Hellp Needed ASAP, Please

[MrsSouthern]

So I thought my tank was good to go. I had cycled it for almost a month actually and the ph was at about 7. I had put some plants that had already started to die. I just have LED lighting. Pool sand. 225 gal tank. I ordered my fish and they will be here tomorow. So I go in to do a quick last minute cleaning and what not.

As I start cleaning I see there is dark grey/black sand coming up from the bottom. I then see all the debri around my plants and decide to just toss them and clean it all up really good and worry about adding plants at a later time after I adjust to Discus. That's when I see the gazillion baby snails I have everywhere that HAD to have come from the plants because I had NOTHING in my tank before this. We have gotten MOST of them out. I also see some kind of REALLY thin (what I thought was maybe a string or hair or somethiing) unilt I SEE IT SWIMMING. They are very thin and wiggly. From what I could see online it is most likely a nematode? Now I'm about to flip out just slightly because of course my fish have now been shipped and will arrive in 12 hours. I need help. I take out most of the water but now of course I won't have the water at the temp it was at. There is still so much debri on the sand I'm going to vaccum it out again which will require me to empty it almost all the way again. I have Seachem Prime and Discus Trace. I don't know if any of this will help at this point to get the water where it needs to be in 12 hours.

My tap tests at about 7.2 PH so I could use that if I have to for now as to get it at least at the right temp. But I honestly have no idea if any of these things are going to be horrible for the Discus or what. If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to avoid killing the $700 in adult discus I just purchased I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

[Phillydubs]

Ok first off deep breath...

Make sure your filter media stays good in contaminant free water. Do a huge clean. Maybe even pull the sand and just go are bottom. Get all new water in and use some extra prime it won't hurt. Do you have an extra heater. If not justnget it close t will heat over night.

If you say your filters are seeded that's all that matters. But inspect them make sure no snails in there or they will just multiply.

Many people have done huge 100 changes and cakes filters w discus in there. So you are ahead of the game.

Your fish will be fine. Be ready to do big daily water changes when you get them.

Were you planing to age water or just use tap and a dechlor?

[MrsSouthern]

Ok first off deep breath...

Make sure your filter media stays good in contaminant free water. Do a huge clean. Maybe even pull the sand and just go are bottom. Get all new water in and use some extra prime it won't hurt. Do you have an extra heater. If not justnget it close t will heat over night.

If you say your filters are seeded that's all that matters. But inspect them make sure no snails in there or they will just multiply.

Many people have done huge 100 changes and cakes filters w discus in there. So you are ahead of the game.

Your fish will be fine. Be ready to do big daily water changes when you get them.

Were you planing to age water or just use tap and a dechlor?

First of all, I'd like to thank you for responding. It probably sounds silly but this is a fish I've wanted for years and finally did all I could do to save up and do it right so yes, I honestly am a bit of a wreck at the idea of things going wrong already. Your response really did help immensely. I was basically hoping I could do basically what you just said but was hit with a fear that there was far more wrong than I knew and I was about to lose it all.

I was really hoping to be able to just use tap and dechlor to be honest. Mostly because of the location of my tank and the size. I have two heaters in there now.

Well I'll get started on this. Thank you again. I was seriously on the edge of tears. (what a girl... lol) Thank you!

[Filip]

Don't worry about the snails and the wiggling worms Mrs Southern , they are pretty much harmless for the discus .
They are very hard to eradicate from the sandy bottom too .

I would clean the tank sides , thoroughly mix and clean the sand bed and clean the filters.
All this followed by a 100% WC to take out all the dirt before new fish arrive . 12 hours with good water flow and aeration would be enough to age and stabilize the water parameters IMO .
I'm woried about your plan to change water straight tap though . Any change straight tap above 30% can be stressful for discus if there are dissolved gasses in the water or if the PH swings are significant during the change .
Also , do not add new plants with your discus any more without sterilizing them before with bleach or PP . They can carry pathogens with them much more problematic for discus then your current pests , snails and worms.

Good luck and please send us some pics from your discus , once they arrive and adjust .

[Phillydubs]

No Problem!! I could tell you were freaking, honestly as I or anyone would be with a haul of discus headed their way and this mess on their hands!!

It is not silly at all. Discus for most are an accomplishment a sense of pride, etc. That is why we choose to dedicate the time and energy needed to keep such gorgeous fish. Many can keep a simple community tank. This is a different level and you should be passionate about it.

Care to update on what is going on here and the plan so we can help you?

Have you tested the ph of your water after 24 hrs to see where it goes? Flip is correct, if there is a big swing, it could negatively effect the fish. If you have the space to store and age water I highly suggest it. If not, then you need to throw 5 gallons of tap in a bucket and airate it for 24 hrs, test the ph before and after. That will tell you if you can do straight tap or not. This wont be an issue if you added water last night and now the tanks been running, but you will want to know this for your 1st water change. You said your tap ph is 7.2 from the tap. Ever test the tank water tap before the mess occurred? What was it?

[MrsSouthern]

No Problem!! I could tell you were freaking, honestly as I or anyone would be with a haul of discus headed their way and this mess on their hands!!

It is not silly at all. Discus for most are an accomplishment a sense of pride, etc. That is why we choose to dedicate the time and energy needed to keep such gorgeous fish. Many can keep a simple community tank. This is a different level and you should be passionate about it.

Care to update on what is going on here and the plan so we can help you?

Have you tested the ph of your water after 24 hrs to see where it goes? Flip is correct, if there is a big swing, it could negatively effect the fish. If you have the space to store and age water I highly suggest it. If not, then you need to throw 5 gallons of tap in a bucket and airate it for 24 hrs, test the ph before and after. That will tell you if you can do straight tap or not. This wont be an issue if you added water last night and now the tanks been running, but you will want to know this for your 1st water change. You said your tap ph is 7.2 from the tap. Ever test the tank water tap before the mess occurred? What was it?

Hey guys. Well I did thoroughly clean everything and checked the filter for any snails. All looked well. Of course I have seen a few eggs or at least baby snails and I suppose it'll be a little while to actually be rid of them all.

I somehow pulled my biceps in both my arms last night! I'm assuming just the hours I spent on it and then lifting the Fluval FX6 all over the place. Woke up in EXTREME pain about 2 am. So getting them situated today was like a bipolar moment of winces and smiles. Lol *sigh*

BUT... I got the fish. Water is at 83.6 degrees. 7.2 again. I have not ever tested the tap that way so I'll do that today and work on figuring a way to age the water. I've turned the light off and will leave it off today for them. I've read to wait about 10 to 12 hours to feed them? Is that correct?

They seem to be doing well. All swimming back anf forth in the tank. Pretty much staying together. So cool watching them swim across the length of the tank and up and down at the sides, all together, once in awhile. I've attached some pics.

So I'm assuming the most important thing now is testing the tap both ways and getting a plan for the first water change?

[Filip]

Congrats. Mrs. Southern .
You got me laughing just imagining you in your bipolar moments of joy and pain mixed all together .

You can safely leave them without feeding for a day or two , to give them time to adjust to the new environment and new water parameters .
Leave the lights dimmed for awhile and do your water testing straigh tap prior and before 24 hour aging (With an airstone or surface agitation in the aging bucket ) .
Until then if you do your WC , start with 30 -40% WC and observe their reaction to it .
Good luck and congrats. on your happy moments, receiving your first batch of discus fish . Those are some unforgettable moments , that's for sure .

[MrsSouthern]

Congrats. Mrs. Southern .
You got me laughing just imagining you in your bipolar moments of joy and pain mixed all together .

You can safely leave them without feeding for a day or two , to give them time to adjust to the new environment and new water parameters .
Leave the lights dimmed for awhile and do your water testing straigh tap prior and before 24 hour aging (With an airstone or surface agitation in the aging bucket ) .
Until then if you do your WC , start with 30 -40% WC and observe their reaction to it .
Good luck and congrats. on your happy moments, receiving your first batch of discus fish . Those are some unforgettable moments , that's for sure .

Thank you! I am trying to upload photos but it isn't letting me. Keeps saying upload failed. *cries* LOL.. as soon as I figure it out, I'll upload them.

[Filip]

Thank you! I am trying to upload photos but it isn't letting me. Keeps saying upload failed. *cries* LOL.. as soon as I figure it out, I'll upload them.

You just press the image button on the quick reply bar (small photo of a painted tree ) and than choose upload photo / from computer option . It takes you to your computer / mobile phone folders , and you just choose the desired photo from there .

If it still gets you troubles try to edit the photo a little (i.e. a little less saturation ) and upload the edited photo instead the original . Don't know why , but this helps especially when I upload photos from my mobile phone .

[MrsSouthern]

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Yeah I guess I had to resize them. I had too much glare to get a picture of them swimming length wise across the aquarium.
Ordered these beauties through Chicago Discus, btw.

[EJ_B]

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Yeah I guess I had to resize them. I had too much glare to get a picture of them swimming length wise across the aquarium.
Ordered these beauties through Chicago Discus, btw.

Is that really a 225? It looks very narrow for a standard 225.
Fish look good, a little stressed but that's normal. They'll look much better in a day or two once they get used to their new home. Chicago Discus has some nice fish.

[MrsSouthern]

Is that really a 225? It looks very narrow for a standard 225.
Fish look good, a little stressed but that's normal. They'll look much better in a day or two once they get used to their new home. Chicago Discus has some nice fish.

Well it was a custom built tank. It's pretty tall and very long. The seller said he thought it was 210. But when I used an online calculator it said 225. So I guess worst case is somewhere in between. Lol

I want to say it's 6 feet long, 30 in. tall and 2 ft deep.

Yes, I've been keeping an eye on their activity and coloring. They have already lightened up some. One did run into the glass a couple of times in a row when my son walked by it. Seemed to startle it. But haven't seen that again.

[Phillydubs]

Any results on that aged water?

[MrsSouthern]

Any results on that aged water?

I was so incredibly sick yesterday from the pain pills I took I never did it. Today the tank is at 7.0 oh and everything else is 0. I retested my tap today and realized I didn't do it right yesterday. It actually comes out at 8.0 oh and 0 on everything else. So I'm assuming that even with the Discus buffer and Trace that I need to age it. My biggest problem is that with it being the size it is, there is no one container that can hold enough water to age it. So this means ol probably have to have 3 different containers and set ups for them? Will obviously have to figure that out today.

Fish are swimming around today with some huddling in the corners still. One of them ended up on its side and didn't get up until we very gently prodded it and its been swimming back and forth since. A couple of times I saw a couple at the top of the water for a few moments.
Going to go grab an air stone as I don't think my output is moving the water enough. No fin clamping or anything else I can think to mention. Will be feeding them soon.

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[Phillydubs]

Yes that is a big swing, you would need to age... You could do 2 55 gallon brutes on dolly's that is what I have and they work well. That way you can do 50%. Your fish look large so that should suffice. I would def add an air stone as well