IS AN RO UNIT A NEED???

[Jono]

i've gotten into discus only 2 months.. having problems taking care of them. just learnt about an R/O unit... is it a "NEED" to purchase one of these??
currently my discus are dark, hiding and not reacting good to food. i have a white discus thats lately been growing black marks on his forehead and body. i have a planted tank, (only now i regret the gravel and plants) what would be the best way to achieve a BB tank without harming my discus.

[RandalB]

Jono,

Welcome to Simply! Sorry to see your first post is a problem. You've definately come to the right place though...

The only way to determine if you need an RO unit or not is to check your tap water. Most people don't need RO units to keep discus. There are exceptions of course. Check your water parameters and post back here. We'll see if we can determine what you need.

Check: (Both Tank and Tap water)
TDS (Total Dissolved solids)
pH
kH (Carbonate Hardness)
gH (General Hardness)
NitrAte
NitrIte
Ammonia
Temperature

You also need to check if your municipality is using Chlorine or Chloramine unless you're on a well.

How big is your tank and what is your water change routine?

How Old are your fish and what size?

What's your stocking density? How many fish for your tank?

It may be that your fish are not being effected by water conditions at all, there are lots of things that might make your fish act the way they are: Disease, fear due to surroundings, etc

Let's get some more info and see if we all can figure out what's bothering your fish.

DO NOT buy an RO unit until we know more, if you have young fish, there is an 85% or better chance that you don't need one yet.

Converting to BB is best done by moving the fish to a different tank and removing the gravel. Clean the inside of the old tank, refill and replace the fish. You can get a couple of sponge filters started now in your current tank.

Everyone feel free to jump in here, let's figure out the problem!

RandalB

[Jono]

ok sorry to say i have jumped into discus without knowing enough.
can u please tell me the essential test kits i need? at what levels?
KH
GH
nitrate
nitrite
ammonia
temperature
i have a 3 foot tank. unfortunately i have no spare tanks to put the discus in while i convert the tank to BB. would it be ok to store the discus in a smaller barrel i use to age my water? i do a 25% and a %50 wc per week.
my discus look like theyve lost weight, and are growing smaller in size. one seems to be swimming up and down the glass, which he doesnt usually do. im scared they might not be in good enough condition to survive while i get my water measurements right. what could i do???

[Howie_W]

Hi Jono,

Welcome to the forum. Let's get the basics taken care of first;

1. You can use your barrel to put your fish in while you get the tank cleaned out...make sure the temperature matches the temp. in your tank. Your tank should be thoroughly cleaned, walls wiped down etc., before setting back up.

2. Water changes. You need to change the water daily...aprox. 50%. Most people keep the temp. set between 82-86 F.

3. Feeding. Your fish need a balanced diet. Juveniles especially need to be getting about 4 meals a day.

4. Test kits. You should plan on getting the following kits; pH kH, gH ammonia, nitrite. All are available at any lfs or on-line. As soon as you've done this, let use know your readings.


Can you also answer a few questions?

1. How many gallons does your tank hold? You mentioned it was 3 feet. However, there are a wide variety of 3 foot tanks.

2. How many Discus do you have and how old are they?

3. What are you feeding them?

All of the answers to your questionscan be found on this forum. Please take some time to read through the information here. You can also use the search function to look up a specific topic, and then ofcourse come back with more questions.


Howie

[Jean]

Heyya Jono~

I used the master kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals That will do it all except the TDS-that you can use a monitor for (Randal sells those)

The kit is here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...amp;in_merch=1

You can also find it at other on line stores I am sure as well.

HTH
Jean ;D 8)

[Jono]

Tank info...
44 gallon tank.
i have 3 discus. im guessing 2x 6-7 cms 1x 8-9 cms
i feed them a variety of frozen brine shrimp,frozen blood worms, discus menu, frozen beefheart, i tried feeding them live black worms they love it, but should that only be fed as a treat? the worms kinda look dirty like they'll harm the discus. i try to feed tetra bits, but they dont touch them.
only recently they all look in terrible condition. white dots are appearing on fins, dark color,not eating. hiding
i need to get my act together with the water measurements, but how can i keep them alive while im doing this, it could take days. i dont wanna lose all three discus.

[Jono]

Above are the discus when they were still healthy.
below is a bad shot of how skinny his getting.

[Cosmo]

Jono, looks and sounds like you could have a disease issue here, possibly brought on by water quality, possibly brought in inside the live worms.

Think you need to seek the advise of the resident disease guru... Carol Roberts. Surprised she hasn't weighed in on this one already, you might try IMing her.

good luck, beautiful fish
Jim

[Jono]

i have taken a dramatic step.... put all my fish in a water ageing barral, while the tank has been clean out for BB.... im quite lost on my essential needs... and dont think my sick discus in the barrel will survive... :'(

[Carol_Roberts]

The black specks on the white fish is pepper - a common reaction to stress and illness. Most juveniles eventually do get sick if kept in graveled, planted tanks with only two water changes per week. What type of filter do you have? Is it full of decomposing fish food? Be sure to rinse the filter in dechlorinated water too.

Do daily water changes of at least 25%. Clean water helps appetite.

Do you actually see them eat? Have you seen any long strings of mucus hanging from the vent. They may need a course of metronidazole for intestinal flagellates (see Most Common Treatments in the disease section).

If they don't make it at least you are on the right track. Get six more youngsters and try again.

[Howie_W]

Hi Jono,

How are your fish doing? Have the fish been placed back in the cleaned out tank yet? Please keep us updated.

Howie

[Jono]

hey guys,
while the fish were in the barral... they somehow become much more healthy, maybe because the water condition was easier to maintain, and the enclosed walls kept them out of stress.. they have grown more stronger and react better to food.. the white fish has lost his black pepper spots... i've juss placed them back into the tank. they are doin ok. except i noticed white spots on the white fish's right fin.
since in the barral it was enclosed and they seemed less stressful, should i get some backdrop wallpaper to cover the tank up??
im using an internal aqua ball filter... i dunno if its doing a good job though
though the fish are hiding behind the filter now..

[Jono]

this is what the tank looked like before the change....

[Jono]

ANOTHER THING....
i had cardinal tetras in the tank with the discus before... and now ive seperated them.. because the tetras are growing white spots all over their bodies.. would this effect my discus??

[Howie_W]

Hi Jono,

It looks like you've taken a step in the right direction. Your fish are suffering from a combination of poor water quality and stress.

I think your next step should be to ditch that filter you are using an switch to a Hydro Sponge, and a hang on the back filter such as the Aqua Clear.

Some other things that will help your fish would be to add some rock salt; aprox. 1-2 table spoons per every 10/gallons., and also to temporarily raise the temp. in your tank a few degrees to 88 F. This will help clear their intestines, and allow easier breathing. Also if your going to do this do not feed them. Instead perform your water change, and then add the disolved salt and slowly raise the temp.

As for your tank, reduced lighting also helps...you no longer have a planted tank, so a more subdued atmosphere can help reduce stress.

Howie