Bill's Grow Out Challenge Thread 2018

[Second Hand Pat]

(By the way, for some reason my photos aren't showing today after doing so last night... not sure if an Admin can fix that or not. Thx!)

Bill, send those pics to the webmaster@simplydiscus.com in the order they should appear and we will see what we can do to restoring them.
Pat

[jeep]

Wow, I'm glad you were diligent enough to count and lucky enough to save it!!!

[Tshethar]

Bill, send those pics to the webmaster@simplydiscus.com in the order they should appear and we will see what we can do to restoring them.
Pat

Thanks, Pat. Done!

Wow, I'm glad you were diligent enough to count and lucky enough to save it!!!

Thanks, Brian. Me, too. Thought I was being diligent with 2x/day water changes and trying to document, but not sure the fish saw it that way! it's amazing what one moment of inattentiveness can do... Fortunately I saw something out of the corner of my eye in the siphon tube. I wanted to think it was an air bubble but deep down I knew.

[Second Hand Pat]

Bill, see if those two posts look correct?
Pat

[Tshethar]

Bill, see if those two posts look correct?
Pat

That's it! Thanks, Pat.

[Tshethar]

So, I may not be the best discus-keeper in this competition, but I might turn out to be the most prolific reporter... We'll see if that keeps up when the novelty wears off and the rest of life catches up, and not sure if it will count for much in the end, but I'm going to try to keep documenting stuff as best I can.

For now I've noticed that at least a couple of times it has taken my fish a while to recover from big water changes. For whatever reason they seem fine sometimes, but today there was some heavy breathing and most of them heading for the corners. Water was aged overnight with Safe and 2 tbs of salt, and temp matched. It was about a 90% change, using the technique above. I think tonight I'll try a smaller volume and see if there's a difference. Haven't tested ammonia to know to what degree bioload is an issue, but will do so if I back off on the percent changed.

I've also got one fish--the smallest I received--who has generally been showing some stress bars and darkening and who hasn't been showing much interest in food. Still picks a little, but not like the others. I'm wondering if this is the kind of fish that is destined to lag behind the curve, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. He's still active, swimming around and showing curiosity, just not for food. I put a light on the tank today and focused on him here:



Can't think of too much to do to encourage him. Decided to ease the temp up a little, from 83-84 to 85-86, to see if that would stimulate his appetite. Will keep trying some different foods. Ideas welcome.

[Second Hand Pat]

Bill, this is not the fish that took a ride to the back yard?
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

So, I may not be the best discus-keeper in this competition, but I might turn out to be the most prolific reporter... We'll see if that keeps up when the novelty wears off and the rest of life catches up, and not sure if it will count for much in the end, but I'm going to try to keep documenting stuff as best I can.

Same here...maybe we can keep each other entertained lol.
Pat

[Tshethar]

Bill, this is not the fish that took a ride to the back yard?
Pat

No, that guy is fine! Can't definitively tell him apart from the others. He's a mid-sized turq from what I could tell...

Same here...maybe we can keep each other entertained lol.
Pat

Sounds like a plan!

[Second Hand Pat]

Don’t raise the temp, it will just stress up the little guy having a hard time. Do you have salt in the water? If not, add some.
Pat

[Tshethar]

Thanks for the comment Pat, I'll take a look tonight and if I don't see any difference I'll try easing it back. I do have a couple of tablespoons of salt going. Will just give it some time and hope the picking at food increases a bit, and I may experiment a little with the percentage on the WCs.

To be honest I'm curious about difference of opinion on temperature, if there is one. From reading on the forum, my take-away is that 82 is strongly recommended in almost all scenarios especially if there's a chance of bacterial infection, unless one is pretty confident there are protozoa causing trouble (and not bacteria as well).

At the same time, there are folks who sometimes suggest that higher temps will increase metabolism and appetite, and I'm aware of a supplier who kept his fish higher, around 86. I'm not inclined to do it to try to fast-track growth, but I wonder about stimulating appetite. But I can see that first trying different foods, etc., may be a less risky proposition.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Bill, this fish has more than just lack of appetite. It’s also very dark which isn’t good. Stressing it out with a higher temp right now I don’t think is the best for it. However, it is your fish in your tank.
Pat

[Tshethar]

Everyone looked about the same, so decided to take your advice and ease back down. Is your experience that the higher temp adds stress? Obviously want to avoid that. Was wondering if the higher temps would stimulate immune system and appetite to come back online.

A little worried that the status quo could lead to a quick decline. But, these guys are only a few days into settling down after their journey, so I can also appreciate how clean water and consistency for a few more days might also do the trick. Still, I'd feel better if I saw more pecking going on. That said, there were plenty of crumbs around and I was only watching the tank for so long today, so maybe it ate more than I thought.

Went with a 75% WC tonight, with 2 tbs salt.

[Second Hand Pat]

Bill, when you raise the temp it makes the fish breath harder and use more energy so this is what I meant by stress. Higher heat can also increase the pecking order if that has started. Hope it look better this morning.
Pat

[JamesW]

Are you feeding the Repashy as a 'in between meals' type feeding or are you feeding that as one of the multiple daily feedings?