Discus stressed from water change

[Filip]

Its a good sign that they still eat and poop regulary.
First thing that comes to my mind is that your tank is still cycling and Bacteria is struggling to convert the whole NH3 and No2 in to NO3. Thus Ammonia presence lowers your PH very fast on a daily level .
Feed less , change more water , wipe down glasses daily , clean the prefilter daily , siphon poop and leftovers after every meal and wait until your bio filter catch up with the bioload . And if you are still overstocked , do consider a bigger tank in near future .

On the aging matter . I also think that adding dechlor right before WC is better than right away in the barrel .
Chlorine keeps the water in the barrel bacteria free , and aging water dechlorates with ageing , leaving the safe/prime solution more stronger to act in the tank water and work with other parameters like ammonia and nitrites .

[bluelagoon]

Your tank is small and over stocked.Your tap water is almost neutral with very little bicarbonates at 7.3.The food and their waste are depleting the water quicker in a small tank,lowering the PH.Plus as mentioned the tank is not cycled yet.Ammonia in water below neutral (7) shouldn't be toxic to your fish,but when you change your water it brings it back to the range where it could be harmful.I see what looks like a bit of an ammonia burn on the fins.

[LoGeek]

Thank you guys! I really appreciate the help and think you are right. The tank is a bit small and was not started properly. I almost feel dumb. After more than 20 years of keeping fish I've always cycled my tanks thoroughly. This is only my second time with discus and I was thinking about so many things that I failed on the basics. I forgot to clean the internal filter prior to hydrogen peroxide treatment of the tank! I've now cleaned it but realise that it will take weeks for filter bacteria to build up.

Lesson learned. I'm also looking for a bigger tank.

I have some other tanks with external filters that are cycled. I could of course move one of them to the discus tank, but I'm afraid to contaminate the tank with something. What do you think? The other tanks are planted tanks with tetras and shrimp. Have been running for years with no sick fish. Worth taking the risk or just stick to the current regime with frequent w/c?

[Akili]

Stick to the current regime with more frequent water changes like twice daily till you get a bigger tank.

[Second Hand Pat]

Stick to the current regime with more frequent water changes like twice daily till you get a bigger tank.

Yes and with juvies you should be doing large daily water changes anyway.
Pat

[LoGeek]

Ok, thanks!

Right now I have an internal Juwel filter and a spongefilter in the tank. I'm thinking about adding an external filter just to have more filter bacteria, and also being able to move it once I get a bigger tank. Is it ok to clean it and then let it pump hydrogen peroxide solution in a bucket for 24h?

The fish I had in QT and then returned is eating again even if it's in small amounts. Colour is good. Now when it's back in the tank it's obvious how much the rest of the fish has grown during the time it didn't eat. Wow, they are fast growers these fish!

[bluelagoon]

This is a good read..http://www.americanaquariumproducts....gen_Cycle.html

[LoGeek]

This is a good read..http://www.americanaquariumproducts....gen_Cycle.html

Perfect, thanks!

[Rex82]

What's the kh of your source water?

[Larry Bugg]

Ok, I'm thinking about adding an external filter just to have more filter bacteria,

You can add all the filters you want and it won't increase the good bacteria. Your filters will only hold as much bacteria that can live on the amount of waste in the water. The only way you will increase the amount of bacteria is to increase their food.

[LoGeek]

You can add all the filters you want and it won't increase the good bacteria. Your filters will only hold as much bacteria that can live on the amount of waste in the water. The only way you will increase the amount of bacteria is to increase their food.

Oh, I see. But that assumes they have enough filter media to live in right? Otherwise what would be the point of a large filter instead of a tiny one?

[LoGeek]

What's the kh of your source water?

Hmm.. we don't use kH over hear so I'm not sure how to convert the numbers. We talk about dH and it's 5.5-6.5°. Water parameters:

Ca:34 mg/l
Mg:4 mg/l
Na:11 mg/l
SO4:45 mg/l
Cl:15 mg/l
HCO3:74 mg/l

[Rex82]

KH is carbonate hardness(temporary hardness) which is what helps to buffer the ph and keep it stable. The reason your ph drops is because you have such a low KH. If you were to raise the KH it won't drop and bounce around so much with the water changes. DH is total hardness also known as general hardness which is the total mineral content.

[LoGeek]

Oh it's just carbonate hardness. Well that's pretty much HC03 that I listed right? Then it would convert to KH around 4.

So is it advisable to raise it? What's the safest way? I don't have any crushed coral but they might at the lfs.

Looks like I have some reading up to do

[DJW]

Oh it's just carbonate hardness. Well that's pretty much HC03 that I listed right? Then it would convert to KH around 4.

Yes, KH=4. In freshwater almost all of the carbonate alkalinity is in the bicarbonate form.