Black spots on PB Blue and Fire Red

[JRunyon21]

I know what the spots are but I have a few questions about what these spots mean.

The fish seem 100% healthy. Water conditions are perfect
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrates
7.2 pH
84 Degrees

Everything looks good except the black spots. I am almost 100% positive that the peppering is from the black sand and black background that is in the tank. If that is the case I am perfectly fine with the peppering on the fish.

The few questions I have are...

Does the peppering make them less likely to grow out/become healthy Discus? I know the peppering looks bad but does the peppering have any link to being unhealthy?

Second...Besides lightening up my tank, is there any advice to help fade the peppering?

Third...If today I had much lighter tank(blue background and white sand)would the black spots disappear or are they stuck for good?

[Rod]

The black spots are not a health issue, no worries there.

Fish tend to blend in with thier surroundings, so in a dark tank the fish enhance dark coloring and ina light tank, again they will try and blend by showing lighter colors. You can't remove the black spots, but they will show less in the lighter tank.

[JRunyon21]

I got these Discus from Hans when I took a trip to MD. When I first put them in the tank there was no peppering. Since I have "brought out" the peppering, is it there for good?

J/w wondering b/c removing the black paint on the back of my tank, although it would be hard, could be done. And changing substrate wouldn't be that much of a problem either(I want a planted tank so to get the black sand out would be a twofor).

[Larry Bugg]

In the past all my tanks were black bottom and black back. I had planted tanks and black is pretty much the standard to show off the green. I have some Brilliant Blue Diamonds and Red Mellons that were growing out in these tanks. They all peppered. The B diamonds actually started to turn completely dark. I was new to discus and read the threads here and knew I had to get rid of the black. I took down the tanks, stripped the paint and re-painted a light green. After putting my fish back in the tank the peppering started to go away and the fish overall became much lighter. I now only have a couple of fish that still have a little bit of peppering. I also have some snakeskins and turqs that went into newly painted tanks and they became much lighter.

Removing the paint is very easy if you can take the tank down. I bought a graffiti remover at home depot. Sprayed it on the paint and scraped it off. Took about 3 sprayings to get it all. Took me about 1/2 hour to do a 55. Repainted and had the tank back up in a couple of hours total. Did a total of 8 tanks in a days time.

[JRunyon21]

In the past all my tanks were black bottom and black back. I had planted tanks and black is pretty much the standard to show off the green. I have some Brilliant Blue Diamonds and Red Mellons that were growing out in these tanks. They all peppered. The B diamonds actually started to turn completely dark. I was new to discus and read the threads here and knew I had to get rid of the black. I took down the tanks, stripped the paint and re-painted a light green. After putting my fish back in the tank the peppering started to go away and the fish overall became much lighter. I now only have a couple of fish that still have a little bit of peppering. I also have some snakeskins and turqs that went into newly painted tanks and they became much lighter.

Removing the paint is very easy if you can take the tank down. I bought a graffiti remover at home depot. Sprayed it on the paint and scraped it off. Took about 3 sprayings to get it all. Took me about 1/2 hour to do a 55. Repainted and had the tank back up in a couple of hours total. Did a total of 8 tanks in a days time.

OUTSTANDING Bugman!! Looks like I know my job for tomorrow. What color back does everyone think would be best for a tank that has a stand and canopy that are black.

Anyone have any suggestions for a light substrate that is good for plants and that my two pictus cats would be ok with? They enjoy swimming along the sand so I would like to get something comparable to sand. I know the more fine the rocks are the worse it is for plants, but I'm trying to get the best of both worlds.

[Wahter]

. I know the more fine the rocks are the worse it is for plants, but I'm trying to get the best of both worlds.

Where did you read this? Finer gravels are fine for most plants. I've used 2-3mm sized gravel and had excellent plant growth.



Walter

[JRunyon21]

Where did you read this? Finer gravels are fine for most plants. I've used 2-3mm sized gravel and had excellent plant growth.



Walter

Thanks for the advice. I did some research on planted tank substrate and came up with Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil or Soilmaster Select. Hopefully I will be able to find one of these and use it. Both are a tan/light brown color, are fine for the discus and are cheap lol.

[TRUC10507]

I like the Fire Red from Hans alot:). Just one thing, plants tank is hard to clean and keep water in good condition for discus.

[Wahter]

Thanks for the advice. I did some research on planted tank substrate and came up with Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil or Soilmaster Select. Hopefully I will be able to find one of these and use it. Both are a tan/light brown color, are fine for the discus and are cheap lol.

Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil is very lightweight - so light, that if you wave your hand over it in an aquarium, it'll move. Definitely not the easiest to use if you want to plant a larger plant (like an Amazon sword). Other than that, it's fine for discus. I prefer Seachem's Flourish, but that's priced higher than Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil.

Hope that helps,


Walter

[reed1]

I know what the spots are but I have a few questions about what these spots mean.

The fish seem 100% healthy. Water conditions are perfect
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrates
7.2 pH
84 Degrees

Everything looks good except the black spots. I am almost 100% positive that the peppering is from the black sand and black background that is in the tank. If that is the case I am perfectly fine with the peppering on the fish.

The few questions I have are...

Does the peppering make them less likely to grow out/become healthy Discus? I know the peppering looks bad but does the peppering have any link to being unhealthy?

Second...Besides lightening up my tank, is there any advice to help fade the peppering?

Third...If today I had much lighter tank(blue background and white sand)would the black spots disappear or are they stuck for good?
One of my pigeon bloods (red, cyan, and purple has black spots, I learned that the store I got them from said they were poisoned. They had told me someone from the store over, a nail salon, had put there hands in the tank. They said it's harmless but some of the chemicals just affected his colors when he was youngerhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/photo.php?pid=31208625&id=1124461650

[scottthomas]

You got them from aquatic reef creations on 92? I remember when they lost most of their stock because of the poisoned water. I'm suprised they still sold them. They get some nice fish IMO but like any Pet store they quickly go downhill after arrival. I havent seen any I would buy, but I'm very picky. All their stock looks skinny and underfed. IMO. PM me if you are looking for some better quality fish soon. I have about 200 fry and some will have to go in about a month.

[JRunyon21]

I got the black background off. I used a "paint and adhesive remover" I found at my local hardware surplus store. The only description it had on the back was that it removed paint and adhesives from glass. LOL. It was basically a tool that held a razorblade. It took about 20 minutes and it worked perfectly.

ALl the fish have lightened up and the PB lost some of its peppering while the Fire Red has lost almost all of its peppering.

I guess once I get the substrate changed out things will be lined up to look good.

The background is still blank and...I have some blue paint laying around that I used on another tank. My PB blue, Alenquer and 2 Turqs all have a little blue in them. Should I paint the back blue or just leave it blank?

[scottthomas]

I have most of my tanks painted light blue on back and sides with an off white sand color on the bottom