Should I treat?

[peteypob]

Hello everyone,
I have three discus @ 2.5" each and had them for about three weeks now in a 29 gallon Eclipse. Planted and graveled with a few peices of drift wood. My tangerine and brillant blue are active eating and very curious. My R & B turq. latley has been occasionally behind plants and color seems to be fading a bit in the center of his body(mainly his base which is red). I have seen him eat but not as much as my other two, hes kind of hesitant and then will take a few chops.Haven't seen him poop yet and doesnt seem to be bloated nor skinny. Am I being paranoid? Any other signs I should look for? Any medications recommended? Im open for comments! Pete ???

P.S. Water @ Ph 6.3, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 60 :-\ , temp @ 84, water changes weekly @ 30%

[Ardan]

Hi,
I would increase wc's to at least 3 times per wk.
I do 50% wc/day and I think it really shows compared to long ago when I did it once per wk.

Also a bit more heat might help 86F.

hth

[Carol_Roberts]

I think most of us started out with three juvenile discus in a graveled 29 gallon tank. . . and found the forums when they became sick. ;)

Do daily water changes of at least 10 gallons. You want your nitrAtes less than 10.

What type of filter do you have? Pull out the media and look inside. Do you see stuff floating inside? Pour out the water and rinse the media in dechlorinated water. A prefilter on the intake will keep food and feces our of the filter.

Discus do best in groups of 6 or more. When you only have three there tends to be one who is picked on and doesn't get enough to eat. There isn't a lot you can do about it at this point - maybe a divider.

Believe it or not your gravel is full of rotting food and feces which is fouling your water. The sooner you get rid of it the better your water quality will be.

[peteypob]

Thanks for your replies Ardan & Carol! :)

The filtration systemis built in with the lid. The intake is runs down to the bottom and sucks it up then through the carbon filter then through the bio-wheel and out. The filter catches everything and dont really see anything floating around.I have heard that carbon is bad for discus. Am I harming my discus with this filtration system? Carol where can i get a prefilter intake?

[discus_nw]

After trying many types of filtration, the cartridge types seemed to always cause me more problems than what they are worth. The Eclipse may be just fine for a community tank of tetras or livebearers, but I do not recommend them for discus and some of the touchy dwarfs.

As for the substrate concerns, I rate gravel right up there with the cartridge filters - problem causers. I am not saying either can't be used, but there is more maintainance work than they are worth to me. All the trapped detritus must be removed. Skip daily clean-up chores in the tank, discus will suffer with these two items.

Three discus in a 29 gal. tank? Again, trouble.

Bigger tank, more discus, more water changes, different filtration, and no substrate are my thoughts here. :)

[Carol_Roberts]

It sounds like your system is set up to suck stuff into the filter and onto the filter pad. The good bacteria is on the wheel. Pull the interior pads out everday and rinse them in dechlorinated water.

Get rid of the gravel. An easy way to do this is to pull the gravel tube off under water and use the hose to siphon out the gravel during a water change. If you have a long hose you can siphon it right out the door.

Your 29 gallon is the perfect size for a breeding tank for a pair of adults.

[alex_m]

Hi Pete,

IMO you are overfeeding and your nitrate is showing that.

Feed small portions and no left overs whatsoever.

Nothing should go in the filter.

alex