I use a 80% RO / 20% tap mix. The result is a hardness of 124ppm and a pH around 7.0. Temperature kept at 82F (28C).
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Hi folks,
Time for an update. My six Cuipeuas are doing well. They are slowly feeling more comfy at home, although two of them are always grumpy and in the background. So far, the biggest achievement has been the absence of disease issues (knock on wood). I faced major crises due to whirling disease with my previous two Cuipeua groups. I credit the relative success to my decision of not having tank mates and of not adding fish to the tank without quarantine. Anyway, here is a new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxZHIPgUK0
The fish at 1:07, with stronger striations, is the one that got the People's Choice award in a local fish show (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...-in-fish-show!).
Beautiful fish and tank! Nicely done! Glad they are doing well for you, and hope things continue that way. Love the wilds.
Very nice Mauro,
I’m glad they’re doing well, looking real good. Couple with very unusual patterns as well, cool.
Did you ever determine the cause for the wirling or have suspicions what might have brought it on? Seems to be one of these great unsolved mysteries of the world.
They all look great Mauro :) I had to watch twice :D lol.
One of the first wilds I got from Jimmy started to get into a funk at the end of the first month. Head tilled sightly down, clamped top fin every now and again and allowing it's to be pushed around where it had been king of the group. It was eating and poop was ok and no swelling in the abdomen. So I added salt and eased the heat up to 88. Two days later another one started with the head till. The salt and heat has turned both fish around and back to normal. :D
Pat
Truly one of the nicest tanks and fish I’ve seen. Your wilds look so healthy and I love the shape and patterns of them.
Patty
Thank you!
Thank you. Yes, indeed, the so-called whirling disease is a mystery. I wish we could have more scientific research about it. Based on my experience, mixing discus with other tank mates and failing to quarantine new acquisitions can be deadly. But I don't know what really causes it.
By the way, your tank and fish are among the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Thank you, Pat. I am sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your new gorgeous wilds, but I am glad they are doing better. I wrote they are healthy, but the Cuipeua that got the award has lost appetite lately and he does sometimes becomes dark. I might need to try your salt and high temperature treatment.
Thank you!
Just a few pics of my Cuipeuas with a bad camera...
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Dang, Mauro. They look amazing, great conditioning. Great shots, too.
Those last 2 fish in particular, exactly what I’m into.
Prepare to find one or 2 of those in the September pic of the month competition
Beautiful! Looking happy... great news, great fish. Congrats!
Thank you for the generous words, Tobi. I might enter the pic competition. May be I will get a better camera. I like those two Cuipeuas too.The last one is the fish that got the "People's Choice Award" in a local fish show.
Thank you, Bill!
Some early and promising signs :)
In my limited experience with wild discus (3 groups, a total of 5 years), pairing starts with a fish staring at some object in the tank. It can be a breading cone, a driftwood branch, the intake of a filter. Here is an example from one of my Cuipeaus from 6 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqhPxUL8S1c
Then that fish will start chasing away other fish that come close to the area, with the exception of the fish s/he is interested in pairing. It can be one fish or two. Eventually, a pair will form and they will start bowing at each other (from the NADA website: The bow happens "when the male and female face each other some distance apart near the bottom of the tank, and simultaneously both swim upwards at a 45 degree angle towards each other. When they have met, they will then proceed downward, again at a 45 degree angle, until they each occupy the others beginning position"). Right now, one Cuipeua is fixated on a Manzanita branch and sometimes will bow to the other two Cuipeuas. One of them seems to be more interested and will flirt the tail. But this is not consistent behavior. It can last for a few minutes and then the other two fish will loose interest and move away. In my experience, the length of this phase varies a lot (in one group it lasted months, in another just two weeks!).
The later phases include the cleaning the chosen area by the pair and their mating dance, when they start shivering. Here is an example from one of my pairs, also from 6 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xxfcW5uaXU&t=41s
One thing that nobody talks about but that has happened often with my Cuipeuas is when fish in the process of pairing start showing dark vertical bars (the so-called stress bars) only in the back half of their body. Of of my Cuipeuas is starting to show that.
So, very early signs. It can still take months for an spawning to happen, but it looks promising.
Sounds very promising Mauro, crossing body parts. I am pretty sure I have commented on the use of bars when mating/spawning. I have one showing the center bar and one directly behind it with a bit of halo. I have always seem strong dark halo on the breeding fish. The halo on the female seems to be wider and goes most of the way around the body.
Pat