A few questions

[Singin4Cnu]

Hey I was recently on another forum and I could not get people to answer my questions so I came here!:)

Anyway, I am raising 4 baby discus in a 29 gallon tank until I move and can set up my 65 gallon. The tank is bare bottom with driftwood and a few potted plants.

Along with the discus I have
~5 Cardinal Tetras
~5 Corys
~2 Clown Loaches
~1 Delta Tail Betta

Equipment
~Dual fluorescent lighting
~Aquaclear 3 stage 70 gallon filter (Running double Mech and regular Bio)
~Stealth Heater
~Chemical Co2 injection

I recently went form a regular planted tank to the way it is now (about 5 days ago) as it was too hard to keep everything happy with the gravel cleaning. My discus now stay in the back corner behind a piece of driftwood and when they do come out, they freak out as soon as anything moves near them. Will this go away when they get used to the bare bottom and new setup or should I be worried? They still eat fine and are not flushed.

[Dolphin Dip]

complete as much of this as you can..
although it sounds similar to what happend. and it just took time for the fish to adjust to presence. i merely spent more time around the tank and added a light colored background.


DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

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





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)






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





Tank/Water

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



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



6 Parameters and water source;

- temp _____

- ph _____

- ammonia reading ____

- nitrite reading ____

- nitrate reading ____

- well water ____

- municipal water ____

7. Any new fish/plants added recently

[Singin4Cnu]

DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish/when and how they started
After I removed all my gravel and went to bare bottom with some potted plants and driftwood, my discus hide all the time and are very skittish. The problem started when I went to bare bottom.


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)
Hiding and darting i guess??



3. What medications/ treatments that you have already tried and results. Include dosages and duration of treatment.
None


Tank/Water

4. Tank size and age, number and size of fish
29(I am only raising the babies in here until I move and can set up my 65, thats why I went to bare bottom bc I was told its better for the babies. I did however put in my driftwood for the water and plants in clay pots for appearance).
~4 Discus - Almost 3 inches now
~5 Cardinal Tetras
~2 Clown loaches 1 1/2 inches
~5 Cory Cats little over 1 inch
~1 Delta Tail Betta 2 1/2 inches
Bought the tank last year

5. Water change regime/ how long has tank been running/ bare bottom or gravel/ do you age your water?
I change twenty five percent every couple of days/running for about 5 months/now running bare bottom as described above/I do not age water


6 Parameters and water source;

- temp ___84__

- ph ____6.6_

- ammonia reading __??__

- nitrite reading __0__

- nitrate reading __??__

- well water _no___

- municipal water __yes__

7. Any new fish/plants added recently
the betta a few weeks ago

[FishLover888]

1. You should cover the bottom of the tank or the discus get confused. Something from the outside to block the view.

2. 29 g is way too small for the clown loaches. They will freak the discus out in that case because they don't have place to hide and get really jumppy. You should take them out. Clown loaches need at least 55g tank, I would go for at least 90g and you need to have 6 of them. 3 is the least you want and it may or may not work. You have to try it out and be ready to add more if things don't work out. Also, provide some place for them to hide is very important.

[Singin4Cnu]

I have multiple pots laying on there side for them to play in, and remember they will be getting moved to a 65 gallon in due time. I had three clowns but one died. What would you suggest I put on the bottom : window tint, paper????

[phidelt85]

What would you suggest I put on the bottom : window tint, paper????

You can paint it, use contact paper, a towel. You want to use something light in color.

[Singin4Cnu]

I think I got it. I put some light blue poster board on the bottom and they are coming back to acting normal. Do you guys see any problem with the delta tail betta being in there?

[FishLover888]

Betta dose not do well in the warm water temp and I still think you should take the crow loaches out

[Singin4Cnu]

Ive had him in for a week and he is fine. I was wondering for future problems.. He is doing amazing. All of these fish are being raised for a 65 gallon so I don't for see the clowns size being a problem as they seem to grow very slowly.

[ArtOfFish]

The problem with the Clown loaches is with a bare bottom tank there wont be a need to search for food and eventually start eating the discus foods and since they are alot faster they will dart in at the last minute steal the food and scare the discus at the same time. This used to happen before but for some reason my Discus decided to become tough and now the chase the loaches away but everyone gets a good amount of food and the loahches are very plump and turning red because of the discus diet.