Re: Back in the discus hobby
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Since I had stopped adding to this thread and continued with my journal as part of the 2023 contest, I will now continue my journey here. Here is the link, if you really get bored one day and want to know what happened in-between :-)
https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showt...rt-and-a-reset
Perhaps the big update now is the fact that I had my first travel experience. This is something I had been preparing for by doing daily 65% water changes and feeding protein rich foods (FDBW & beefheart & Tetra granules) up to five times a day. There are seven 5-6.5" fish. All while ensuring that the water parameters remain in check.
I was gone for 9.5 days. During this time there have been no water changes. I had an auto-feeder dispense approximately 30 Tetra Color granules 3 times a day. I had a camera trained on the tank to check in on the fish. The feeder is Wi-Fi enabled and I could have stopped or adjusted the feeding in case there was any sign of distress. I was an 8-hour drive away in case I had to go on a rescue mission. No need though as everything appeared to be fine.
Upon my return I found perfectly normal fish, clear and odorless water and a minimal amount of detritus. No algae. Obviously the first thing I did was a 65% water change followed by a feeding. I saved some of the old water to check the parameters. Here are the results:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: <5ppm
Phosphate: 0.2 mg/l
GH: 3
KH: 0-50ppm
ph: 6.6
I am very happy with these results. As expected, the ph dropped during that time from 7.4 to 6.6. over 9.5 days. I might add some crushed corals to buffer the KH when gone for longer periods of time. Let me know, if you agree or have different ideas. My aged water which had also been sitting there for the same amount of time remained stable at 7.4. This is also good to know, as I was uncertain if there would be more outgassing over 9 days or possibly some organic interaction, especially with the r/o water that has no chlorine or chloramide in it.
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There was no adverse response to the differences in ph during the water change. Another good insight to have. I think I remember that transitioning from lower to higher ph is less of a shock or stressor for fish. Maybe someone can confirm that that is a fact or bro-science?
Here is a video of them eating Al's freeze-dried blackworms after the completion of the water change. In full disclosure this video was taken 3 days after my return.
https://youtu.be/ETgCTzFh6xE
Unfortunately, my reality is that I will be gone like this probably every 6-10 weeks. Trust me, I have debated with myself for a long time if I should even have discus given the circumstances. I am committed to making this work and do everything in my power to keep these fish healthy and well-nourished up to the point of my next travel and then repeat the cycle.
I will be very transparent with my successes and failures as I keep this journal updated. Time will tell if this will be sustainable or if I will run into issues.
On that note, as some of you might recall I had one fish that had some white(ish) stringy poop issue after I had an unnoticed temperature drop to 75 degrees F for 10-12 hours. Under the microscope some type of parasite seemed to be present in very low numbers. It turned out that this was still the case after I returned. The whole 1.5" string of excrement I was able to collect right after it dropped showed 2 adult creatures that clearly are not nematodes. They were more oval shaped, short bodied, visible mouth and a pointy tail. Nothing like a worm. I'll try to take a picture. There were however quite a few moving organisms that are round in nature with no other features under a 4x and 10x magnification. I decided to follow through with Al's advice to treat with Metronidazole @ 500/mg per 10gal. I am on day 2 and am replacing the medication every day proportionally to my water change regiment.
Originally Posted by LizStreithorst
