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Thread: Amanda's Discus Journey

  1. #16
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Great - I'm thinking I had really bad lighting last night as I was testing so the "blue" color looked clear to me. I'm going to do my WC now... I'll retest everything same time tomorrow!

    Quote Originally Posted by RogueDiscus View Post
    Good. Glad the test was clearer today. Given the change began at 2, I would be inclined to use that as the value, since we're thinking it's on the low side anyway, and that you're planning to add coral.

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    Registered Member 14Discus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Quote Originally Posted by seanyuki View Post
    I add about 14 oz of crushed corals in a mesh bag and insert it into the Aquaclear 110 HOB filter to stabilize the Ph.

    Yes.....now that you’ve redone testing and have some KH.....do as seanyuki suggests.

  3. #18
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Thank you - so I guess my next question is - how much of a water change should actually be done daily? If I do too large of a change, the coral won't have time to work. I've been doing 30% WC's daily as suggested by Cary. Is this a good % to stick with? I check my parameters every morning before my WC and my ammonia & nitrite are always at 0. Nitrates have ranged from 5-20ppm but usually average 10ppm.

    Quote Originally Posted by 14Discus View Post
    Yes.....now that you’ve redone testing and have some KH.....do as seanyuki suggests.

  4. #19
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Go ahead w 30% WCs since u have some KH.....all should be fine. Just check your aged water so it’s similar to what’s in the tank. The crushed coral will just be there to add buffering keeping your PH stable. My earlier concerns were centered around your having 0 KH. You said u retested and had some, so you’re ok.

  5. #20
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Thank you so much!

    Quote Originally Posted by 14Discus View Post
    Go ahead w 30% WCs since u have some KH.....all should be fine. Just check your aged water so it’s similar to what’s in the tank. The crushed coral will just be there to add buffering keeping your PH stable. My earlier concerns were centered around your having 0 KH. You said u retested and had some, so you’re ok.

  6. #21
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Amanda;

    I suggest you focus on water changes and do not worry about pH or KH. I've seen discus raised successfully under a variety of conditions. The common thread with all of them was large water changes. At one point, the water pipe in front of my house was replaced and the chemical treatment they used to seal the pipes killed off most of my fishroom. I switched to pure R/O for four years and the fish grew fine and spawned regularly. My friend up the road has rusty water coming out of his well system. His discus grew spectacularly with daily 100% water changes.

    I'm sure there's a perfect pH and a perfect KH, but fresh, clean water will account for the overwhelming amount of growth in your fish. The energy spent on tweaking water chemistry will produce far less satisfying results than just making water changes.

    Good luck, Willie
    At my age, everything is irritating.

  7. #22
    Registered Member seanyuki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Preferably do a water change (80%)one hour after feeding them the beef heart and siphon the leftover foods.Beef heart easily foul up the water.I use water pump to drain the water.EA7CE0A7-03F1-4734-A2DE-4E5022E25064.jpeg
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  8. #23
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    I have a pump like this one too! I usually do my water change about an hour after their breakfast (9am or so)... I'm definitely missing some of the BH though during my vacuum.. I'm finding it later on in little nooks in the tank. I'm going to be switching them to BH once per day (instead of twice), because cleaning it is a real challenge and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

    Quote Originally Posted by seanyuki View Post
    Preferably do a water change (80%)one hour after feeding them the beef heart and siphon the leftover foods.Beef heart easily foul up the water.I use water pump to drain the water.EA7CE0A7-03F1-4734-A2DE-4E5022E25064.jpeg

  9. #24
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Day 7 of having the fish.... Husband is starting to love them... I walked downstairs and all I see is him walking by the tank and saying "Hi Guys, you love me, don't you?".. because they're following him around waiting to be fed breakfast... HAHAHA

  10. #25
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Does anyone know what would cause my Discus to rapidly shake their caudal fin/ventral fin? I've noticed this behavior from a couple of the fish... They'll swim while twitching/flicking/shaking their tail or fin as if they're trying to get something off of them and then they stop and are totally fine... Has only happened a few times... I have found a couple of little white dots on my White Leopard's tail fins but I honestly don't think it's ick.... I'm going to try to snap a picture..

    These are my white leopards.. and now I'm noticing one of them looks a little darker than the other? These are the only fish with the small white dots.
    Also important to note - that the white Leopard's are not the fish that I see twitching... Could the twitching be a territorial thing?

    IMG_7467.jpg
    IMG_7468.jpg
    IMG_7471.jpg
    Last edited by Acerrato; 03-26-2020 at 09:38 AM. Reason: add

  11. #26
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Okay so something odd happened... They were all fine and then next thing you know, they're all huddled near the driftwood... a few of them start challenging each other (nipping, chasing)... one of my German Wonders turned dark brown and hid... I put food in the tank a few minutes later and everyone is back to normal and eating... Water parameters are fine...

    Does the "twitching/vibrating/Shimmying" sound like it could be from challenging/territory disputes?
    Last edited by Acerrato; 03-26-2020 at 10:40 AM.

  12. #27
    Registered Member 14Discus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    The twitching could very well be social/territorial or even mating rituals. Do they ever rub their bodies against your driftwood or make quick darting/flashing against anything?

    Do look over very carefully the fish w white spots and others as spots on the body are harder to see. Now.....if these were my fish and I saw .....any......more of those white dots or those same fish even had just one more dot, I would tend to think it is Ich. The reason why I’d be rather concerned and very observant is bc, if it is Ich, treating it early is of paramount importance imho. Just out of curiosity......is your WC water temp exactly the same as your tank water temperature and have you introduced anything else to your tank like plants, snails, dither fish, or even Discus? Btw.....if it is Ich....you’ll have treat the entire tank and just remove the one or two fish w white spots. For every spot you see on the fish means there is likely 10-100x the number of free swimming younger forms of Ich you cannot see in the tank/gravel. Hopefully some others will chime in, but my gut tells me you do have the early signs of Ich....based mostly on the first of your three pics.....and I do wish I was wrong. Stay on top of this though and don’t fret, as Ich is indeed treatable and reading about the Ich lifecycle will greatly help you understand how to attack it.....and with what.

  13. #28
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Bill - thank you for your response! I do notice the fish rubbing against each other, in fact, at least half of them are doing it. I thought it was mating rituals but I feel like they're too young for that? I'm no expert though! They don't ever just randomly dart around - the only time they dart is when I turn their lights on too quickly or turn them off too quickly. They don't rub against the walls of the tank or the driftwood either - just each other. I'll keep an eye on the white spots and see if any changes. I haven't introduced anything new into the tank and my WC temp is usually pretty identical to what's it the tank (maybe a half degree in either direction)..

    Quote Originally Posted by 14Discus View Post
    The twitching could very well be social/territorial or even mating rituals. Do they ever rub their bodies against your driftwood or make quick darting/flashing against anything?

    Do look over very carefully the fish w white spots and others as spots on the body are harder to see. Now.....if these were my fish and I saw .....any......more of those white dots or those same fish even had just one more dot, I would tend to think it is Ich. The reason why I’d be rather concerned and very observant is bc, if it is Ich, treating it early is of paramount importance imho. Just out of curiosity......is your WC water temp exactly the same as your tank water temperature and have you introduced anything else to your tank like plants, snails, dither fish, or even Discus? Btw.....if it is Ich....you’ll have treat the entire tank and just remove the one or two fish w white spots. For every spot you see on the fish means there is likely 10-100x the number of free swimming younger forms of Ich you cannot see in the tank/gravel. Hopefully some others will chime in, but my gut tells me you do have the early signs of Ich....based mostly on the first of your three pics.....and I do wish I was wrong. Stay on top of this though and don’t fret, as Ich is indeed treatable and reading about the Ich lifecycle will greatly help you understand how to attack it.....and with what.

  14. #29
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Also wondering if I should bring the temp up to 87F as precautionary? It's currently at 86... Someone mentioned to me that ick cannot survive in 87F temps.....

    Also want to add that I just went back through all of the photos I've taken of my fish and the 2 White leopards have had those teeny spots in the same locations on the tail since they arrived 7 days ago. If it were ick, at 86F, wouldn't it have rapidly spread by now?
    Last edited by Acerrato; 03-26-2020 at 01:21 PM.

  15. #30
    Registered Member 14Discus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amanda's Discus Journey

    Most forms of Ich do not live that high, but I’ve seen Ich at that temp. If it were I, I’d put temp to 90, treat w Paraguard with extra aeration as oxygen levels drop off w higher temps. This combination has worked for me great years ago. I also have Rid Ich Plus by Kordon should I need a one-two punch. Others will disagree w me and swear by heat alone and that’s fine. I’m just sharing how I’ve dealt with it years ago. Paraguard by Seachem is great stuff, is mild to fish and highly effective. One must, though, follow the directions and not deviate. Luckily, my supply of Paraguard has sat idle for the last few years......knock on wood.

    Incidentally.....raising the temp may kill off .....most.....Ich, but its main goal is to speed up the life cycle of Ich so the treatment will have more time to act in the two stages of the Ich lifecycle vulnerable to meds. Interestingly, treatments do not act on the spots on fish or the egg mass stage in your tank bottom, just when the Ich is in its free swimming stage. IMHO, elevated temp w ....say Paraguard, is a great sure fire approach to dealing with Ich.

    Yes....it would rapidly spread, but still takes time and, as I’m hoping in your case, it may just be getting started. Remember, too, that this organism multiplies in exponential factors. What may seem like a few now may quickly become a lot more.
    Last edited by 14Discus; 03-26-2020 at 01:49 PM.

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