Help please

[JosephDones]

Hello everyone who helped out heres an update

UPDATE: I lost another one of my discus last night although it showed improvements I think the damage was done. My remaining two discus seem to be enjoying their new tank, I did catch a glimpse of both discus taking a bite out of some new pebble food, but they spit it back out. They have found a new hiding spot and rarely come out (I hope this isnt something I caused). All and all I have a good feeling about their survivablity.

I still want to know, is this skittish behavior normal, did I cause this?

Is there anything special I should know about these discus to help improve their health in the long run? (Besides the water changes)

I thank everyone who took the time out of their day to help out a newbie fish hobbiest and apologies if any offense was caused, I had no clue what discus needed and Its my fault for not doing more research. Hoping for healthy long lives with my remaing discus! :-)

[jmf3460]

Joseph, did you put the two remaining fish in a smaller tank so it is easier to do 100% daily water changes? If your fish are hiding it is likely because they are scared. Discus are schooling fish so in a group of 2 they probably feel vulnerable and will hide behind things. Either that or they are just still reacting to the ammonia poisoning left over from the last tank. What are you doing to cycle the bigger tank in the meantime. I saw someone suggested seachem stability, this product is a bandaid and will not cycle your tank. You need to get some ammonia, and add ammonia every day until you see zero nitrites, zero ammonia, and a visible nitrate reading. That is the only way you know you have cycled your tank. When the nitrogen cycle is completed, the beneficial bacteria can turn ammonia into nitrate so you will have a nitrate reading. this will take several weeks to accomplish.

[JosephDones]

Yes they are in a 29 gal, today they had a 100% change. The tank has a piece of driftwood with gravel. Now the big tank has two very large pieces of driftwood, and some neon tetra which I hope is okay. I did a water test on the big tank with the tetra it reads
Gh: 0
Kh: 40
Ph: 6.0
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 0
Now do I need something to read amonia or is my current reader fine? Also what are the signs my fish are still reacting to the poisoning. Today they arent tilting like the others who passed, i observed them when I put food in and they had a bite but threw it out. They currently just hide but tend to come out and just swim around.

[jmf3460]

if you have a nitrite reading, then your nitrogen cycle has already started so that is good. Yes you need to get an ammonia tester so you can test ammonia separately.

[JosephDones]

My discus seem fine, they are trying to eat (They put food in their mouths but spit it out). How do I know if they recovered from whatever it was that was affecting them which we came to the conclusion of ammonia poisoning? What signs should I look for that they shows they haven't recovered? Also one keeps picking on the other how can I fix this without adding another discus considering whats happened i'm scared too and probably not ready.

[klclayt]

This is the first post I`ve replied to because I feel you are extemely ill-informed. I don`t want to blame the pet store that sold you the fish cause you have a responsibilty also. As someone stated no fish should be put in an uncycled tank especially discus. But it does not seem like the most vital information on fishkeeping was obtained. You were asked have you kept fish before and you never replied. Discus should never be your first fish. I`ve been keeping fish for over 40 years, but only have kept discus about 8 months. And I still got a lot to learn. You don`t have to become a bio-chemist, but you have to be willing to understand the process. And listen to some of the people that truly know how to keep discus. Good luck my friend...

[jmf3460]

Joseph, with only two discus, one is going to pick on the other its normal and is another reason discus are kept in groups to help spread out aggression. Spitting out their food is normal, just keep feeding and vacuum up the uneaten pieces with your water change. Also you might try FDBW (freeze dried blackworms) instead of whatever you are feeding now, discus are more likely to take FDBW over flake sometimes. Or see what the fish store was feeding them.

OR take the two back and spend about a month researching discus before you decide to try again. During that month cycle your tank, keep the 29gal as a hospital/quarantine tank and cycle it also. When you buy more discus again, buy from a sponsor on here, your LFS discus looked pretty bad off from the beginning and I'm saying that as polite and unoffensive as I possibly can,

[JosephDones]

If I didnt reply to a question before I apologize maybe I just overlooked it. I have kept fish before but nothing as delicate as these (gold fish, beta, oscars). Also do not be afraid of offending me I need people to be as critical as they can. And I also do not blame anyone but myself for this incident this was a tragic mistake but also a learning one. If it seems like i'' not taking anyones advice its because Im asking many people for help and Im getting many different answers.
Example: I got two people saying the water can sit for a week and a discus would be fine. Some are saying three months others a year. Im gathering as much information I can about these fish bc they are beautiful and I would love to be able to keep some in the future when I feel ready again. i do appreciate everyone who helped as well, it must be frustrating seeing this post and I do apologize.