Discus fin rot continuing... Please help

[Jmwoitallq]

I posted a little over a week ago about a fin rot problem I was having. I was told to try removing the gravel. I took the fish out of the tank a week ago and removed the gravel and replaced it with a thin layer of sand... Now, a week later I am still not seeing any improvement. I have been continuing 80% daily water changes, and nothing. Am I not being patient enough? Also, my water quality has not been very good since the change to sand? Anybody have any ideas? My ammonia is now at .25ppm(Just did another water change), my nitrite is at 0ppm and nitrate is at 5ppm. Temp is as 83.3°. another issue that has popped up is some new algae growth on the wood and plants(never had this with gravel...) Fish are still eating fine and acting normal, the fins are tattered though...

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Jmwoitallq, sounds like the tank is going thru a mini-cycle. The larger water changes will help ease the tank over this hump. Are the fins getting worse? Also if they have been tattered for a while they may need to be trimmed. I have a heckel like that.

119514

Note that one of the hard rays is broken and that can not be fixed. However soft fins can be trimmed like Al shows in this thread http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?27044-Heckel-Hair-Cut!!!!&highlight=Heckel+haircut.
Pat

[Jmwoitallq]

What would you consider a long time to be? I would say they are going on 2-3 weeks of having torn fins... some fish seem to be getting new areas that are torn...

[Willie]

The top fish is terminally stunted. It will not recover. Everyone has his own approach, but in my fishroom, that fish would go into the freezer. The fish in the bottom picture is recoverable.

Your problem is bigger than the fin issue. We have said again and again, young discus will not survive in a planted tank. Not that they will not thrive, but they will not survive. Its a hard lesson that many will only learn after going through multiple sets of fish. I recommend you either go completely bare bottom, no sand, no wood, no plants, or repopulate a planted tank with adult fish. Large water changes will not fix this problem.

Good luck, Willie

[Jmwoitallq]

So no matter what I do, unless I remove the sand and plants this will not stop???

[Willie]

That’s been my experience with raising small discus. Take a look at the Fry Growout Challenge to see what everyone else is doing. Also, I believe that top fish is passed the point of no return.

Willie

[Jmwoitallq]

What if I took the plants and wood out and just had a thin sand bottom? Or a bare bottom with driftwood? Would any of these be options?

[LizStreithorst]

I don't totally agree with Willie. Paul Butler grew out Discus successfully in a planted tank but he said that it was very hard work and that he would not do it again. It for sure isn't a job for anyone but the most experienced.

A BB tank with Driftwood would be fine. You could even glue some anubius to the drift wood.

[Jmwoitallq]

What about sand?

[LizStreithorst]

BB means no substrate whatsoever. YOu can paint the bottom of the tank with a sand color if you think that it will make it look better. I always paint the bottom and sides a light blue, but any light color will work.

[Willie]

..Paul Butler grew out Discus successfully in a planted tank but he said that it was very hard work and that he would not do it again. It for sure isn't a job for anyone but the most experienced...

Like Liz said, anything is possible. Running 100 yards under 10 seconds is possible, just not possible for anyone on this forum. A good friend of mine here in the Twin Cities grow up some very nice Stendkers in a planted tank, except that tank was 800+ gallons. Ten experienced hobbyists are raising young discus right now and you can check out their experience, http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?406-Discus-Grow-Out-Challenger-Contest-2018 here.

A sand bottom is not going to work. Anything else in that tank is simply another place for crap to accumulate.

Good luck, Willie