Help!!!!

Hi,

I hope someone can help me here? I just did a 15g wc (RO) on my 55g Community/Angelfish tank. The Angels are not happy at all. Their gills are flared and they are lethargic.

The only thing I did different this time is add 1 tsp. RO Vital after reading the warnings on this website about pH crashes.

The water chem is:
pH 7.0
Gh 3 deg
Kh 2 deg.
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0

I immediately put Carbon in the Magnum filter and started to agitate the water more.

My Discus are doing very well with the RO Vital thank goodness!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

[Ardan]

Hi,
Did you remove the chlorine?
If not, then put some chlorine remover in the tank.

Are the discus in the tank with all the other fish? Discus usually do best by themselves.

Was the ph on the wc water the same as the ph in the tank? large ph swings will stress fish.

hth

Thanks for the reply Ardan.

The pH of the RO water is 6.5. I've done larger water changes in the past with no difficulties. Not like this anyway.

I just checked on the 55g tank. The Angels appear to be doing better (coming up to the front to see if food is in the offing). I thought I was going to lose them for awhile.

My four Discus are in a 29g tank all by themselves except for one Cory. They are voracious eaters and growing very fast. I change 5g/ day on this tank with no problems----yet.

Would you suggest more volume with regards to WC's for the Discus?

I forgot to add that I did throw some stress coat into the tank as well as chlorine neutralizer. Isn't RO water supposed to be chlorine free?

Bill

[Ardan]

Hi,
How many discus and what size are they?

A 29 gal is good for a full grown pair to breed in.
Usually discus do best in groups of 6 or 8 in a 50 gal.

If you and your fish are happy though its certainly up to you. I usually change 50%/day with aged water, preheated to tank temp. 30 to 50% / day is also a good regimen.

Many people use different methods with good success.

Best of luck
hth

[Ardan]

Yes RO water is chlorine free. I misunderstood. Maybe the ph change or the RO vital got to them.
Stability and staying with what has been working may be best. I don't see that RO vital is necessary. I mix tap + RO to achieve the parameters that I want. IE gh, kh.

hth

I have four Discus. Two are 2.5 in. the other two are about 3.5 in.

I would like to do larger quantity WC's, but I have no setup to preheat the water. Would a 55 gal. garbage can with a 250w heater and airstone be adequate?

Thanks,

bill

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, if your water is soft. If it is hard you may need more than just an airstone. In fact it's a good excuse to buy a pond pump. Then you can pump your aged water to the tank

Hi Carol,

Yes, my water is very soft (RO). In fact, I have no choice in the matter. The whole house runs through a softening system. I just got the RO unit for the fish as well as drinking, but the fish were the first concern. The company that installled the RO system also put a 10 gallon tank in the basement so I could have easy access to enough for my fish. Of course, this came at a price.

Do you mean NO MORE LUGGING BUCKETS if I puchase a pond pump? I think that sounds like a great idea.

My wife is getting pretty annoyed with this new disease (Discus) that I have recently acquired. She is also looking at the checkbook now and then and just shakes her head! I'll just have to tell her that it will save my back from future problems and helping out the economy to boot!!!!

Thanks for the idea.

Bill