New to discus and need help with these spots

[China Guy]

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Hi I am new to discus, I have 5 fish they are eating well show no signs of distress or rubbing.

They are very active and have a good apatite.

I started the tank 4 months ago and added the discus about 6 weeks ago, I had some problem getting them to eat in the first week but that problem is gone, they eat very well now.

There have been no changes or additions to the tank since the discus have been introduced.

Water temp is 85 and I do 2 10% water changes a day with aged water.

The spots are on all the fish only on the body and only a few on each fish, I noticed it last night.

Any help would be appreciated.

[danotaylor]

What is your nitrate lvl? If it was white spot they would probably be glancing & rubbing. It looks like discus pimples. A bacterial skin infection related to poor water quality. Given you have a heavily planted tank your water will be difficult to keep clean, especially with such small daily wc's. Do you vacuum the substrate? Planted tanks trap a load of detritus and have high bacterial counts if not we'll maintained. Even if your nitrates are <10, you prob still have a lot of dissolved organics present which are at the root of the problem. Try doing a 50% wc with your aged water for the next week. I'll be the spots will disappear on there own...

[China Guy]

My nitrate level was < 5 I do vacuum every 3 to 4 days, I thought the water quality was OK but maybe not.

Only the back 1/3 of the tank is planted and I do not vacuum that.

I will start with the water changes.

[danotaylor]

Sounds good Ed. Keep us posted mate.
I had a similar experience not too long ago in a BB tank. My nitrates were <10 but I was skimping on wc's and feeding deer heart mix. When I upped the wc's the pimples disappeared completely.
All the best sir!

[China Guy]

Daniel,

I feed mostly beef heart, about 20% blood worms and 15% discus pellets. I am feeding at least 2 times a day, they eat everything quickly and I don't see anything left behind. Is this feeding OK?

Also should I reduce the number of plants in the tank?

I do have experience with fish I have been in the hobby for 30+ years but new to Discus.

Any advice you can share is greatly appreciated.

[Filip]

Just like Daniel said I think it's a water quality related and given that you have planted tank (with gravel or substrate maybe ? ) you really need to up your WCs to at least 50% once or better yet twice a week .

[Tuterosso]

and start pray because this going to be fail start

[China Guy]

Just like Daniel said I think it's a water quality related and given that you have planted tank (with gravel or substrate maybe ? ) you really need to up your WCs to at least 50% once or better yet twice a week .

I am a little confused I change at least 150% of the water every week. Your telling me I need to do more than that.

I understand the 50% a day for a week to fix the current problem but how much should I change per day to have healthy fish on an ongoing basis?

[Filip]

I am a little confused I change at least 150% of the water every week. Your telling me I need to do more than that.

I understand the 50% a day for a week to fix the current problem but how much should I change per day to have healthy fish on an ongoing basis?

Doing one 90% WC and doing 9 consecutive 10% WCs is not as nearly the same . There are many WC calculators online , so you can do your own WC math.

Optimal growth for juvies unfortunately requires daily large WCs and Barebottom tank . However , I think that you can get away with 2 weekly 50% changes if your tank is not too Bioloaded .With that said you shouldn't expect discus bigger than 5 inch with this minimal routine in this planted setup .
Planted tanks are only for grown discus and BB tanks are for raising juvies .

[Mando]

I agree with Filip. I think a 50% every other day is more effective than 10% twice a day, daily.Everyone's tank is different and for me, every 2 days x 50% works fine. I think for now with your discus having those pimples, you should keep up with the 50% daily. You asked about plant removal. My advice, for optimal growth, would be BB for fry/Juvies. Planted for adults. Feed Juvies small portions of food throughout the day, 4 to 6 x's a day and adults 3x's a day is fine. Ultimately, it's up to the caregiver.

[14Discus]

I think I saw a gravel bottom. How deep is your gravel?
I might suggest as shallow a gravel as possible or replace it w sand or real fine gravel. Gravel
really traps stuff down in it where the finer gravel or sand will keep most junk at the surface which is much easier to siphon up during vac times and reduce buildups. I’d also gravel vac it each time u do WCs and include that back third.......I’ll bet a bunch of buildup is back there. This build up of feces and uneaten food really effects the water NO3 levels. I have a few plants in mine too, but the roots are in a mere 3/4” or so in super fine gravel/coarse sand. Also, I think I saw larger decor rocks in the back. Do move them once in a while and vac the area there as lots of stuff will settle in there. I like a few plants in my tanks too, but, as nice as a “jungle” of plants looks, it’s a tactical nightmare to deal with in keeping the water ultra clean. I have two plants in each tank w fake driftwood pieces. Lastly.....if u do replace the gravel, it can be done rather easily during water changes using a net and siphoning.

[China Guy]

Thanks everyone for your input, I couldn't reply sooner because the forum is now blocked in China (for what ever reason) so I have to come to the office to connect.

I did remove several plants yesterday and I did find a back corner of the tank with some build up of stuff, I changed the flow of the returns towards the two back corners of the tank and increased the water flow about 75% (that turns the tank volume about 12 times per hour).

The front two thirds is fine sand and the back one third is planting gravel, I will remove the planting gravel and replace it with the fine sand I will also remove the decor rocks.

The bio load is 5 discus 10 rum nose tetras 10 neon tetras and 3 small Corydora cats.

The tank is 40 X 20 X 20 65 gal with 30 gal sump.
The sump uses a filter sock that I change every 2 days and some ceramic rocks for biological
Two 300 watt heaters and a .5 HP chiller (it gets very hot in Suzhou)
The lighting is two EcoTech Radion lights on at 2 PM off at 10 PM on a planted tank daylight schedule.
CO2 injection (I use sparingly)

Is there anything I should change with this setup?

[Filip]

Thanks everyone for your input, I couldn't reply sooner because the forum is now blocked in China (for what ever reason) so I have to come to the office to connect.

I did remove several plants yesterday and I did find a back corner of the tank with some build up of stuff, I changed the flow of the returns towards the two back corners of the tank and increased the water flow about 75% (that turns the tank volume about 12 times per hour).

The front two thirds is fine sand and the back one third is planting gravel, I will remove the planting gravel and replace it with the fine sand I will also remove the decor rocks.

The bio load is 5 discus 10 rum nose tetras 10 neon tetras and 3 small Corydora cats.

The tank is 40 X 20 X 20 65 gal with 30 gal sump.
The sump uses a filter sock that I change every 2 days and some ceramic rocks for biological
Two 300 watt heaters and a .5 HP chiller (it gets very hot in Suzhou)
The lighting is two EcoTech Radion lights on at 2 PM off at 10 PM on a planted tank daylight schedule.
CO2 injection (I use sparingly)

Is there anything I should change with this setup?

Young discus require barebotom idealy to make the best of their growth . Having that in mind the less stuff you have in the tank and the substrate the better . So do your own compromise between the looks of the tank and discus needs , having this rule in mind .

If your real flow is 12 volumens per hour I fear that that might be a little more flow that discus can handle .Make sure there is a quit spot in the tank where your discus can relax and sleep at night without having to struggle against the flow .
Co2 injection fluctuates PH for almost a full degree twice a day and thats not tolerable for discus, especially young ones like yours .
And lastly ,up your WC percentage and frequency regardless of your No3 readings because that will help your discus stay on top of diseases and their growth .

[China Guy]

Flip,

Thanks that all makes sense, I started to clean out the tank last night and will continue to do so, I will also remove the Co2.

As far as the flow goes I have 5 -1" return pipes so I can move a lot of water without creating a lot of turbulence.

One last question if filtration, in my sump I use a 150 mesh sock (I bought more so I can change daily) and have some Marine pure blocks for the bio load, Is that Ok / enough?

[Filip]

Yes, basicly it's all that you need in a filter .... As much biomedia as the filter Chambers holds and a good fine mechanical filter / Prefilter compartment that will keep that huge biofilter constantly clean of gunk and debris.
You regulary clean the mechanical media and you leave the biomedia untouched for prolonged time to do it's work .