Week 33

Well the holidays are over, all the big meals, full stomach and sleepy evenings should be subsiding and time to get back to
these discus. I did somehow manage to keep up with daily water changes on the contest discus.

Well, they all have remained healthy however there is a little difference in size and I have one that is quite pale in color and is
smaller than the others. It is eating ok and seems normal in all behavior so will accept it as just being different than the others
unless it shows signs of any problems. It could be just the submissive one in the group and I always spread the food to insure
it gets it's share.

The water parameters have stayed the same, 65 microseimens, 30 parts per million, ph 6.5 with 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia.
The nitrates remain about 5 ppm with 80% daily water changes. All sides, bottom of tank, air lines and any surfaces in the tank are wiped down every other day.
I am feeding beefheart/shrimp 50/50 mix once per day now and flake and pellets for three feedings per day.
Again, no vitamins, supplements or minerals are added to the food or water.

I don't know if soft or hard water is better for raising discus but sure it needs to be kept clean through water change or sufficient filtration.
Amazon water is extremely soft much like the water some of us have in the Pacific Northwest so I have been trying to find if there
are limits to mineral intake for discus affecting their health and growth. I read an article in the American Medical Association
that we as humans get essentially no mineral or vitamin benefits from the water we drink and almost all from the food we eat and debatable
about supplements we ingest.
Throughout this contest I have added no vitamins, minerals, supplements or color enhancers to the food or water.
I figured with my extreme soft water and plain foods it might show some apparent slow growth but have not noticed as much difference as I would have expected.
I have grown out discus in hard water also and feel as long as we provide stable clean water it makes little difference to the discus except when spawning.

Well here is a quick pic of my Albino cross contest discus at 33 weeks in their 80 gallon tank at our home. :)
Bill

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...alf/week33.jpg

They are looking good. You're doing a super job raising them. I also have 1 that is a little different in coloring.

Hi Jim,
Ya, I don't know if it is the nature of a group of albino's in general or the variety in this group of albino contest discus. I think Kirk said he has one out of the group that is similar to ours, interesting.
Bill

Awesome shot Bill! Those are some gorgeous Albino my friend. I'd love to have them, thats for sure.

Take care!

Eddie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eddie

Awesome shot Bill! Those are some gorgeous Albino my friend. I'd love to have them, thats for sure.

Take care!

Eddie

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Thanks Eddie,
They are getting some size on them now.

They look great Bill! The lighter one may be a normal variation of this strain. The contest fish seem to vary quite a bit in coloring (maybe a result of foods being fed) and patterns. I love the shape of the one closest to the bottom.

Chris

Hey Bill,

Fish are looking fantastic but I think I need to find another adjective to describe these contest fish. Seems the same ones get used over and over :) Actually I have two that are lighter and have fewer striations than the others. I'm thinking it may be because of the parentage but not having seen what made up the parents, it's hard to say.

Take care,
Kirk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kirkp

Hey Bill,
Fish are looking fantastic but I think I need to find another adjective to describe these contest fish. Seems the same ones get used over and over :) Actually I have two that are lighter and have fewer striations than the others. I'm thinking it may be because of the parentage but not having seen what made up the parents, it's hard to say.
Take care,
Kirk

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Ya, I know, I have 3 distinctly different patterns, golden, small spots, striations and now the lighter one similar to a golden. I've never seen such a variety from one pair and was curious about the parentage myself. Adds another variable to these discus that I wasn't expecting, for sure makes them all unique. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scribbles

They look great Bill! The lighter one may be a normal variation of this strain. The contest fish seem to vary quite a bit in coloring (maybe a result of foods being fed) and patterns. I love the shape of the one closest to the bottom.
Chris

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Hi, thanks Chris :)
I took a quick picture this time using a flash so the colors look a little washed out but I think you are probably right about the lighter one, another variation in the group. I've never raised albinos before and was concerned the lighter one might be stress related. New experience for me.

Hi Bill
They are beautiful. With that amount of water change everyday how are your filters work?

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Originally Posted by TRUC10507

Hi Bill
They are beautiful. With that amount of water change everyday how are your filters work?

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Thank you for the compliment. :)
When I started the contest I started with cycled filters before adding the discus.
I only gently rinse out the sponge filters every few days with tank water and this keeps enough particulates in the filters to feed a colony of good bacteria to keep the bio filters running.
I could skip a few days water changes and the filters will come right up to speed taking care of the ammonia and nitrites.
Sounds like its too sterile, wiping everything down and large water changes but it does have a pretty typical bio-filter running at all times with two larger than needed sponge filters plus the media in the hang on the back filter.
So the water changes are really only removing nitrates related to the bio-filter.

Great job Bill !! They look like big ens'.... ?? Water straight from the tap ?? Thanks, David T

Thanks David,
Straight from the tap but we have a unique water system out here in the boondocks, very soft spring water filtered through a couple sediment filters down to .5 micron then carbon and uv. Out of the tap it is about 35 ppm, 65 ms with a gh and kh less than 1.
That's why I was so greatful to be entered in this contest to baseline what effect our soft water would have on their growth and use that info to add minerals only if it looks like they are needed.
Bill

Great update Bill! I also have the same variation in size and color however they seem to be changing back and forth. I am feeding tetra color bits so that's gonna make a diffeence.