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Thread: New to discus

  1. #31
    Gold Member tonytheboss1's Avatar
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    Default Re: New to discus

    if my nitrates are 0 or very close, what benefit would changing the water do for my tank? I would think my water quality is already excellent. Maybe I’m missing something.

    Somewhat common misconception. Having -0- nitrates at your present test point is deceiving. Right now your large volume (125g) & heavily planted tank is assisting somewhat in controlling that parameter. Nitrates are constantly on the rise. How much & how fast is subjective. No two tanks 'creep' the same. Good tank husbandry is a requirement for discus to THRIVE.When they are young & growing, fresh water is like spinach to Popeye. It makes them big & strong. Controlling the nitrate 'creep' is best done by WC's. The more the better to keep that parameter low low. Those w/ OCD like myself sometimes go a bit overboard but the result will be spectacular, I promise. Young discus & WC's go hand in hand. You can ease back a bit after they are grown but WC's will always be your best friend. BTW there are products & contraptions on the market that 'claim to control' nitrates. I can't say yay or nay but you'll never go wrong with WC's!! "T"
    125g Tenecor - Cardinal, Serpae, Bloodfin, Redeye, Phantom & Pristella Tetra - Ghost Shrimp - Raphael Cats - Stendker Discus
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  2. #32
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by tonytheboss1 View Post
    Somewhat common misconception. Having -0- nitrates at your present test point is deceiving. Right now your large volume (125g) & heavily planted tank is assisting somewhat in controlling that parameter. Nitrates are constantly on the rise. How much & how fast is subjective. No two tanks 'creep' the same. Good tank husbandry is a requirement for discus to THRIVE.When they are young & growing, fresh water is like spinach to Popeye. It makes them big & strong. Controlling the nitrate 'creep' is best done by WC's. The more the better to keep that parameter low low. Those w/ OCD like myself sometimes go a bit overboard but the result will be spectacular, I promise. Young discus & WC's go hand in hand. You can ease back a bit after they are grown but WC's will always be your best friend. BTW there are products & contraptions on the market that 'claim to control' nitrates. I can't say yay or nay but you'll never go wrong with WC's!! "T"
    well said!

  3. #33
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by tonytheboss1 View Post
    Somewhat common misconception. Having -0- nitrates at your present test point is deceiving. Right now your large volume (125g) & heavily planted tank is assisting somewhat in controlling that parameter. Nitrates are constantly on the rise. How much & how fast is subjective. No two tanks 'creep' the same. Good tank husbandry is a requirement for discus to THRIVE.When they are young & growing, fresh water is like spinach to Popeye. It makes them big & strong. Controlling the nitrate 'creep' is best done by WC's. The more the better to keep that parameter low low. Those w/ OCD like myself sometimes go a bit overboard but the result will be spectacular, I promise. Young discus & WC's go hand in hand. You can ease back a bit after they are grown but WC's will always be your best friend. BTW there are products & contraptions on the market that 'claim to control' nitrates. I can't say yay or nay but you'll never go wrong with WC's!! "T"
    Totally agree with you Tony. WC is the best friend for discus to keep them strong and healthy.

  4. #34
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Yes I agree, my nitrates are always almost 0, could be the plants are absorbing some of the nitrates.
    These juvenile fish I have seem to have some sort of personality, I have 11 in my tank, there only 2-3 inches, but they follow me when I’m near the tank, I don’t think there hungry, I worry about feeding them to much. I have been feeding them twice a day.

  5. #35
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikecup View Post
    Yes I agree, my nitrates are always almost 0, could be the plants are absorbing some of the nitrates.
    These juvenile fish I have seem to have some sort of personality, I have 11 in my tank, there only 2-3 inches, but they follow me when I’m near the tank, I don’t think there hungry, I worry about feeding them to much. I have been feeding them twice a day.
    they are always hungry. I'd give more than 2 times a day. I feed up to 7 times a day (small portions) when i'm home on the weekends. Mon-Fri they eat 4-5 times a day.

  6. #36
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Mando View Post
    Hey, Mike. Welcome to the forum! Ideally, you would want to grow out your discus in a smaller tank and BB. However, since your feet are wet already, you can only move forward with what you have unless you go out and buy a smaller 30g.

    That being said, you can still grow out a nice group of discus given your circumstances, however, make it easier on your self and remove any other fish in the tank. These 2-3 inch discus can stress beyond belief with other tank mates. Trust me, my first batch was my learning experience and I would hate for you to go through what I went. I lost 8 Marlboros and 3 other mixed discus.

    One thing that helps me is that I always feed from the same spot. It helped condition the fish to always meet me in that corner and it helps to maintain the tank a bit cleaner. I have sinking pellets, flakes, and I also feed Al's black worms which stick to the glass; I do not have a mess around the tank. You'll want these discus to eat at least 3 times a day and this will compromise your water quality; Hence the daily water changes. I am currently doing 2x85% water changes a day for my discus. In less than 2 1/2 months my fry are just above the 3.5 inch mark.

    oddly enough, I love your suction plant pots. I might get a few now to add some plants to my BB. Hope you enjoy your grow out; you have a stunning tank. I'm with you on this journey so don't hesitate to ask questions; we are a friendly bunch.
    Same boat here Mando. I do 2x90% water changes a day for my baby discus (21 of them). Within 4 months, even the smallest one reach over 4.5 inches and they are super healthy begging for food all day long.

  7. #37
    Gold Member tonytheboss1's Avatar
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    Default Re: New to discus

    I will continue to do 30% water changes weekly and see how it goes, I’m just keeping fish as a hobby and something nice to look at in the evening after work. I may start feeding them twice a day instead of once on day though. So far they are doing fine. Beautiful fish.
    This I can tell you for sure, if you increase the WC's & increase the feeding schedule your discus will thank you!! lol Juvies really need to eat a lot at this stage (3-4 tpd). You're treating them like adults. This is their time to GROW & nothing does it better than plenty of quality food & plenty of clean water. Now I see why your nitrates are holding. You really should up the food intake or risk possibly stunting your little ones. There are those (OCD like me) who might say 5 or 6 tpd is the order. 3 or 4 meals should do them just fine at least to the sub-adult stage. YES, it's gonna require more time & more work & more money but they are so worth it imho!!! "T"
    125g Tenecor - Cardinal, Serpae, Bloodfin, Redeye, Phantom & Pristella Tetra - Ghost Shrimp - Raphael Cats - Stendker Discus
    Rena XP4, Eheim 2075, 2 A/C500, 2(250w) Ebo-Jagers / Jehmco Controller, 29g AGA-sick
    "Knowledge Gained & Not Shared Is Knowledge Lost"

  8. #38
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    Default Re: New to discus

    It seems I’m not feeding them enough, I was worried about over feeding, it does seem like they are always hungry. I don’t have a problem with more water changes, but I’m not ready for 2 a day water changes yet, I just don’t have the time. I will start doing 2 maybe 3 wc a week, just to keep everything fresh.

  9. #39
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikecup View Post
    It seems I’m not feeding them enough, I was worried about over feeding, it does seem like they are always hungry. I don’t have a problem with more water changes, but I’m not ready for 2 a day water changes yet, I just don’t have the time. I will start doing 2 maybe 3 wc a week, just to keep everything fresh.
    Yea start off with 2-3 a week and you should be fine. 2 daiky water changes are excessive but it’s only through the growout period. I’m slowing my water changes soon. At about 4-4.5” i’ll stop. And like I said, my main tank sees 1-2 a week.

  10. #40
    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
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    Default Re: New to discus

    My thoughts are if you planning on raising young discus in such a big,planted,O2 injected with substrate.You had better be up for a lot of work to keep things pristine enough to grow out healthy looking discus.I think you'll be buying discus every 4 or 5 months.They should live that long in your set up with you correct husbandry,maybe longer but not healthy.They are not your average tropical fish and if treated as such there will be issues down the road.So,IMO if you're going to raise young discus,this is not the tank to do it in to be successful/rewarding.

  11. #41
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    Default Re: New to discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikecup View Post
    Well I wasn’t originally going to have a heavily planted tank, my tank took 3 months to finally cycle, fishless cycle. I just wanted something in there to look at besides the rocks. So I bought many plants, the suction planters I bought on amazon.
    I have a lot of filtration on this tank, a fluval fx6, sun sun hw3000, both canister filters are loaded with bio home ultimate and 2 hob filters a seachem tidal 110 and a just added penguin 350. Im also using seachem discus trace elements.
    A newbie question for everyone, if I have 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates, ph at 7.4, fish all eating and look happy, why do a water change?
    hello, i am also new to discus and one thing i was told about wter changes is the discus will pull and use the minerals out of the water so do water changes so the fish can get more minerals to grow

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