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redjim
02-06-2009, 08:02 AM
Hi all, first post so go easy on me!
My new heckels have been in there tank now for three days and touch bogwood things are going well.
Ive just a few questions:
first they are taking food well granular, fbw and even my sea food mix
but the problem is that the lead fish is bulling the rest away, i know this is normal in discus but with them been shy i dont want them not eating?

second is water changes ive read lots over the last few months and abit
confussed which is best lots of 30% or one large one once a week i dont want them to be stressed with all the desturbance?.
My tank is 300l
temp 84,
50/50 mix ro/tap, very soft water where i am,
ph 5
gh 1
kh about the same. many thanks redjim

bavaria36
02-06-2009, 11:01 AM
How many fish do you have in the tank ?

Moon
02-06-2009, 11:07 AM
The WC regime depends on how many fish you have and what size. I got my Heckels about two years ago at 3". I did daily 50% WC for about a year. Now they are about 5" TL and get weekly 50% WC. I have 6 in a 65g tank.

redjim
02-06-2009, 11:24 AM
hi,
Ive got six in there all about 3" with some sterbi, cardinals, and a couple of bleeding hearts (for my girlfriend:o).
the tank has fine sand a few pieces of bogwood and some floating plants .
Im just trying to get some snaps of them but been rubbish computors cant downlaod them! many thanks redjim

bavaria36
02-06-2009, 12:44 PM
Having an aggressive fish keep away the others is quite normal in discus but it can lead to stress and insufficient feeding in the other fish. What I have found is that the more fish you have the smaller this problem becomes. In an 80 gallon tank you may be able to add a couple more fish and still be Ok especially if you keep up the WC's.

Like you I have new 4" Heckels and I have noticed something interesting. When I feed BH mix they get aggressive, there is loads of fighting and the dominant fish keep the submissive ones away from the bottom. However when I feed flake and it slowly sinks to the bottom all the fish browse in peace and everyone gets to eat at their own pace.

So when I feed BH I always try and cut up thin slices and then drop them in all along the front of the tank. My fish come right to the surface and in this way all get a chance to eat as the food is spread out. Then even if the aggressive ones keep the others off the bottom I know that all the fish had a chance to eat some BH mix while it was sinking.

The other thing to try is to experiment with different foods. If you are lucky ( like me I guess ) there will be some foods that do not cause the dominant fish to get aggressive.

BTW, regarding WC's. I would recommend frequent ones rather than weekly ones especially when they are young and need lots of food.

Aaron

redjim
02-06-2009, 01:53 PM
yes your right they are more agrresive when i'm feeding my sea food mix so thanks for the help i'll spread the food out more.
I did think about adding 8 to the tank but thought it might of been to over crouded?

redjim
02-09-2009, 02:09 PM
hi all,
things have taken a turn for the worst! lost 2 in 24 hours, they where all doing great then one started to shy away within a couple of hours it had lost control of its self and couldnt stay up right then he just give in, same with second one but tryed a salt bath with this one but no joy:(
did all my tests a few times over and from what i could see everything was spot on.
Im now worried about the other ones they seem fine light in colour and feeding well has anyone had this problem before?
After watching them for a few hours now i've noticed the bullying has gone up ten fold with the remaining ones.
The lfs where i got them from has 3 more left from the same shipment should i get them in a bid to cut down the bullying or should i leave it for now until i'm sure the others are fine
many thanks redjim

Moon
02-09-2009, 06:16 PM
You need to find out the reason for loosing the two before adding any new fish. Can you describe the symptoms prior to death?
How was their behavior?
Were they feeding well?
Did they show signs of stress?

erikc
02-10-2009, 05:34 AM
Sorry about the turn of events, this is very sudden.

However could you tell me for how long you have had the fishtank running and what kind of filtration you have ?

Effectievely it seems that your Heckels are stressed and that will bring make them more sensitive to any parasites they have and water conditions ?

redjim
02-10-2009, 01:23 PM
hi, dont know what i'm doing wrong but lost another very upset i'm doing something bad.
the tanks been running for two months with a eheim pro 2 in one corner and the built in juwel in the other, ive been changing 30% daily with half ro half tap thats been stood over night and heated to 29 ph 5
It just seems to happen very quick they are eating really well better than i thought even out off my hand then they just seem slope off on their own, they then have either gone very pale or dark then lost there sense off balance like there swim bladder has packed in, then within an hour or two i've lost them:(: but its not happening at the same time theres been a gap of atleast 12 hours between the loses any help would be great, i've had experience with domestics and thought i would try wilds i read alot of info before hand and tryed to get everything spot on i feel its only fair to try and give them the best i can so not to happy at the moment

Eddie
02-10-2009, 07:02 PM
I'm really sorry to hear about the losses. It's hard to say what the problem may be. I think if you fill out the disease questionnaire in the disease section, others may be able to possibly pin point something. Although it may not be disease, it will give everyone a better picture of what you are dealing with.

You can just copy and paste it in a post and answer the questions.

Thanks
Eddie

erikc
02-11-2009, 04:29 AM
Sadly I've had this happen to me. It sounds like water poisoning. But as Basshead recomends fill out the symptoms and we might have a clearer picture.

redjim
02-11-2009, 02:06 PM
hi,
well first off thanks for your help.
ive had no more losses today touch wood!. I did a big water change last night about 60% and this evening the last three seem to be ok infact i can see a big difference in them to how they looked when i first got them if it hadnt been for the loss of the others i would be really happy with there progress there colours have come out really well and there bellys dont look so thin, I think i'm going to do the same w/c for the next few days and see how it goes from there many thanks redjim
if i can figure out how to get my pictures smaller i'll post some

manitu
02-11-2009, 04:54 PM
hi


maybe you should reserve some heckel from paul @ discus south

he has some lovely ones in stock

gerald

redjim
02-11-2009, 05:28 PM
hi,
thats a good idea think i might ive seen some of the fish he's got in, from h&k on utube they look really nice.
i think my heckels are from abacaxi area or so i was told in lfs so would it be ok to mix heckels from different regions or try and keep the same?
jim

Moon
02-11-2009, 05:47 PM
Jim
Glad your Heckels have picked up and doing well.
Good luck.

erikc
02-12-2009, 04:18 AM
Glad to hear things are better :D:
Keep up the WC's and vary the food your Heckel's will thank you :thumbsup: