed, sick and die. Then you will have to return and buy more. The last thing you want to do right now is buy more for that little tank and make things worse. First thing.....Go bigger.....and then do some research here. There is more than enough info here to search through. you will get help from the experts as you go. :D

[ShinShin]

I'm feeling soft and fluffy these last couple of days. ;)

Mat

[White Worm]

Nice to see another side my friend. :) I thought maybe you were just a little under the weather or something, lol. :D

[discusdave]

I have had this tank going for over 2 months. It is going well!

29 Gallon Tank
HOB filter
UGF

Fish:
2- 3" turqouise
4- 2" pidgeon blood discus
6- 3" powder blue discus

2- 3" blue rams
8- 1" neon tetras


I'm planning on adding 3 more turquoise discus to complete the tank.

This post sounds like bait. Describe a tank so ridiculously overstocked and wait for the "you need a bigger tank" rants to come in. You are all entertaining someone.

Dave

[ShinShin]

Dave,

That's the thinking going around via PM's.

Mat

[trusty]

u could do 100% everyday as well //

[discusdave]

Dave,

That's the thinking going around via PM's.

Mat

There have to be a million better things to do than waste bandwidth on Simply playing these games.

Dave

[Loretta]

Excuse Me? I come to simplydiscus.com to get help on something I wondered about, and you give me this crap? Wow you people really know how to push people away. I mentioned this sight to my friend who gave me a look a said of a similar experience he's had. Its sad that you can't even get help anymore without being rudely accused of being a troll! I don't need this website and its hothead rude as hell members, I'll go somewhere else. So congratulations SimplyDiscus.com for pushing yet ANOTHER member away! May your fish get Hole in the Head and rot for the rudeness that you all have shown me!

[Jarrod]

No Where did anyone call you a troll!...You stated your tank setup and size...the only responses you got were that for the size of your setup you were overstocked in the quantity of fish in it..no one was rude to you in the least IMO you made the statement and nothing more..that implied to me personally that you wanted advice and comments on how your setup was...and everyone that has replies is right given the size of your tank and the sizes and quantity of fish in it they are all correct. No one was rude to you in the least!Sorry you felt that way but sometimes the truth hurts a bit.
Jarrod

[Loretta]

Read the last couple of posts on page on Jarrod! Apparantly my posts are "bait" and I'm getting entertained by all this! Therefore draw your own conclusion bub! That pretty much means they think im a troll! So once again before you post, get YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!

Your responses are a waste of time if you're going to be imbecilic and harsh about it! Oh well I know now never to depend on this website again!

SO ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS FOR TURNING ME OFF FROM THIS WEBSITE! HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A LESSON TO NEWBIES WHO GET TURNED AWAY FROM THIS AND MAKE BAD DECIONS! ITS YOUR FAULT!

[marilyn1998]

Sounds like that guy that was running experiments on no water changes?

Priceless!
Thanks for the entertainment.

[diskboy]

jezz i come on here to check whats up with everyone and we gots a fight brewin....sry you feel that way but when i came here i found them a very peaceful group and they gave me alot of help.

[Jarrod]

Loretta..I am a newbie to discus as well...I admit that freely and openly...I am not a newbie to various forums and other discussion boards tho...I still feel this site is the all around very best one to learn from and with..it's very common thing to see posts that come across like yours did and possibly be taken the wrong way. Hence responses that may make you think the way you did on it..I truly am sorry you feel that way an hope that you reconsider the reponses and how they were intended...not as slams or anything like that but maybe just the wrong wording or wording taken in the wrong way by you...forums create discussions and ideas and opinions that sometimes may not be exactly what we want to hear or do not agree with...I will say this tho...to wish disease and things like that on others fish just because you may have taken something offensively was what I would call rude..there again thats JMO is all..the fish ae why we are here to keep them as healthy and as in good of shape as we can for whatever reasons...be it breeding or just enjoying them for what they are the most wonderful fish/pet you can be around and just enjoy..to be sure I love all animals with very few exceptions..
Take care and hope your fish continue to do well for you.
Jarrod

[GottaBeKiN]

um...those were honest advice, maybe you could try your way Loretta. If you are sucessful on growing those discus to about 5", please post your method on how to do it later on..

[discusdave]

I have had this tank going for over 2 months. It is going well!

29 Gallon Tank
HOB filter
UGF

Fish:
2- 3" turqouise
4- 2" pidgeon blood discus
6- 3" powder blue discus

2- 3" blue rams
8- 1" neon tetras


I'm planning on adding 3 more turquoise discus to complete the tank.

Where in this post is there any question requiring advice? You come here and describe a very overstocked tank and that it is "going well" and that you are planning to add three more fish for a total of 15 discus that have the potential to reach 6 inches in length each. Nothing like 90 inches of Discus in a 29 gallon tank.

This post is a statement, not a request for help or advice.

Bait, noting but.

Dave

[Kenny's Discus]

Loretta..I am a newbie to discus as well...I admit that freely and openly...I am not a newbie to various forums and other discussion boards tho...I still feel this site is the all around very best one to learn from and with..it's very common thing to see posts that come across like yours did and possibly be taken the wrong way. Hence responses that may make you think the way you did on it..I truly am sorry you feel that way an hope that you reconsider the reponses and how they were intended...not as slams or anything like that but maybe just the wrong wording or wording taken in the wrong way by you...forums create discussions and ideas and opinions that sometimes may not be exactly what we want to hear or do not agree with...I will say this tho...to wish disease and things like that on others fish just because you may have taken something offensively was what I would call rude..there again thats JMO is all..the fish ae why we are here to keep them as healthy and as in good of shape as we can for whatever reasons...be it breeding or just enjoying them for what they are the most wonderful fish/pet you can be around and just enjoy..to be sure I love all animals with very few exceptions..
Take care and hope your fish continue to do well for you.
Jarrod

Very trueful and classy in explaining this to Loretta, Jarrod. I know this is a bit off-topic but I'm grateful to have a friend like you!

Loretta - as Jarrod said, things said on the forum can be taken wrongly sometimes by the recipients. And even if you didn't take it wrongly I still see some great advices being given by others here that should be appreciative. Trust me those are some very sound advices in regards to your current tank situation.

Hope everyone will be well(that includes you Loretta).

Kenny
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=45944

[KIWI13]

DiscusDave, I can see where loretta took offense and so would any new person to the site. There are ways of explaining to people if their tanks our over-stocked however accusing them of baiting people on the forum is nothing but an accusation and the fact that you repeated your post about baiting proves my point.

Dear Loretta, I can understand that you were not happy with the replies that you recieved but nevertheless, you were OUT OF LINE on your reply. I am sorry that this thread slipped through our hands but we have alot of threads to go over on the forum. The right thing to have done would have been to get in contact with a moderator or administrator to express your unhappiness but accusing all the members on Simply Discus as being rude is really not the way to tackle problems. You recieved some very good information from alot of people and yes your tank is overcrowded. There is no two ways about it and if someone told you otherwise, then that someone lied or is incompetant when it concerns the hobby.

Feel free to leave and if you intend to stay then I suggest you apologise to our members for your brash and outrageous reactions. If not then feel free to take your business elsewhere. I for one was offended by your comment .

I expect no further discussion on this subject unless its a public apology and if this continues then we will simply lock this thread down.

Yours Sincerely

Jason

Simply Discus Team

[discusdave]

DiscusDave, I can see where loretta took offense and so would any new person to the site. There are ways of explaining to people if their tanks our over-stocked however accusing them of baiting people on the forum is nothing but an accusation and the fact that you repeated your post about baiting proves my point.


I'll try to play nice.

Dave

[KIWI13]

Dave you are a big man... Members like you make it a easy being a mod..

Thank You

jason;)

[White Worm]

Feel free to leave and if you intend to stay then I suggest you apologise to our members for your brash and outrageous reactions. If not then feel free to take your business elsewhere. I for one was offended by your comment.


This post sounds like bait. Describe a tank so ridiculously overstocked and wait for the "you need a bigger tank" rants to come in. You are all entertaining someone

That's the thinking going around via PM's.

There have to be a million better things to do than waste bandwidth on Simply playing these games.


I'm sure this will get locked soon, nothing new. I may get blasted for this one but I think this person had every right to defend herself if in fact this wasnt a joke. Someone that has never done their research could possibly think they are doing the right thing if they dont know discus (It wouldnt be the first time). Factless attacks like the above are uncalled for on a site like this so the Mods and members need to take a little responsibility here also. You may need to try and contact this person and make an appology for how SOME of the members treated a new person to the site. Granted, it could be a joke, but get the facts first before being so suspicious. Nobody even gave this person sufficient time to respond before the comments started. Why should Discus Dave receive just a "dont do that good guy", but this new person is blasted? I know this person didnt specifically ask for assistance but again, not everyone starts off that way. Maybe it was just a hobbyist who was looking for other hobbyists and didnt know she was doing it wrong. Maybe she hadnt experienced and problems yet? SOME didnt take that into consideration. Yes, she should have contacted admin but not everyone is level headed at first when they are treated rudely and have a temper, right Jas?

[KIWI13]

Wel Mike, I would suggest you read what Loretta wrote cause I don't plan on repeating it..

Ok people stepped out of line and there was nothing outrageously rude said to begin with, however the reply was exactally that. You are free to you opinion and I will not lock the thread down for that. LOL

I understand Loretta's anger but its not justified...

End of Story

Jason

As far as I am concerned 2 wrongs do not make a right.....

[White Worm]

First I appreciate being able to express an opinion without having the world come down on ya, lol. Sure, it wasnt the proper way but justified? We dont have to go any farther with that one. Outrageously rude...Nope...but rude nontheless. Hopefully some members can just wait until they receive the facts and then this will continue to be the classy joint we have all come to enjoy. Mike :D

[KIWI13]

:thumbsup:

[Cosmo]

Loretta,

You were initially given a wealth of good advice, but you also got the inevitable responses about overstocking and the potential end result. I find it rather interesting how you subsequently dropped any queries or engaged any further discussion on Discus and went straight into attack mode against the forum in general :confused:

Hopefully, you wrote this thread as bait, because if you really have that many fish in a 29 gal aquarium, with plans to add 3 more... then I feel very badly for the fish :( If you really do keep this aquarium overstocked like this and prefer to ignore the advise posted, then it's probably best that you continue working with the knowledgeable guy at the LFS and follow the advise he gives you.

Unfortunately, the wordings of your posts after you went into attack (or defensive mode perhaps) makes it look like it was planned to end this way :confused: Don't know... but do know I spent a good amount of time at the beginning of this thread reacting to you as though you were sincere and was ignored. No hard feelings :)

Anyway, I'm locking this thread... too much has already been said on this topic.

Jim