Just make sure your water is proper temp and it doesnt have PH fluctuation 24h after the date
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Just make sure your water is proper temp and it doesnt have PH fluctuation 24h after the date
Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update and ask a few more questions.
As of today, my tank is fully cycled! It took almost 4 months. I ended up purchasing some Fritz Zyme to help with the process. I added a second sponge filter as well and I'm glad I did.
Here are my questions:
1. Is it necessary to paint the bottom of my BB tank? I still have a window to do that before discus arrive. (I have NO idea how I would paint it except to take every single thing out of my tank, flip it over, and paint it).
2. 3inch Hans or 2.5 inch hans? Is .5" really that big of a difference? They are are $20 difference, which adds up as I'm aiming for a total of 7 discus.
3. I leave for 7 days the second week of September. Do I wait until I come back to purchase the discus OR should I be okay if I buy them by the next week?
4. Is there a thread that talks about different temperaments of Stendker strains?
Thanks for your guys' help!
No need to paint bottom. That’s your preference. The hammered spray paints look good though.
Not much difference between 2.5 - 3” discus. Both still have a lot of growing ahead and both will still need the big water changes and lots of food.
As someone who's kept fish for a long time, discus is only different in one respect. If you don't change water, they won't grow - and there's nothing as ugly as stunted discus. You have a great setup, but success depends on how much you've invested in water changes. Do you have a siphon system ready? Do you have a tank to condition water? This is really the only requirement for success. Discus can thrive under virtually any water parameter as long as their tank is sparkling clean all the time.
Here's a video I posted a month ago on 3" Flachens I got from Hans. Flachens is the brand name Georg Stendker uses for cobalt discus and Discus Hans is his sole distributor in North America. They have been in my tank for 4 months and received daily 100% water changes (120 water changes at the time the video was shot). Lots of people will tell you such treatment is unnecessary, but here are the result:
1. These fish grew 1/2" per month and were 5" long after 4 months. They'll slow their growth from this point forward, but all will reach 6" at least. Stendker discus can hit 7" with no problem. (These guys are in a 40 Breeder, and their growth demonstrates that water changes are far more important than tank size for healthy fish.)
2. You can tell stunting by looking at the size of the eyes in ratio to the body. For cobalt strains, these fish have the appropriate eye to body ratio. If the eyes are large, that means the body isn't growing.
3. Stendker discus will round up if they grow fast - water changes. If they don't round up due to a lack of water changes, you'll get footballs.
Other than the water changes, the tank has a sponge filter and a heater. So having a system that makes water changes easy should be the most important part of your set up.
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1. Is it necessary to paint the bottom of my BB tank? I still have a window to do that before discus arrive. (I have NO idea how I would paint it except to take every single thing out of my tank, flip it over, and paint it).
Painting the bottom of your BB tank is primarily an aesthetic consideration. Discus will be skittish at first with an unpainted bottom, but they'll gradually adjust. In my experience, a black or very dark color on the bottom produces a look of depth. You may also consider painting the sides to hide the wires and airlines, and also bringing out the color of your fish. Given how much care you put into the aquascaping, I suspect a bare bottom is going to bug you. :p
2. 3inch Hans or 2.5 inch hans? Is .5" really that big of a difference? They are are $20 difference, which adds up as I'm aiming for a total of 7 discus.
If you're ready to do daily water changes, then the 0.5" difference is just one month of growth. But the larger discus are usually the better ones.
3. I leave for 7 days the second week of September. Do I wait until I come back to purchase the discus OR should I be okay if I buy them by the next week?
I recommend that you wait until afterwards to get your discus. You're new to the species and there's no reason to take unnecessary risks. As long as you pay Hans, he'll set aside the fish for you.
4. Is there a thread that talks about different temperaments of Stendker strains?
If you get a large batch (> 6), they'll all get along.
Thanks for your guys' help![/QUOTE]
Yes big water changes and lots of food equals big discus. Smaller grow out tank is also helpful. Easier to change water and less water being changed. My first group started at 2.5 in a 125 and grew to 5+”. My next group I started ina 45 doing much bigger and daily water changes. They are still growing a year behind the first group and most are bigger than the first group. I have some Hans in both tanks.
So yes I’d wait till you get home to start. Also have another tank available for qting sick discus. A 29-40 are good options.
Okay friends, I'm in need of some wisdom once again.
1. My tap water reads .50ppm ammonia. My tank is at .25ppm. No discus yet, still those embers swimming around. Tank has been running for about 6 weeks. To start the habit going, I've been doing 50% water changes almost every day. I do a full cap of Prime before I add water. Once the tank is topped off, I add another half cap of prime afterwards. Nitrite is 0, Nitrate is <5. Thoughts? At one point, ammonia was 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate <5. I do have a UV sterilizer filter that I use maybe once a week for close to 12-20 hours. I don't know if I'm killing beneficial bacteria which is causing the ammonia to go up.
2. Because my tank is on the 2nd floor, it's not possible for me to lug a 55gal barrel up because there's literally no room for that. I also don't have room for a staging tank, and therefore I don't really have any place to age water. I honestly have lost sleep trying to figure out something that would be sustainable and would make sense. I thought about getting one or two of those big 5 gallon water jugs and put them behind my couch... but that's only 10 gallons when I'm taking 35-40 gallons of water out a day. I don't think that will work either. So- what's my next step?
Eager to hear your guys' feedback. Thanks again for taking time out of your schedules to help me out! I appreciate yall!
Ultraviolet light does not discriminate about what it destroys. If good bacteria passes by the light it will be destroyed. Beneficial bacteria are colonized in your filter and along the sides and bottom of your tank.The only time those will be affected is if it becomes free floating and passes through the UV.
Adding on to Francis, the only 'floating' bacteria you can control with UV is blue green algae. If your water goes green, UV light will clear it up. Otherwise, I've never understood the value of UV because the overwhelming bacteria population reside on solid surfaces.
Note that water conditioning is most important when you live in a cold environment and the water comes into your place with high dissolved gases. You may be okay for much of the year in Dallas with using straight tap, even 100% daily. If it drops below freezing outside, you can probably just lower the amount of water per change. Going 25% is better than doing nothing, especially if you're vacuum up the crud on the tank bottom and wipe down the sides.
Keep in mind that Stendker’s prefer higher nitrate. Hatchery recommends even 100ppm of NO3. I see it my fish as well. If I keep keep nitrate low <20ppm they are whitening and kind of losing colours. With a higher >50ppm their colours bloom. Even with 3 time feeding and weekly water change I could not achieve high level of nitrate, so I end up with adding KNO3. Discus and plants love that :)
Wow 100ppm nitrate! That is so counter what the hobby preaches. Any freshwater forum or Facebook site will tell you keep nitrate below 20 ppm. I’m not just saying discus I’m saying all. For me I never test nitrate. Just never mattered. As long as you change water nitrate doesn’t matter. Took the Germans to prove it :)! Oh and I blame the whole nitrate thing on the pond guru. He’s a great salesman! How many of us use bio-home media?
It might sound extreme, but it’s their recommendation Attachment 131784
I see the lower the nitrate the more improvement. Says: "and if customer then has 50 mg/l it is again an improvement and ideal for the fish". But, in most cases when nitrate is over 50ppm it becomes toxic to most fish. I guess Stendker is in the business of selling discus. We have seen many Stendker discus keeper on this forum not being able to let their water get that dirty and depleted without issues.