Heckel discus - revival help please

[Mooncat]

I have just bought an existing setup, mainly because it included a pair of mature heckel discus and a gold nugget plec’ (along side of about 20 other fish). I have never kept discus, but I have “cut my teeth” pretty thoroughly with other cichlids and the like.

The tank setup that these fish have been living in for the past year includes nitrate of over 100! Relatively hard cold water (I would guess low 70’s) a pH around neutral and with no water changes (at all) more faeces than I’ve ever seen in one tank. To say the discus are dark is an understatement!

I am looking for advice as to how would be best to recover this situation. I have already collected all of the other fish and introduced them (gradually) to my community tanks (I mixed my water slowly into theirs over a period of hours for fear that the shock of the cleanliness difference could be enough to kill them). I plan to collect the discus this weekend and in the absence of your help, adopting the following:-

Introduce them to my slightly hard, neutral pH water in a Juwel 125 (currently stocked with about 15-small cichlids, moving the cichlids out immediately before so as to maintain the biological filters). The existing Eheim 2222 only gently ripples the surface and I plan to add a sponge filter (one of Steve Punchards). Over the coming weeks I plan a 20% water change each week with RO water, gradually softening the water and lowering the pH over time.

Am I on the right track here? What are your thoughts?

[Carol_Roberts]

Don't worry about the RO water. They will quickly adjust to your water. Your slightly hard water is fine until they are in shape to breed. I recommend daily water changes of at least 25%. Set the heat around 82/84. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of salt per 10 gallons when you move them.

Clean, stable water is much more important at this point than trying to keep them in some perfect pH with only weekly water changes.

Discus don't mind a bit of current either as long as there is a quiet corner in the tank

[ronrca]

Well, first thing to do is bring up the temp into the 80s and get the nitrates down, way down below 10ppm at least. Of course cleaning the tank is very problem, getting the crap out of the substrate. I actually would not worry about trying to lower the ph and hardness unless that is what you prefer on doing. Discus do not require low ph and low hardness.

Otherwise acclimating them slowly is always a good thing. Also treat with salt and watch for disease. ;)

Good luck!

[Mooncat]

Thank you. I have no intention of trying to clean up his tank/water...hence transfering them into the relatively small Rio (all my tanks have zero nitrite and less than 10ppm of nitrate).

Is the salt suggestion just by way of a salt bath, or for another more permanent reason? I often see reference to daily water changes where discus are concerned, but if you have established water and only a tiny amount of nitrate...why such regular changes?