Cloudy water - floating debris

[SpermWhaler]

I have a 29 gallon tank with 3 juvenile discus and 2 pearl gouramis. I have had the discus for about 1 week they are very active and have been eating regularly. I noticed over the last few days a lot of white debris building up on the substrate and along my driftwood. I do at least a 30% water change daily and the debris still seems to appear. Also I noticed when I turn on my filter after a water change some small worms appear, but only when the filter turns on do I see them. Any ideas on how to rid myself of the debris and the worms? Thanks in advance!

[Orange Crush]

I would suggest....
1)cleaning your filter media in dechlorinated water
2)putting a prefilter on any filter intakes
3)wiping the sides of the tank
4)thouroughly vacumming the substrate
5)doing larger water changes daily at least until the problem goes away
If you have small worms then your tank/water is not very clean

[Brent1972]

I have a 29 gallon tank with 3 juvenile discus and 2 pearl gouramis. I have had the discus for about 1 week they are very active and have been eating regularly. I noticed over the last few days a lot of white debris building up on the substrate and along my driftwood. I do at least a 30% water change daily and the debris still seems to appear. Also I noticed when I turn on my filter after a water change some small worms appear, but only when the filter turns on do I see them. Any ideas on how to rid myself of the debris and the worms? Thanks in advance!

Its more than likely NOT worms , It will be dead bacteria in your return pipes from filter . The best way to get rid of it is to rinse your filter out in tank water and clean the return pipe with something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flexible-Tube-Pipe-Cleaning-Brush-Flexi-Algae-Cleaner-1-5m-Long-2-Brush-Heads-/170902624731?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item27ca9719db#ht_720wt_1037 . The white bits will not harm your fish but don't look very nice.

[nwehrman]

The worms you see are probably planaria...come from dirty substrate and over feeding. If there is something for them to eat they will appear. Deep clean and feed less they will disappear --

Change more water - deep clean your substrate that's where the gunk is.


Nicole

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[Second Hand Pat]

Hi SpermWhaler, in addition to the above suggestions I would add removing the substrate until your juvenile discus are at least sub-adults. Because of the heavy feeding juvenile discus require cleaning a bare bottom tank is by far easier on yourself, leads to cleaner water and healthier discus in the long run.

I also suggest reading up on the forum beginning with the stickies at the top of each section. There is an excellent beginners guide here. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus. Welcome to Simply.
Pat

[SpermWhaler]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. As an update the debris went away as well as the planaria. The best solution for the planaria was to rinse out the filter in tank water when doing a water change. The discus are growing like crazy and I'm about to invest in a 75 gallon rimless in a couple days so I can get some more and to compensate for their quick growth.

[Orange Crush]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. As an update the debris went away as well as the planaria. The best solution for the planaria was to rinse out the filter in tank water when doing a water change. The discus are growing like crazy and I'm about to invest in a 75 gallon rimless in a couple days so I can get some more and to compensate for their quick growth.
Glad to hear the problem is resolved.
Make sure to QT the new fish before mixing them in with your existing fish.
QT info --->http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?70091-Quarantine-recommendations-for-Discus-Purchased-from-Kenny-s-Discus