Discus running wild all over the tank

[yusufm52]

Hey guys yesterday i noticed that for no apparent reason my discus were erratically running all over the tank,
i did a 50% water change yest night before going to sleep and also gave them some food, which i found uneaten till morning today. the filter is turned of for half of the day and is running only at night time.
would be mush obliged if some understood my gibrish..
Thanks

For more Details (history) of my tank, here is a link.
Link:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?94767-New-Build-230-Gallons-Discus-tank
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?96270-HELP-Discus-With-POP-EYE

[TNT77]

Why are you only running filtration at night?

[ktm4us6]

I suggest 50% water change morning and night, and Filtersssss don't get turned offfffff. You need the bacteria in you filters to convert fish waste to nitrate, shutting them off kills the bacteria.

[ktm4us6]

Check your water conditions also.

[bronzie8]

I have had the same problem, it turned out that it was a faulty heater. One didn't make it, I pulled the others out and put them in another tank, they were fine after that. They were all darting around the tank like they were trying to escape from something.

I hope all goes well for your fish, there is nothing worse than losing Discus for seemingly no apparent reason.
Kathy

[yusufm52]

i know the filters don't get turned off, but i didn't want the food to get sucked in the filter. as it is the juvies are picky at eating. each i time i enter the room they stop doing what it is they are doing and go to the corner of the tank near the filter power head.

this is my current schedule:
07:00 am: 1st feeding turning of the filter.
11:00am: 2nd feeding filter is still turned off.
05:30pm: 3rd feeding (if no food is left) turn on the filter
08:30pm: 4th feeding.
10:30pm or 11:00pm: clean the tank and 50%WC,
Temp: 81F-82F
there is no other water change other than what i mentioned. i do not age my water as i have a fairly large overhead storage tank for the house, so directly put the water into the tank, the water has no chlorine or chloramin in it.

i know somethings might not be right so please feel free to comment.

[Tobrienne]

Did you check your tank parameters? pH, GH, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia?

[yusufm52]

I have had the same problem, it turned out that it was a faulty heater. One didn't make it, I pulled the others out and put them in another tank, they were fine after that. They were all darting around the tank like they were trying to escape from something.

I hope all goes well for your fish, there is nothing worse than losing Discus for seemingly no apparent reason.
Kathy

i dont think the heater is faulty cause if it was faulty i would have received a slight shock when i put my hand in the tank. the were calm in the morning.

[yusufm52]

Did you check your tank parameters? pH, GH, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia?

don't have a test kit so will be getting it checked from a local lab here. none of the LFS use test kits for there tanks. :(

[Tobrienne]

don't have a test kit so will be getting it checked from a local lab here. none of the LFS use test kits for there tanks. :(

Don't you have a petstore around? Or even a Walmart? (Not sure where you are but they are all over NA) You can get tests kits just about anywhere. Heck my home depot has them, hehe. As for the heater.. I think the person meant that maybe it wasn't turning on full heat.. you would only get a shock if it was broken.. faulty wouldn't necessarily give you a shock.. just means not working quite right.

[TNT77]

That is a long time to turn off a filter. Anytime you turn off a filter bacteria starts dying off and in canister filters bacteria starts dying off with 15min. If you wish to turn off the filter during feeding only do so for an hour each time at the most. If you have a filter with an intake tube use a prefilter sponge if you have an overflow and you are feeding floating foods use a floating feeding station.
PS this could be the cause of the popeye problem you are having. You turn the filter off for most of the day which can be causing mini cycles.

[yusufm52]

That is a long time to turn off a filter. Anytime you turn off a filter bacteria starts dying off and in canister filters bacteria starts dying off with 15min. If you wish to turn off the filter during feeding only do so for an hour each time at the most. If you have a filter with an intake tube use a prefilter sponge if you have an overflow and you are feeding floating foods use a floating feeding station.
PS this could be the cause of the popeye problem you are having. You turn the filter off for most of the day which can be causing mini cycles.

i have a sponge of a old sponge filter but i dont know if how to sterilize it before adding it to the tank?

[Poco]

It might be the case of mini cycles as your filter is off for such a long time. Good heathy discus should be coming to front off the tank and beg for food everytime they see you and not hide in the corner. Any uneaten food after max 30 mins should be syphoned out and not left to rot in the tank. Use prefilters on the intakes and leave the filters running, they will eat all the food in the tank even from the bottom etc, unless you are overfeeding them.

[yusufm52]

It might be the case of mini cycles as your filter is off for such a long time. Good heathy discus should be coming to front off the tank and beg for food everytime they see you and not hide in the corner. Any uneaten food after max 30 mins should be syphoned out and not left to rot in the tank. Use prefilters on the intakes and leave the filters running, they will eat all the food in the tank even from the bottom etc, unless you are overfeeding them.

maybe thats the resaon. thanks for the help. have currently kept the filter running put an airstone just a few inches away for the in the filter intake so the food doesn't get sucked into the filter. and i only have got these discus for a 3 weeks now, from what i've heard discus can take put to two three months to settle down, is that true or is that wrong reading?