Managing discus peppering

[Justin NC]

Hey All,

As always, I appreciate everyones' feedback and opinions. I have been in the discus hobby for only a few months but can honestly say I feel very confident keeping discus based on the information I have learned through this forum. There will be bumps along the way, but the basic knowledge is well established.

The question I have today is in regards to managing discus peppering. I currently own two pb strains (one from Hans and one from my lfs). The lfs discus were purchased first (before I realized I was hooked and past a point of no return in the discus hobby). Luckily, after putting them through a full quarantine process, them and the discus I purchased from Hans were able to live together just fine.

The lfs pb has added a few black spots daily since I bought him roughly two months ago, and the pb I have owned from Hans for three weeks continues to add a few daily as well. I thought maybe the lfs discus just didn't have the quality and that was the reason it was peppering. However, the pb I purchased from Hans continues to add a few as well. That right there is a clear indication it is a result of something I am doing, versus quality of the fish. We all know Hans discus are among the best of the best. Here are some facts of my tank, but I would love to hear others opinions regarding managing peppering, as well as success stories or trial and errors as well:

- It is a barebottom tank
- Currently 6 2.5" to 3" discus in a 60 gallon tank, as well as 4 albino cory catfish
- Temperature is 86 degrees
- Ammonia and nitrite has always held a constant 0, nitrate has been between 15 to 20, ph is 7.4
- I aerate and heat all water I add to the tank for 24 hours , and add a dose of prime to the tank itself after siphoning out the water, but before filling the tank back uo
- Roughly 40% water changes on a daily basis
- Food is a homemade recipe using several sources I found on simplydiscus, consisting primarily of 99% fat free turkey burger and new life spectrum flakes, which I fed several times over the course of the day
- I use a cascade 265 gph canister filter, which has a sponge around the intake valve to capture any debris which I clean daily. I also clear the inside of the canister filter of any additional debris once per week. I do not rinse out the filter sponges to ideally maintain the biological filter of the established tank.

Any tips, suggestions, or room for improvement on my setup or peppering in general would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Justin

[Akili]

Is it possible for you to post a photo of your setup?.

[Kyla]

is the bottom u derside of the tank painted white? that can help, as well as light background etc.

[Kyla]

also if u increase the % of wc u may be able to lower the nitrates a bit further (assuming u r starting at 0 nitrates with ur source water)

[Justin NC]

The tank is sitting on a piece of oak wood but is not painted white. I have a rock canvas background for the back that is pretty dark in color, so I have been considering changing it to something lighter. But absolutrly, I'll post a picture later. Good point about the nitrates though, never tested the water for nitrates straight out of the tap.