Printable View
http://i.imgur.com/7K7FtZV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cb9oDDC.jpg
healthy specimens collected from the warehouse less than 10 mins from me, thanks to Darwin.
now lets see how well they mix with my current fish
http://i.imgur.com/VwQUBv5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ewppr4M.jpg
discus mingling
Considering that i wound up skipping the quarantine, this was done mainly because there would need to have been a pathogen exchange somewhere down the line that the two groups would need to overcome anyways.
The purchased discus were all from a reputable breeder, healthy, and active in the rack systems at Uncle Sam's and have been there for weeks so anything else that could attack them would have to come from my own group of fish and vice versa.
With the tank being bare bottom, housing nothing but the discus and some cardinal tetras which could be moved to a smaller tank if needed for aggressive treatment... it would be safer and convenient to mix both groups immediately, up the water changes for about 2 weeks to allow them to better adjust to anything that the other fish might be carrying and treat anything that comes up if the fish are unable to get over it themselves.
My piwow turq is going nuts chasing all the newcomers...
Your QT argument is one I have heard many of times over the years. I hope your outcome is a positive one. Here's positive thinking for you!
Yeah, figured since it is practically a QT tank with how it is setup with mature bio filter and nice volume, it is better than cramming them into a poor quality setup and risking them getting sick from stress related to trace ammonia between WCs.
so far so good, all fish behaving normally, the new discus are adjusting with some having started eating already.
Left a cube of BH mix in the tank and slowly all of them have been passively grazing on it. My own fish seem to approve of it after a few nips! Definitely a nicer mix than what I've been feeding
after letting them eat for about 2 hours, most of the cube was gone and i proceeded to siphon it all out, do an 80% water change since the food was sitting in the system for awhile as is; leaving the water to the top of the discus' fins instead of until they're flopping around to limit stress on the new arrivals. hopefully next time i feed, they will attack it more actively instead of eating slowly and letting it foul the water lol.
Filter sock was changed and the fish were looking good and active as the lights went out, time to see how they are tomorrow!
they're usually all over the tank, but when i get within view, they all group together and start watching me... so they end up like that
got the DSLR out to take these pictures lol
Your tank looks great. Love your fish collection, just sorry to see you did not QT the new fish. I did the same a while back, and all seemed great for about two weeks, then all hell broke loose. Fish started a hunger strike, stingy white poo. Try meds, but lost a few fish in the process. So I just hope all works out great for you my man. Please in the future QT is the best way to go. Admire your fish, please let us all know how things progress in forth coming weeks. Hope you got meds on hand just in case.....
i do have metronidazole in several forms laying around at least for that specific problem, will medicate at the first sign of trouble since itll be simple with this system.
atm, the 55w UV sterilizer is running, water changes are being done and the food is being vacuumed out along with the water. filter sock being changed, rinsed and hung to dry daily.
thanks for the well wishes roland!
Had to put my piwow in time out in the sump because he was becoming a major nuisance to the rest of the tank. stressing out the rest of the fish. Pull him out and they're all eating peacefully
It will happen again on re-introduction or down the line. It is a dominant fish in that tank.
I'll just have to reintroduce it further down the line, probably after reorganizing the decor. The priority atm is to keep the stress down as the fish get used to the tank and my maintenance/feeding regiment so they don't have any complications.