Need help

[ben2988]

Hello folks,

I have some concerns as to why 2 of my discus stopped eating. I will list as much info as I can. I have 4 discus and two are dominate for sure. one of the less dominate fish hides most of the time. the other less dominate follows the group but is chased when attempting to eat. Here is my set up:

Tank size is 150 XT 48" wide 31" tall 24" deep with corner overflow

trickle filter for 300 gals. 700 gph

30% W/C every 2 days pure R/O water ( probably not good )

CO2- 2 bubbles per second injected in the intake of my pump that is outside of the sump. The impeller is the diffuser and I'm probably not getting much co2due to degassing.

PH = 6.0
kh = 1dkh ( test changes to yellow endpoint with one drop of reagent )
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
Nitrate = less than 10 ppm
temp = 84 F
lighting 4- 48" t5 flouros

tank mates = 4 discus 4"+, 2 bristle nosed plecos, 2 fire grouies, 10 cardinal tetras, 3 amazon swords. flourite substrate.

I'm sure I'm doing some things wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

I want to add more discus and ditch the groumies

[akumastew]

Although I am no expert, I am sure the experts are going to say...

"You need to have a minimum of 6 Discus in the group, so that the agression is spread more evenly amongst the group"

Good News: With a 150 gallon tank, you have room for quite a few mroe Discus.

I am sure they will also mention with such a low kH you run the risk of pH dropping quickly due to the low buffering ability of RO water.

[hope]

I am also not an expert but I agree with above and I also think you might reconsider a light layer of pool sand substrate - Discus are very particular about a very clean tank (as you know) and I'm not sure about the florite. How old are your discus? If they are young, maybe it's too soon for them to be in a mixed tank - I raised mone in bare bottom until they were a bit older.

In any case I think the maoin issue is the number you have. I hope this helps until you get more info from the experts.

[ben2988]

What is the prefered KH?
All four discus are greater than 4" body size. Nose to tail 5"

So I guess I should add more discus. I think I'll add six more.
How should I add the new arrivals?
Do I need to quaritine the dominate group?

Thanks again

[akumastew]

What is the prefered KH?
All four discus are greater than 4" body size. Nose to tail 5"

So I guess I should add more discus. I think I'll add six more.
How should I add the new arrivals?
Do I need to quaritine the dominate group?

Thanks again

QT the new arrivals for 6 weeks or so. I do not think you have to QT your current stock.

A lower KH is normally advised by those that have interest in breeding. Although people have had success with higher KH.

From my reading here, the thing that is most important is keeping your water parameters consistant. (pH, gH, kH and temp) as well as sticking to a strict Water chagning regime to keep your Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate as close to zero as possible.

I have read that when you add a new group of Discus, you can move some tank decorations around, so that new terrorities can be set up. I have no experience in doing this, so other more experienced folks can advise on that.

[pcsb23]

A couple of other observations too ...

Using just pure RO will lead to probs in the long term - you will have virtually zero KH, so a ph crash is imminent, particulalry if you increase the bio load.

If you have to use RO (I do btw) then re-mineralise it. Use either filtered tap water or use re min salts (sera, tms, ro-right preis etc).

Flourite is a good substrate for plants particularly swords, but is best used as a lower layer ime. Add pool sand or play sand over the top would work imo.

I agree about needing more discus and I agree about qt'ing them. Also make sure you feed a well balanced diet.

[ben2988]

Thanks to all. In review I need to:

1. Raise KH to......
2. Add mineral salts. (does Seachem's Discus trace or Prime help)
3. Add more large QT'd discus to disperse bullying

Funny you should mention varied diet. My fish would only eat FBWs until today. I followed the advice given in other threads and did not feed them yesterday. Today they scarfed Tetra bits. Very cool.

[pcsb23]

Raise your KH to 3 or 4.

I have not used Seachem discus trace, but from what I read it is just trace elements so it won't do the job. Something like this is needed, http://www.kentmarine.com/products/kent-ro-right.htm or filtered tap water.

Prime is a dechlorinator only.

[ben2988]

What should I do short term for the fish that wont eat. Is it to late? He does not look good. I'm very sad for him/her.

[akumastew]

Ben you can check out how I mix my RO with faucet water here:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=74115

Post no. 7.