Thoughts on Decor Safety

[Clawhammer]

Hi All.

I have always planned to add a thin layer of PF sand to my BB tank and some driftwood once my discus reached adulthood. I had sand for a brief moment in the beginning, and it is enjoyable to watch them treasure hunt for food Their behavior is also more interesting when they have decor to navigate. Some may disagree, but I think my discus get a little bored in my BB decor free tank, causing them to focus more on the pecking order or something else that may be stressing them out.

All that being said, even though I have a BB decor free tank, somehow scrapes and cuts are an almost daily occurrence. I worry that adding decor will result in carnage.

Any thoughts or relevant experience? Maybe the skittishness that creates these scrapes would be reduced with more hiding places?

Thanks everyone!

[DatDiscusDude]

What's causing the scrapes now in a bare tank?

You will always run a risk when adding anything. However, like you I agree with the more natural habitat to allow them to behave more instinctually.

Whatever you add make sure it is free of sharp edges jutting points etc. I also always make sure that the fish have ample room to swim around and under etc. leave room between the tank walls and decor so they can freely navigate. The tight spots is where you will find the most issue as they try to swim through or around and get hurt.

[Jenene]

What's causing the scrapes now in a bare tank?

You will always run a risk when adding anything. However, like you I agree with the more natural habitat to allow them to behave more instinctually.

Whatever you add make sure it is free of sharp edges jutting points etc. I also always make sure that the fish have ample room to swim around and under etc. leave room between the tank walls and decor so they can freely navigate. The tight spots is where you will find the most issue as they try to swim through or around and get hurt.

Found this out firsthand unfortunately with that giant piece of wood I put in recently. They do love it but the Blue Diamond seems to be the clumsy one and did try to squeeze through a tight spot and left a little chunk of blue skin on a rough spot too close to the tank wall. The injury looked bad but I moved the wood back a bit and kept the water extra clean and just watched to make sure the bacteria didn't take off on it. I had hydrogen peroxide on hand but never needed to use it. He healed up in two days- not a mark left on him. I hadn't thought to sand down the rough spots before I put it in when it was still dry- so I padded it by tying java moss onto them. Bumper pads for discus- who knew. They do enjoy swimming under, over and through it though. This is the 3rd piece I have tried. The first two were rotting and I have no pleco to keep up with it. The mopani was just nasty. This new piece I was told is Indian Hardwood? It it doing great so far.

In nature they would have obstacles (not that a domestic has ever seen nature). I would just make sure sharp spots are taken care of and it is easy to clean around and under and it leaves them some real estate to swim in like Dat mentioned.

[Ryan925]

Found this out firsthand unfortunately with that giant piece of wood I put in recently. They do love it but the Blue Diamond seems to be the clumsy one and did try to squeeze through a tight spot and left a little chunk of blue skin on a rough spot too close to the tank wall. The injury looked bad but I moved the wood back a bit and kept the water extra clean and just watched to make sure the bacteria didn't take off on it. I had hydrogen peroxide on hand but never needed to use it. He healed up in two days- not a mark left on him. I hadn't thought to sand down the rough spots before I put it in when it was still dry- so I padded it by tying java moss onto them. Bumper pads for discus- who knew. They do enjoy swimming under, over and through it though. This is the 3rd piece I have tried. The first two were rotting and I have no pleco to keep up with it. The mopani was just nasty. This new piece I was told is Indian Hardwood? It it doing great so far.

In nature they would have obstacles (not that a domestic has ever seen nature). I would just make sure sharp spots are taken care of and it is easy to clean around and under and it leaves them some real estate to swim in like Dat mentioned.

I agree. Mine occasionally get a scrape or something but with good clean water it is gone very quickly.

[LoGeek]

I added some driftwood with plants to my bb a while back. The reason was simply because I like the more natural look of the tank. But to my surprise their behaviour changed noticeably. They are more active always searching among the plants and driftwood. They have not reduced time spent on their picking order however.

I sanded the sharpest points down a bit. No fish has scraped itself yet, but luckily they never have those panic attacks...

Since it's still bb and the driftwood are easily moved around it is easy to keep the tank clean.

[Clawhammer]

What's causing the scrapes now in a bare tank?.

That is a good question. I assume that it is either the overflow box, outflow, spraybar, aquarium hood, or eachother. I have one particular discus (blue diamond) who is very skittish and seems to send the group on a stampede for no reason a few times a day. The frequency of scrapes and abrasions with such a minimal setup is what is giving me pause on the decor. I guess I can just give it a try and see how it goes. With all their cuts and scrapes, I have never had an issue with infection or slow healing, so it is probably worth the risk. It may cut down on the irrational stampeding.

[Jenene]

That is a good question. I assume that it is either the overflow box, outflow, spraybar, aquarium hood, or eachother. I have one particular discus (blue diamond) who is very skittish and seems to send the group on a stampede for no reason a few times a day. The frequency of scrapes and abrasions with such a minimal setup is what is giving me pause on the decor. I guess I can just give it a try and see how it goes. With all their cuts and scrapes, I have never had an issue with infection or slow healing, so it is probably worth the risk. It may cut down on the irrational stampeding.

That is weird...seems like the Blue Diamonds are the bull in the china shop. Mine is too. Crazy as a loon.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

I have two pieces of driftwood in my 180 one is quite large, I'd estimate 40lbs when wet. Three of my fish are continually getting scrapes while the others do fine. I've decided to remove the large piece next week when my eight new fish arrive from Jack Wattley, in part because of the continuous scrapes but also to make room for a full tank of Discus.

[Jenene]

I have two pieces of driftwood in my 180 one is quite large, I'd estimate 40lbs when wet. Three of my fish are continually getting scrapes while the others do fine. I've decided to remove the large piece next week when my eight new fish arrive from Jack Wattley, in part because of the continuous scrapes but also to make room for a full tank of Discus.

So sad to see that piece go Kenny, but you are right to do what will be best for the fish. If they are scraping now- when the new pecking order begins there will be a lot of bumping around. Things would get messy. They will appreciate the extra room as well.

[Jack L]

mine have been injured on the driftwood. decor. the worst time could see a little meat where a couple scales where scraped off. but it heals up fast enough. i've also read how they've been injured/killed by smashing into glass. i've never seen that first hand.

i've seen trout with spear holes through them from heron, and they keep on going with a bit of the fillet hanging out. so compared to that, a few scrapes doesn't seem bad.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

So sad to see that piece go Kenny, but you are right to do what will be best for the fish. If they are scraping now- when the new pecking order begins there will be a lot of bumping around. Things would get messy. They will appreciate the extra room as well.

I like the way it looks too but it gets slimed & smelly every few weeks and needs cleaning. I thought about petrifying it. I think this would help decrease the times between cleaning somewhat, but worse for fish scrapes. I'll need to sit on it for awhile to decide it's fate.

[Jenene]

I like the way it looks too but it gets slimed & smelly every few weeks and needs cleaning. I thought about petrifying it. I think this would help decrease the times between cleaning somewhat, but worse for fish scrapes. I'll need to sit on it for awhile to decide it's fate.

How do you do that? Never heard of such a thing other than finding it that way. Curious.

I chose to leave mine in after padding it with the moss. It really is not growing anything visible and doesn't smell. I really needed something in there like that since I don't even have substrate. It really makes the tank look more natural.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

How do you do that? Never heard of such a thing other than finding it that way. Curious.

I chose to leave mine in after padding it with the moss. It really is not growing anything visible and doesn't smell. I really needed something in there like that since I don't even have substrate. It really makes the tank look more natural.

Jenene,

See the link: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...fied-wood.html

[Jenene]

Jenene,

See the link: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...fied-wood.html

Well isn't that interesting? Have you ever done this before Kenny? Do you know anyone that has and used it in an aquarium afterwards? Is it inert at the end point? I imagine even if you changed the structure of the wood, algae would still grow on it unless you continued to wipe it down or got a pleco right? Sorry about all the questions but this is really interesting to me.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Well isn't that interesting? Have you ever done this before Kenny? Do you know anyone that has and used it in an aquarium afterwards? Is it inert at the end point? I imagine even if you changed the structure of the wood, algae would still grow on it unless you continued to wipe it down or got a pleco right? Sorry about all the questions but this is really interesting to me.

Jenene,

I've never done it before but read through the process and the hardest thing would be gathering the materials - mineral water and sodium silicate, the acid required wouldn't be too hard. 24 hours of soaking then drying the wood apparently completes the process. Can re-soak/dry again if needed. Supposed to behave like and even look like 'petrified' wood after that.

Regarding the algae/slime buildup I'm thinking this would last longer in between cleanings than my wood as it currently is, but not sure exactly how much. Would certainly preserve and keep the wood from further decay.