My 65 gallon planted discus tank

[Filip]

Im doing 2 times a day 40% and plus one 80%.
Not just one weekly 80%.

I dont use any fertilizers nor co2.
With 2 times a day WC dry dosing would be pointles IMO. And co2 would be a disaster.

[rickztahone]

Im doing 2 times a day 40% and plus one 80%.
Not just one weekly 80%.

I dont use any fertilizers nor co2.
With 2 times a day WC dry dosing would be pointles IMO. And co2 would be a disaster.

I didn't catch that the first time around. That should be more than enough IMHO. Again, just check your parameters, and first and foremost, ALWAYS observe your discus. They will be the first ones to show you when something isn't right in the tank.

[Filip]

here is a little update .
its been 19 days since i introduce my new discus in the tank .
Although they start eating normaly the first 3-4 days , their eating and active behavour change in the next days, they become more skittish and eat just 2 times a day. .
im constantly observing and questioning is this skitishness just an adjustment issue or there is something more to it . In the folowing days i notice some scratching on objects and a little darting so i conclude there must be some minor parasites that make them scratchig and less active and skitish.
I notice that large WC have very positive impact on their situation so i up it to a 80% daily, i Did a through allaround vacumming also with taking all decor and potted plants out and take them back after vacumming.
I bought salifert NO3 test - and i measure 7-10 ppm from tap , and around 20 ppm from tank in the worst period after 5 feedings a day and before WC.

Yesterday after 15 days of restraining my self i did the a PP bath , as i now from my past discus experience that PP baths alleviate their hard conditions , strips slime coat and all the external parasites and bacteries with it . Am i right with this one ?

Today after PP bath they are more active , less skittish but still scared and shy when someone walks and moves close to the tank , but i guess they still need some time to adjust.

I still do 80% daily and hope for their minor parasite issue recovery and faster adjustment , and boy are they shy , they are so different than my first round of discus .

Here are some update pics on the 19 th day sd 25-09.JPGsd 25-9 2.JPG

[rickztahone]

You did a PP bath in a planted tank?

[Filip]

You did a PP bath in a planted tank?

Rickz,man are you quick in responses.Thanks for helping out man. .
Ofcourse not in the tank, i did it and ive done it often in the past in a separate container 5 to 25 min. Depending on the pp sol. And the health and condition on discus.
It allways seemes to refresh a burdened fish.
After PP i change 80% wc to further eliminate any parasites or bacteria in water column.
Ive done it salt baths too ,but PP seemed to work beter for me ,IMHE.

Now whats your guess ,are they still adjusting after 20 days or do they have some issues?
Why arent they allways hungry ,like they supposed to?
Iwould rulled out water hygiene problems as i reset all the substrate gunk few thays ago ,and plus i make 80% dayly Wc?

[rickztahone]

There are a lot of factors in play here. At 20 days, they should be somewhat comfortable. Do you have a current pic of how they look? Keep in mind, if you do a PP bath, you want to keep them in really clean water, not back in the possibly contaminated tank because they will have no defenses, remember, PP strips their slime coat which is their first line of defense.

[Filip]

There are a lot of factors in play here. At 20 days, they should be somewhat comfortable. Do you have a current pic of how they look? Keep in mind, if you do a PP bath, you want to keep them in really clean water, not back in the possibly contaminated tank because they will have no defenses, remember, PP strips their slime coat which is their first line of defense.

They look normal, pics above are from current situation. Just are somethimes skittish and hiding,they come out only when its still and theres no room movement.after the first pp as i can see minor scratchings and dartings are gone.

And yes, after pp i always put them back in 80% new water.

[Filip]

Tonights situation is much better .
20 days now from arrival and 2 days after a PP Bath they started to swim around more vigorously and seemed to get their appetite back in track. Im just so reliefed .
And a question again ofcourse
I plan to readjust and switch towards sand.
I have some Kema filter sand size 0.3 -0.8 mm. avalible. Is there something to look for or avoid when buying for a proper sand?

[Filip]

Update .

Today is been 5 weeks since i bought discus fish .
Even though i think they got some minor issues i think they are getting better and better as getting adjusted.

Thanks to the forum i have made some changes toward better keeping of discus fish and their hygiene needs .

First i change from substrate to sandy bottom .i got some snow white quartz sand from pool supply. i hate the whiteness but so far thats the only sand i found , ill try to mix it up in future with some darker sand to make it look more calmer and natural . But most importantly i got rid of all the gunk in the old substrate . And boy, there was some...

i also upped my WC routine to 80 % daily to compensate the substrate issue .

I didnt listen to advice Rick gave me, went compulsive shopping in LFS and bought one more discus from same tank and i put it in the tank without WC . Soory RickZ .
That discus is bottom of pecking order , getting beat up and i think he got Hex poop . thats the moral of the story , i guess

Here is some photos from my old substrate tank compared to my new snowwhite sandy bottom .

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New snowwhite look .


sd.JPGsd1.JPGsd.JPGsd1.JPGsd2.JPGsd3.JPG

[Filip]

Sorry for my double post.
Ive made a mistake trying to edit my original post , instead i have double it up .
I hope moderators will delete the second one with tumbnail pics.
Thanks.

[rickztahone]

You know, I hate to be right sometimes but we just give you the advice because we've also gone through it. For this reason I always tell people, make sure you get the amount of discus you want from the get-go, than not. I actually made this mistake recently in that I should have gotten 1 more than I did just in case something happened. You can always sell one fish off, but to add one solitary discus is really a pain because you have to go through QT and it has to be alone in a tank.

Either way, your LFS has some of the nicest discus I have seen in any LFS to be honest. Do you happen to know where they get them from?

Secondly, I like the look of the sand, it is rather white, but it will get a little dirty soon enough and it may look more natural. I can't recall if I had told you this earlier, but substrate like the one you had is notorious for trapping detritus and is ultimately not good for your discus. Sand is a much better option after BB. Your tank still looks great. Keep us updated

[jmf3460]

you have beautiful fish and plants. I think you made a very wise decision changing to sand it helps tremendously when siphoning up poo and uneaten food off the bottom. you are doing very well with these fish. keep up the water changes.

[Filip]

You know, I hate to be right sometimes but we just give you the advice because we've also gone through it. For this reason I always tell people, make sure you get the amount of discus you want from the get-go, than not. I actually made this mistake recently in that I should have gotten 1 more than I did just in case something happened. You can always sell one fish off, but to add one solitary discus is really a pain because you have to go through QT and it has to be alone in a tank.

Either way, your LFS has some of the nicest discus I have seen in any LFS to be honest. Do you happen to know where they get them from?

Secondly, I like the look of the sand, it is rather white, but it will get a little dirty soon enough and it may look more natural. I can't recall if I had told you this earlier, but substrate like the one you had is notorious for trapping detritus and is ultimately not good for your discus. Sand is a much better option after BB. Your tank still looks great. Keep us updated

Thanks for advices about sand and buying discus Rick.
Its also good to hear that the sand will eventually darken to some degree, as right now its very bright with my full lights on.
As for LFS i mentioned it in my OP that discus are claimed to be from Jeffrey Tan by Lfs owner.
At first i didnt belive him, but other discus friends from my town assured me that they are really Tans discus.
Before this last order he had some also very good quallity Piwowarski discus. He certainly has raised the quallity of the discus orders in our town , and also for reasonable price.
BTW we dont have quallity discus breeders here,so we relly completly on what LFS brings to us .

[Eddie]

Fish and tank look great.

[Filip]

you have beautiful fish and plants. I think you made a very wise decision changing to sand it helps tremendously when siphoning up poo and uneaten food off the bottom. you are doing very well with these fish. keep up the water changes.

Thanks Jacklyn . i start to see the benifits of sand after my 2 days of siphoning an WC s. Even if i dont like the appearance of it jet , the behavour of discus has changed tremendeously toward happy and active and that just compensate for everything else. .

As for the fish they certainly look much happier after 5 weeks now , and they also gain some weight in bellies and heads. I also think at least for 2-3 of them that i can notice a little growing - less than half inch maybe and that gives me motivation for hard work with them .

Fish and tank look great.

Thanks Eddie. And i hope this time they will stay this way .