Discusaurus
09-19-2016, 07:36 PM
We're wanting to add either a pair or a group of discus to our tank, but here is our situation:
Our tank is a 65 gallon with bare-bottom (with the exception of a few larger stones), a large wood structure with tall, fake plants throughout. We run over-sized sponge filtration, a bio-wheel filter with mechanical floss/added peat pouch for water softness, and run 84 degrees. Ph is a steady 7.0. Our additives include Neutral Regulator(in small amounts), Prime, and bacteria. We were changing 50-90% of the water with “aged” (aerated, temperature controlled) water daily which we can resume for our discus. We are currently doing roughly 30% every two or three days.
We have a handful of old fish from a past tank - a few small tetras, four glass catfish, 6 kuhlis, 3 false julii corys, and a female albino bristlenose pleco. These fish have all been treated with Clout and PraziPro as a preventative.
We're experienced fishkeepers who've successfully kept discus in the past. Our first group we raised in a 55 gallon aquarium with a bunch of other fish with substrate, and they got about 4-4 ˝ inches long. Eventually, they went to a local long-time enthusiast who said, “You did pretty well for a first try”. Several months ago, we purchased some discus from a LFS (the same from whom we purchased our first group). There were several red flags in conversation with the salesperson, but we were wooed, against our better judgment, to purchase some of their young, house-bred discus at a lesser price in an attempt to grow them out and pair them off. (They were only 1 ˝ – 2 inches). Once we got the discus home under our tank light, we noticed that they were thinner-bodied than we'd initially thought. There was bullying throughout the group of 6, but that's not that abnormal. We tried target feeding reclusive fish who weren't readily eating. But, the discus individually died over the course of about a month. We lost not one other fish in our tank. To the contrary, the other fish are flourishing.
So, this leads us to our questions:
1. We feel like the discus we lost were undernourished, undersized, etc. We've also since read that that size discus is still considered fry. Does what we did sound correct in their care, or did we make some mistakes (other than purchasing small discus from a LFS)?
2. After the tank has been running, without the discus, for 5-6 months, would it be considered quarantined? Or, do we need to consider sterilizing everything in the tank?
3. Should the tank be fallow for a period of time before adding discus?
4. Should we move out all or some of the other fish?
5. Can we get 2-3 large discus without issue, or do adults need to be added in groups, also?
Our tank is a 65 gallon with bare-bottom (with the exception of a few larger stones), a large wood structure with tall, fake plants throughout. We run over-sized sponge filtration, a bio-wheel filter with mechanical floss/added peat pouch for water softness, and run 84 degrees. Ph is a steady 7.0. Our additives include Neutral Regulator(in small amounts), Prime, and bacteria. We were changing 50-90% of the water with “aged” (aerated, temperature controlled) water daily which we can resume for our discus. We are currently doing roughly 30% every two or three days.
We have a handful of old fish from a past tank - a few small tetras, four glass catfish, 6 kuhlis, 3 false julii corys, and a female albino bristlenose pleco. These fish have all been treated with Clout and PraziPro as a preventative.
We're experienced fishkeepers who've successfully kept discus in the past. Our first group we raised in a 55 gallon aquarium with a bunch of other fish with substrate, and they got about 4-4 ˝ inches long. Eventually, they went to a local long-time enthusiast who said, “You did pretty well for a first try”. Several months ago, we purchased some discus from a LFS (the same from whom we purchased our first group). There were several red flags in conversation with the salesperson, but we were wooed, against our better judgment, to purchase some of their young, house-bred discus at a lesser price in an attempt to grow them out and pair them off. (They were only 1 ˝ – 2 inches). Once we got the discus home under our tank light, we noticed that they were thinner-bodied than we'd initially thought. There was bullying throughout the group of 6, but that's not that abnormal. We tried target feeding reclusive fish who weren't readily eating. But, the discus individually died over the course of about a month. We lost not one other fish in our tank. To the contrary, the other fish are flourishing.
So, this leads us to our questions:
1. We feel like the discus we lost were undernourished, undersized, etc. We've also since read that that size discus is still considered fry. Does what we did sound correct in their care, or did we make some mistakes (other than purchasing small discus from a LFS)?
2. After the tank has been running, without the discus, for 5-6 months, would it be considered quarantined? Or, do we need to consider sterilizing everything in the tank?
3. Should the tank be fallow for a period of time before adding discus?
4. Should we move out all or some of the other fish?
5. Can we get 2-3 large discus without issue, or do adults need to be added in groups, also?