Playing Possum?

[mr limpet]

I have 10 Discus in my 90 gallon tank. Range in size 4 inches to 5 1/2 inches. Half of them are laying on their sides the other half are being very lethargic. Some with clamped fins. Some breathing a little faster than normal. Seem stressed. Other than that no other signs on their bodies. 2 weeks ago I got 3 new Discus. I did not quarantine. I have 2 AC110s and 1 FX5 filtering tank. Temp 86, PH 7.4, 0 nitrites, 0 Ammomia, 10ppm Nitrates. I change 50% water 2 times a week. Water out of tap. Never had a problem with tap water. I have 1/2 inch of gravel in tank, large piece of driftwood and some fake plants. Also in the tank are some Rams and a few Bristlenose Plecos. These fish are acting normal. I changed my water yesterday and then again tonight thinking it would help. In the AC110 I had 2 lage bags of Carbon which I put in 3 weeks ago. I took them out yesterday. I clean my filters every other month. Alternating Canister and Hang on backs.I just did noticed my Fluval FX 5 is shooting out a lot of Bubbles. That usually means it needs to be cleaned. But I did clean it the beginning of August. Could these Bubbles irritate my Discus? Oh and I raised temp last night to 90. Any help would be appreciated.

[Second Hand Pat]

I would not raise the temp. That would further stress the fish. Sounds like you have some kind of contamination in the water. Did you add prime (or de-chlorinator) during your last water change. Also please fill out the questionnaire http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...lease-complete.
Pat

[fljones3]

I may be understanding wrong but it seems that your tank is still relatively young? Just some observations as I am new at this also. Others will chime in.

1. With that many discus in a 90 gallon (probably 80 gallon maybe with gravel?) I would think you would need to do at min every other day water changes if not daily. WC do more than remove nitrates. It also removes bioload.

2. You did not mention if you clean your gravel these past weeks. With the amount of food, eating, and waste - it can build up quite rapidly. In fact, I got rid of my gravel after 3 months. It was a time bomb waiting. Now that I am bare bottom, I am amazed at the amount of junk I clean up.

Others will comment but maybe these might be helpful.

[Tshethar]

Not an expert here--I would trust whatever further advice you get from Pat and definitely the questionnaire is the best place to start, and I also agree that you could be starting to see signs of illness from pathogens multiplying in either the filter or the gravel. Not sure what to tell you there, but if you've been reading on here for awhile I'm sure you know that most folks strongly recommend keeping things as clean and simple as possible especially when growing out fish, and that generally the first thing to try is lots of clean water. Still, one other thing to check might be your tank pH vs the pH out of the tap. Since you're seeing stress after the water change, you might want to rule out a pH swing. You also want to watch out for significant temperature variance, and if it's starting to get chilly up there yet you might get dissolved gasses (microbubbles) that can stress them out (and make oxygen less available).

[mr limpet]

Don’t know how to paste questionnaire. Thought I answered almost all questions. Tank has been running for over 10 years. I vacuum gravel each water change. I ad Prime at every water change. Put some extra Prime in today too. Also I feed fish just once a day. Could it be excessive bubbles?

[Second Hand Pat]

How large was your water change? Also you could start a new post and I can paste the questionnaire in the post. You can then edit it to answer the questions? I am also wondering about your canister filter, you mention it is releasing bubbles. Could it have been off for some period of time?
Pat

[mr limpet]

Canister filter is constantly running. Hasn’t been off. Bubbles usually are a sign filter need to be cleaned. Also water changes 2 times in the last 2 days. More than 50% each time. I’ll try and start a new post.

[brewmaster15]

Hello,
Im thinking your problem may be stem from the new fish you added without Quarantine. Everything was fine in your tank prior to that and Adding 3 fish to a group of 7 in a 90 gal won't tax the system enough to account for this. You mentioned your rams and bristlenose are fine. All this points to the new discus having carried something into the system... probably viral, maybe bacterial. Its usually happens within 1 week of addition but you may have missed the initial symptoms. I would at this point really bump up your water changes, and aeration. I would also add salt at 1 Tablespoon per 2-3 gals water and maintain that concentration after water changes until the fish recover. If its viral they should spring back but sometimes you can lose some and secondary infections can pop up.

Id like to see some pics if you can.

Obviously I am giving you my best guess at this point but thats what apppears to be happening.
You can have 2 groups of discus from separate sources be fine on their own but when you mix them this can happen as they are't used to the other groups endemic bacteria or viruses. Think of it as when a person gets sick drinking the water in another country whereas the natives are fine.

Hth,
Al

[mr limpet]

Thanks for all the advice. I’ll change water again tonight, clean out canister too. What kind of salt? Aquarium salt?

[bluelagoon]

Gee!That seems like a lot water flow.One AC 110 will handle a 90 gal. tank.I like a lot of filtration but that is way over kill.I have one FX6 on a six foot and it is plenty of filtration and water flow.You can use any type of sodium chloride;however most folks won't use table salt due to iodine and caking agents.

[mr limpet]

Always love over filtration. I’ll pick up some aquarium salt after work today. Thanks again.

[brewmaster15]

Always love over filtration. I’ll pick up some aquarium salt after work today. Thanks again.

You can use kosher salt no iodine at the grocery store. I use Mortons.

Its cheap.

Aquarium salt is probably one of the biggest cons out there. ...its not necessary and costs way too much.

You will need enough to cover replacing what you take out.

[mr limpet]

Ok. Thanks Brew

[mr limpet]

40083D05-4D2E-4FBA-921C-6AE2C476BB96.jpgI cleaned canister filter, changed water, and added aquarium salt. Fish were not on their sides when I came home from work. Heres a pic of them tonight after all maintenance had been done. Still not out in the open. Should I change water again tomorrow and add salt again?

[mr limpet]

Sorry about the bottom 2 pics. I’m not too good at posting pics correctly.