Need some advice!! transporting, water differences and PH

[parrottbay]

I am on leave (vacation) in Knoxville TN seeing the in-laws and was looking on craigslist and saw some discus for sale. So I HAD to go see them. Very nice 5-6 inch long discus for about 300$ for 5. My big question and concern is even if I was to get these guys at this price which I am not so confortable with, then I am not sure if they would survive the ride; my wifes concern with our luck. My concern would be once they are there; Jacksonville NC; the PH is about 8 and PH here in Knox is about 6 according to the LFS. Would this be a bad investment? I am kinda unsure about the dramatic changes in difference in water since I have lost a lot due to buying and bringing them to my house even in the same county. Should I just stay away? Does it matter/ make a difference since I see fry shipped on here and no one really discusses their water at least on the forum, maybe a PM. Just clueless on this subject.... The man selling the fish now using a machine thing I never heard of until now for reverse osmosis.... and then adds de-chorinator. Last question, is this a good way to go and where can I get one and how much will this set me back?

I apologize for the jumping around if you thought I did, but THANKS for your time and comments!

James

[JenTN]

Hey, I'm in Knox :-) double check that PH where they are at, mine is 7.2!!!!

[Skip]

good gawd.. with gas prices.. you are better off shipping..

[magewynd]

I agree with Skip. One thing that stands out. You are on vacation. If you are not totally set up, cycled tank and ready to go when you get them home, you may lose the whole bunch in the first week. Just my thoughts.
Steve

good gawd.. with gas prices.. you are better off shipping..

[Larry Bugg]

good gawd.. with gas prices.. you are better off shipping..

LOL, Skip, He has to pay for the gas to get himself home so carrying the Discus would be no additional gas cost.

I wouldn't be worried about the PH difference. Discus are shipped on a daily basis. Normally the PH in the bag will be lower than the PH of the new tank because of the Poo and urine deposited in the bag in transit. Going from a lower PH in the bag to a higher PH isn't a problem. It can be a problem going from a higer PH to a lower PH but that isn't the case here. What I would be concerned about is what Steve mentioned. Do you have a cycled QT tank at home to put them in when you get there? It isn't advisable to put any new fish in an established tank without QT first.

[Skip]

sorry.. i was multi tasking and missed the VACATION Part :)

[aalbina]

Concur that you need to be ready to accept new fish. The pH difference in folks from the area is likely due to that new machine thing - a reverse osmosis system. You'll see the water they produce referred to here as RO water. RO water would not have any chlorine in it and would likely have a pretty low pH.

Adam

[JenTN]

Concur that you need to be ready to accept new fish. The pH difference in folks from the area is likely due to that new machine thing - a reverse osmosis system. You'll see the water they produce referred to here as RO water. RO water would not have any chlorine in it and would likely have a pretty low pH.

Adam
Yup..he said the lfs said ph is 6 here. Mine is plain ol tap, 7.2, no ph swings. Love the water here, nice and soft too. Great hatch rate in tap water too.

[strawberryblonde]

Ok, I'll chime in since I've done the transport thing across state lines. My trips were a minimum of 3 days and the longest was over a week and the fish did just fine.

1) Figure out where you'll put the fish once you get home. If you don't have a tank already set up and ready, or can't get it setup within a few hours, you can use a LARGE rubbermaid barrel, 2 or 3 five gallon buckets, etc to hold the fish for a day or two while you get the tank and set it all up.

2) If you need cycled filters, be sure to ask the seller if you can have some of his bio-media from the discus tank! If he won't give you cycled filters you're going to have to commit to doing twice a day HUGE water changes till your filters cycle. You can also purchase some of the instant BB products. Several people here can recommend the best brands for you.

3) Once you've figured out the "at home" part, you need to prepare for travel. You'll need:
2 5gallon buckets from Lowe's or Home Depot (I like the cheap Lowes brand ones!)
2 Air Stones
1 Air Pump
DC Converter for the car
Small heaters ONLY if you plan to travel for more than a day, if you keep your AC very cold in the car or if you plan to house the fish in buckets at your house (step 1) and don't already have extra heaters

4) At the owners home, fill the buckets with half "ro" and half normal tap, add dechlorinator and then add the 2 fish to one bucket and 3 fish to the other. Place them in the car, wrap them well with towels, blankets, etc and then plop in the heaters (if you need them) and air stones. Plug the stuff in, plop the tops on and you're good to go.

5) When you get home that night change half the water in the bucket and replace it with treated tap water. Let them adjust to the higher pH in the bucket (from the fresh water) while you set up the new tank. When you're ready, just plop them in. By then they've already adjusted to higher pH twice (once when you picked them up and once at your house), so the change to the final pH shouldn't bother them at all.

6) If you need to hold them for an extra day in the buckets be sure to change out about 80% of the water in the morning and again at night. Leave the lights off and don't feed them!

Hope this helps. It's a lot of planning, but actually very easy to implement.

[parrottbay]

Sorry, shoulda mentioned before but I was thinking I would get that far into it due to the factors of getting them there... I have a QT that is going that is about a month old BB 125... lol I bought it when I had some fry shipped from FL to home but most deceased, Bless them :( but they are in the 36 since they are still small and only four. So I take it that it is very possible to tank these little guys home... Thanks for everyone chipping in to help give me a better decision on this!! I REALLY do appreciate it, I was so worried I would log on and nothing would be on here. And finially Toni, Thanks, this is EXACTLY how I transported my fish from SC to NC in december on my last move and planned to do it the same here just was with cheaper fish like goldfish guppies and etc. That "LFS" was The Aquarium in Knoxville and the worker named Jeremy that mentioned that the PH was 6.

Thanks Again!!

James

[parrottbay]

Also, I hate to start something on this since this one is complete but every one knows the situation on this though, is this a good deal since their is a mated pair? I always want to try have discus breed but mine have never made a mention to. I am just worried with the different water chemistry they might say awe screw it and not do anything lol; any ideas?

[JenTN]

I deal with Aquarium all the time..but only will deal with the owner and two employees ;-) they are super nice, know me and for the most part know their stuff. But the ph seems off. My juvies and pair came from Hans in Baltimore and are fine...the pair have laid lots and have tons of 1" fry swimming around so ph difference hasn't stopped em breeding in my case! But I think Stendkers would breed in atomic radiation waste containers during a tsunami lol.