Darting Discus -- Could it be back heater?

[laupao]

Hi Everyone,

I have this discus tank setup for 1 month now. I do daily WCs and lets just assume water parameters are good. My discus haven't been doing occassional darting up until 2 weeks ago. I do not know why, it's like they all get spooked suddenly and dash..bang on the wall. a few days ago I noticed condensation on my 300W jager heater (it's new).

What are the chances that this heater is leaking out a electrical shock? I've seen the heater light come on, but the discus doesn' dash. Most of the time when the discus dash, the heater light is not on.

Does anyone out there have a similar situation? Could buying another heater be the fix?

Please share

Thanks

[TURQ64]

The condensation inside is normal..Jager's seldom 'leak voltage'..I'd suspect the chlorine/chloramines or something similar in wc's is spooking them..JMO..Gary

[jimg]

The condensation inside is normal..Jager's seldom 'leak voltage'..I'd suspect the chlorine/chloramines or something similar in wc's is spooking them..JMO..Gary+1

[Skip]

stick your hand in there and see if you feel anything :)

[laupao]

TURQ64

The thing if it's in fact chlorine, I would suspect only 1 discus darting at a time. But when 4 of the 6 or sometimes all 6 just get spooked and dart away??

let me know

thanks

[Skip]

they get spooked.. they run.. its normal..

[SeaDragon]

This sounds similar to other Discus I know, they just decide they've officially lost their little minds and have panic attacks. it's just a normal thing, I'd check the parameters like suggested above, but it could just be them being spooked.

[Harry Marsh]

I find it to be more a factor of the aquarium.

Bare bottom? Bare sides?
Try blocking off the sides and painting the bottom
Solves the 'spook' issue with a lot of mine.
Make them feel safe, so predators can't show up on every side

[Coffee1stLife2nd]

stick your hand in there and see if you feel anything :)
reminds me of sticking your tongue on a battery to see if its still working...

[bmalick]

Wow thats wierd because the other day I was thinking the same thing because my fish, all very healthy, will just all bolt at the exact same time. This could be because they react to each other but it looks a little fishy. Just minutes before this I was feeding fish out of my hand and this happened with no rapid movement around the tank.


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[laupao]

bmalick

this is the norm to me now...a few minutes ago, I too was hand feeding...withing 10 secs of feeding..they all splash and took off..but of course came right back to my hands...... i learned that they are weird sometimes..i used to check my water parameters all the time to see if it's water..but it's not... i even blocked the tank's side..still it happens.... i see this happen about twice a day. how about you, bmalick

[Jennie]

Ugh, you can't just assume you're water parameters are good??? what is that?? when is last time u cleaned filter...taken water parameters??

[Sean Buehrle]

Ugh, you can't just assume you're water parameters are good??? what is that?? when is last time u cleaned filter...taken water parameters??

+1
LOL

[laupao]

how often should you check the water parameters? everyday??

[Sean Buehrle]

how often should you check the water parameters? everyday??

Yes every day until you know your water between water changes.

Your tank is new and it should be watched, you should never take for granted that your water is fine.

I check my water at least twice a week just to make sure I have no ammonia and no nitrite, and EVERY time I do a water change for chlorine. Most of the time when I do a water change it's in the morning and I run out the door to work immediately, so I don't want to come home to fish that died from chlorine poisoning.

It's a simple process that will show you whether or not your fish are in conditions that will allow them to grow big and healthy, they won't grow in high nitrate tanks.

[laupao]

what is the ppm level you try to keep under for Nitrate?

[judy]

Can't speak for everyone, but I keep mine at ten or under. I have potted plants, so they need a little nitrate. They also help keep the nitrate level down somewhat as a result, but WCs are still the only way to really ride herd on it.

[bmalick]

Yea my sides are all painted except front it happens like once every few days...sometimes when i am watching them from across the room.

Forgot to mention i have a topfin heater...fail. Im going to go look for a new one asap. Its time for a new one anyway.


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