Substrate change

[Ryan925]

Hi guys just went through a substrate change today.

How long should it take for the discus to bounce back? I'm assuming there is a bit of a transition after removing the fish then putting them back.

They seem to be relatively normal although a little more shy than normal. I'm sure that's to be expected with the stress of the move.

I've noticed that my cobalt as sort of secluded himself.

The one thing that concerns me is my turq. He is swimming normally however every so often he will then sideways then do a backflip. He then will resume normal swimming until later when he will do it again.

Is this something I should be concerned about? I've never observed this behavior before. It has only begun since moving them back to the tank after the change.

Thanks in advance.

[warblad79]

Yes, you should be concern once they stop eating. Healthy discus should easily recover within few hours or even mins.

[Ryan925]

Yes, you should be concern once they stop eating. Healthy discus should easily recover within few hours or even mins.

They all seem perfectly fine except for the one. Seems to exhibit symptoms of a swim bladder issue.

I just very slowly drained and slowly filled about 80% water hoping to correct. I'm going to fell then does epsom and hopefully it works

[Filip]

The way you preformed the substrate transition with discus in the bucket is the safest way for them.
it shouldn cause any adverse effect of any discus you have.
Only thing you need to be carefull in this next couple of weeks is the loss of a huge amount of beneficial bacteria along with your old substrate. That's why it is safe to perform regular WCs untill your filters and new sand catch up with the loss of bacteria .

[Kyla]

shoot i totally forgot to mention the loss of beneficial bacteria, def hit the tank with daily wc to give the BB lost on the surface area of ur old gravel time to grow back in the tank.

the new substrate is much brighter, and they were just relocated x2, but they should adjust and settle in very soon. it could also be the discus is a bit irritated from the very tiny dust particles from the new sand, but u ran the filter before re-addinng them. like filip says, u did everything right, so just keep on the wc and observe for now.

the tank looks great btw!

[Ryan925]

The way you preformed the substrate transition with discus in the bucket is the safest way for them.
it shouldn cause any adverse effect of any discus you have.
Only thing you need to be carefull in this next couple of weeks is the loss of a huge amount of beneficial bacteria along with your old substrate. That's why it is safe to perform regular WCs untill your filters and new sand catch up with the loss of bacteria .


shoot i totally forgot to mention the loss of beneficial bacteria, def hit the tank with daily wc to give the BB lost on the surface area of ur old gravel time to grow back in the tank.

the new substrate is much brighter, and they were just relocated x2, but they should adjust and settle in very soon. it could also be the discus is a bit irritated from the very tiny dust particles from the new sand, but u ran the filter before re-addinng them. like filip says, u did everything right, so just keep on the wc and observe for now.

the tank looks great btw!

Thanks guys. The turq is still doing somersalts this morning althoufg maybe less frequent than last night. I dosed with epsom salt before going to bed. Hopefully he pulls through

[Kyla]

that is def concerning, saw u posted in the emergency room, hope he comes around!! is it just the one discus with issues?

if it was me i'd up to 2x daily wc. when my discus were battling hard and shredding eachother after i added some new large males i did wc in AM before work and when i got home and they healed fast. either way it couldnt hurt.

are u detecting any ammonia or nitrite in the water? has the water cleared up? does the tank smell "off" ? its a weird question, but i know the smell of my tanks and can often tell something is wrong in a tank from the smell before there are any visibe signs. it should smell clean, like moss or a river bank. for example, i've upped wc on my tank since adding that new wood because i can smell the change in the water.

[Ryan925]

that is def concerning, saw u posted in the emergency room, hope he comes around!! is it just the one discus with issues?

if it was me i'd up to 2x daily wc. when my discus were battling hard and shredding eachother after i added some new large males i did wc in AM before work and when i got home and they healed fast. either way it couldnt hurt.

are u detecting any ammonia or nitrite in the water? has the water cleared up? does the tank smell "off" ? its a weird question, but i know the smell of my tanks and can often tell something is wrong in a tank from the smell before there are any visibe signs. it should smell clean, like moss or a river bank. for example, i've upped wc on my tank since adding that new wood because i can smell the change in the water.

Ya it's just the one. All other are acting normal and eating as normal. He is more stable today but shows the spider webs on the side.

I think it's a mixture of stress of move as well as disturbing my bio. I do show some ammonia which I never have before. I am upping the WCs. I'm doing one now.

Thankfully I got a call from Kenny today. He really helped to ease my mind. Was a long commute driving home stressing over this fish. I believe with large daily WCs he should come around.

Take is still not clear today. I just put some purigen in one of my trays while tank is draining.

[Poppa Ryno]

What sand type and how well did you rinse it? Sounds like your experiencing a small bloom. I tried to reply to your emergency room backflips thread. But the site says im not cool enough, lol.

[Poppa Ryno]

Whoops jit reply too soon. The reason i asked what kind is ive seen the pavestone play/pool sand emit ammonia if not rinsed thouroughly. And i had a few fish act weird. Not full backflips, but spazzy. But yes daily WC's and all should settle out. Love the change up man. Just a bump in the road.

[Ryan925]

Whoops jit reply too soon. The reason i asked what kind is ive seen the pavestone play/pool sand emit ammonia if not rinsed thouroughly. And i had a few fish act weird. Not full backflips, but spazzy. But yes daily WC's and all should settle out. Love the change up man. Just a bump in the road.

Hey Ryno I used pool filter sand. I forget the brand but I googled what discus people like and that's what popped up as it is whiter than normal pfs. I own a pool business but the stuff I have access to through wholesale is very brown. I bout it at Ace hardware. I rinsed pretty well in a 5 gallon bucket. Maybe not well enough.

Our good friend Kenny help to ease my stress. Did another large wc this evening. The 6 of the group are acting and eating normally and already looking brighter. I quickly turned lights off when I got home today but I could really see my eruption and cobalt looking much brighter. Going to leave lights off for several days to help with the stressed fish. Just for noon lights on right now for feeding

The one in question is more stable now. He at least stays upright. According to Kenny he should heal up quickly with large WCs. He also suggested I could use furan-2 with no fear of undo stress to tank mates.

[Poppa Ryno]

Lol, Kenny beat me to it. I use a furan2/kanamyacin combo. Your doing great dude. Glad Kenny helped ease your mind. Hes such a great guy.

[Poppa Ryno]

Pool business, huh. Im a lil jealous, its hot here.

[Ryan925]

Lol, Kenny beat me to it. I use a furan2/kanamyacin combo. Your doing great dude. Glad Kenny helped ease your mind. Hes such a great guy.

Ya he is great!! I emailed him and he immediately responded to call him.

Why not get a pool!! It's a lot easier to take care of than a discus tank I can tell you that! Lol

[Poppa Ryno]

Too much moola for me, brother. I just moved & upgraded my fish room.

[Ryan925]

Too much moola for me, brother. I just moved & upgraded my fish room.

Priorities! Lol

[Ryan925]

100372

Black gravel to white sand. Wow what a difference!

[Poppa Ryno]

Very nice results

[Ryan925]

Very nice results

Thanks man I'm pretty happy. My acrobat is looking better today. Spider webs are much less. Tip of his tail still looks kinda jacked but he came out to eat this evening so a good sign

[Filip]

100372

Black gravel to white sand. Wow what a difference!

Wow Ryan , that colour change is remarkable.
I'm happy that your sick discus is getting better too , and I doubt that illness had something to do with the change at the first place.
A job well done .

[Kyla]

wow that colour change is awesome! my blues really lightened up too and the pigeons had less pepper showing. i didnt get any great before/after shots like that, so its great to visually show ppl what a dif the colour of the substrate/bottom can make

[Neptune]

I never hear mention of it in the pages/research done on this site but, I've had good luck with Tetra SafeStart on a couple tanks. I look at the expiration date to make sure I get the freshest and it has done well.

[Neptune]

Those two fish are the same fish just over a different colored substrate??? Man if that is the case, it sure confirms my thoughts that my black diamond sand has to go!

[Ryan925]

Those two fish are the same fish just over a different colored substrate??? Man if that is the case, it sure confirms my thoughts that my black diamond sand has to go!

Yes it is. The word on the street is true lol. I'm so glad I made this change. My cobalt is really bright too. It's really hard to capture the bright blue sheen he has now with phone pic100379

I'll get some better photos soon

[Filip]

I'm so glad that you have documented the change.
Its a "one picture a million words" thing when it comes to teaching newbies of better ways of keeping discus.

[Ryan925]

I'm so glad that you have documented the change.
Its a "one picture a million words" thing when it comes to teaching newbies of better ways of keeping discus.

I think for some people it's a hard pill to swallow that they are doing things "the wrong way." i see many newbies ask for advice then choose not to utilize it. I think it helps for people to actually see the results.