Am I right to think .....

[MadAnthony]

I should buy Discus from breeders that raise their fish in near the same water conditions as my own?

I am forced to use city water. Zero nitrates but a PH of 7.4.

I ask because I bought several (9) fish from RFI, and lost one the first night. The rest are hungry, growing and looking good.

I also bought three from Discus Hans. One died first night, one died the next night. No torn fins. No sloughing slime coat. No dark coloration. No spots. LOTS of hard breathing. The only thing I can figure, and I don’t know much, is PH shock.

What’s a city boy to do?

[mmorris]

How did you acclimate them when they arrived? Was the tank cycled?

[MadAnthony]

My tank was up and running for nearly three months before adding the Discus. I placed their bags in the tank and added a cup of aquarium water every 15 minutes.

The point of my post is .... if the breeder tank PH is 6 - 6.5 and my tank is 7.4 it seems that only the strongest fish would survive! Yes?

[philip69285]

My PH is higher then yours around 7.6-7.8. I dont know what Hans keeps his fish in PH wise. Thats always something to ask as it changes how one would acclimate said fish. Heavy breathing is normally a sign that something is wrong in the water... either a big PH swing or something else. One reason to always have a air pump on hand and or already running in the tank and some salt :).

[Eddie]

Did you mix the fish from RFI and the ones from Hans?

[discusjoe27]

Did you mix the fish from RFI and the ones from Hans?

X2. QT all discus, before putting them in the tank with other discus.

[William Palumbo]

Your first and BIGGEST mistake was buying from RFI. I live in Chicago with city water, which has a higher ph than yours, and is very hard and chlorinated(chloramines). My fish from Hans or "plopped & dropped", with ZERO problems...Bill

[Finatic]

I ran into a similiar problem, and inquired what I might have done wrong here on Simply, and it was explained to me that the drip method is dangerous for fish that have traveled a long time. Here is why. Any waste in the water they were shipped in causes ammonia. When your PH is higher than the water they were shipped in, and there is ammonia present, adding your water combined with the exposure to oxygen once you open the bag causes a spike in the ammonia and thus poisons the fish. Their gills, fins all are burned by the ammonia.

Many have said it is better to just plop and drop when fish have traveled for many hours, only acclimating the temperature by floating the closed bag in your tank. Then take the bag, pour into a bucket and net the fish then drop into your tank.

Im not saying this is the way to always do it, but it makes sense when you do some research on what happens with ammonia and PH differences.

I always used to think it was best to acclimate the water as well as the temperature with new fish using the drip method, but I guess that best applies when you have purchased fish locally and their travel water isnt too polluted with ammonia.

I would say, since you have lost fish (as did I) using the drip mthod, it might be worth trying the plop and drop. Check around the forum using search. It seems there are a lot of varying opinions on this, but worth investigating.

[kaceyo]

I always plop-n-drop fish that have been shipped. Havn't lost one yet doing it that way.

Kacey

[mareshow]

Although this is on another forum i believe it is very important information, I recently got two stingrays and used this method and they are doing excellent
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5350
I strongly agree with it as the science behind the info is very sound from now on i know that after fish have been shipped a long distance i will always drop and plop them :)

[Finatic]

That is a very good explanation to what I was (poorly) trying to explain. trust me, after losing one doing what I always did (drip method) I will plop and drop the next time I get some.

It really sucks to lose a new fish, and if this works, then it will make the enjoyment of a new fish that much better!

[MadAnthony]

Although this is on another forum i believe it is very important information, I recently got two stingrays and used this method and they are doing excellent
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5350
I strongly agree with it as the science behind the info is very sound from now on i know that after fish have been shipped a long distance i will always drop and plop them :)

Great article, thanks

[FastieFishRB03]

I'd say to try and get them from tanks with similar ph.

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

That is a very good explanation to what I was (poorly) trying to explain. trust me, after losing one doing what I always did (drip method) I will plop and drop the next time I get some.

It really sucks to lose a new fish, and if this works, then it will make the enjoyment of a new fish that much better!

I hear ya. I lost a new fish a few months back. it sucked...A BEAUTIFUL Wayne Ng super blue angel. didnt die right away, but after a few days it croaked. no signs of stress on the dead fish, not even dark, just dead. but yeah, I know how it feels, that sucker wasnt cheap either. it was a total bummer. but we live and learn ehh? I did a slow drip with those guys, not a plop and drop...not sure if that made the difference, like I said it took a few days before it died, and it seemed ok. so anyway, next time I recieve some fish that had a long flight, I'll be sure to plop n drop. see how it goes...altho the other 2 fish that came in with the one that died are doing GREAT. so im confused lol.