A new Discus adventure 2023

[Sabrina]

Hi all,

I haven't used this site since 2018/2019 when I last had Discus fish in my life. So a big hello to all of you

3 weeks ago I brought a brand new large tank, around 200 liters volume. Which has been doing a fish in cycle with Seachem Stability. The stock in this tank is 1 Angle fish, 2 Julii Corydora's, 7 Rummy Nose & 7 Serpae Tetras.
Also 3 weeks ago I brought a second hand tank, around 150 liters volume from a Discus owner with a cycled canister filter. The Tetras kept this tank cycled while I looked around for Discus fish in my local areas. 2 days ago I brought 3 new discus from a chain pet store 30 minutes from where I live, I had 5 on hold but 2 of them were not looking great when I arrived to buy them, so I left them there & asked the store to order in more. 2 days later (today) I went back to the store to view the new shipment of discus, I brought 2 more as my target at this stage is 5.
The original 3 & the 2 new ones are now in the 150L QT tank together, for the next 4-6 weeks or longer depending on how we go. Along with 1 Julii Cory at present.
With my history (I struggled with Discus fish in the past) I decided to try pet store Discus first, this time around. I didn't want to spend hundreds on shipped quality Discus fish from breeders in case again I found myself struggling to keep them.
Once I feel they are ready & have grown some down the track, I plan to transfer them to the larger tank. I will remove the Angel & Tetras to the QT tank when this time comes. So there will only be the discus, rummies & Julii Cory's in the large tank..
I am waiting on more Julii Cory's to come into my local store, then I will have a few in the QT tank & a few more in the lager tank..
So, I am feeling very nervous today with the now 5 discus in my life, I hope I have better luck this time. I am also excited to see them grow & thrive, they are only small, so lots of water changes for us!
Any advice or comments are very welcome!
First photo is the 3 Turquoise this morning, second photo is all 5 settling into the tank today, the lights are off at this stage, so the photo is dark sorry. I believe the new 2 are PB variety..

Sabrina

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[Sabrina]

Oh, I forgot to mention what's in the QT tank..

1 canister filter, 1 200L sponge filter, 1 small air pump filter (back up for hospital tank, but I hope I'll never need it!), 1 driftwood and 3 live plants potted in glass tubs with gravel.

[mleibowi]

Best of luck and welcome back. KISS and water changes. Al, Pat, Brian and Jeff will help you with any new issues. Definitely follow Al’s QT procedure. Best of luck!

[Sabrina]

Hi Mleibowi

Thank you, its good to be back! Yes, water change first thing tomorrow morning.. Wonderful, can't wait to meet everyone here!

I forgot to mention the temperature in the tank, and to be honest I think the brand new heater in there is struggling in this cold weather. We had a low of 1c here last night, the temp in this tank went from 29c down to 28c.. It has taken the best part of the day to rise back up to 28.8c, it is a digital thermometer reading. I may need to order a Ehiem (same as in the bigger tank) heater for this QT tank, the Aqua One heater doesn't seem strong enough in the cold weather.

The tank pictured below is my bigger tank

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[Iminit]

Good to see you here. You’ll find solid answers if you have problems. Hopping for no problems .

[Sabrina]

Hey Tom, thank you for suggesting I come back here again

Yes, fingers crossed this time around!

The biggest Turq is showing a lot of aggression since adding the new 2 this morning, I hope this passes quickly!!

[brewmaster15]

Welcome Back Sabrina! Good to see you back again. Hopefully this time you have a better experience.Don't be afraid to ask questions though if something is off. Dealing with issues early on is easier.

The biggest Turq is showing a lot of aggression since adding the new 2 this morning, I hope this passes quickly!!

If it doesn't screening them off temporarily may help.


al

[Sabrina]

Hi Al,
Thank you
Yep will do, not sure what's happening in the tank at the moment, its 2am in the morning and I've woke up with hip pain, to early to wake the fish up, but I got a glimpse when I grabbed a drink, all 5 are still alive at least..
I'll see how the aggression goes today, I am hoping better, I don't want them stressed.

[Sabrina]

Good morning all,

The discus are quite active this morning, and there is no aggression today. Though none of them were really interested in breakfast, so I cleaned that out. I'll try again at lunch time..
I just removed the large potted plant, leaving the 2 smaller potted plants & laid the driftwood down because they were hiding under it & I was afraid it would fall on them. This gives them much more swimming area.

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[brewmaster15]

Sabrina , glad they settled in for you. Can I ask what you are feeding them?
Al

[Sabrina]

Hi Al,

Yes, tropical flakes & granules at this stage. I went to order freeze dried black worm cubes online but the site was all sold out of the regular kind.. None of my local pet stores sell it here, or anything else worth buying for them. I know a pet store
30 minutes drive from here sell them loose in tubs, or at least they use to years ago, might call them now and check.. I'll have to go out of town to buy some other variety foods for them too, but it will have to wait until Monday. Until then they will have to eat what I have unfortunately.

This is the temp & water test done just now on their tank..

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[Iminit]

All good. But double check that thermometer. They can be all over the place.

[Sabrina]

Thanks Tom, I'll get a back up thermometer. I didn't know these ones were not accurate.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Al,

Yes, tropical flakes & granules at this stage. I went to order freeze dried black worm cubes online but the site was all sold out of the regular kind.. None of my local pet stores sell it here, or anything else worth buying for them. I know a pet store
30 minutes drive from here sell them loose in tubs, or at least they use to years ago, might call them now and check.. I'll have to go out of town to buy some other variety foods for them too, but it will have to wait until Monday. Until then they will have to eat what I have unfortunately.

Thats too bad on the blackworms..I know the Farm is currently dealing with some supply issues..hopefully to be resolved soon.. In the short term any of the varieties..original, spinach combo, or biopigment will be okay if you need to get them eating. Hikari frozen blood worms should work too.. though Im not a fan of them.

It can take Discus days to a week or more to feel comfortable enough to start eating ..be patient and feel sparingly and they should come around for you.

[Iminit]

Yes all the other flavors are eaten!
Oh and Al is there any loose bio-pigment available?