demise of my discus

[joniwaller]

Today is a sad day for me,i bought my first duscus fish about 3 months ago after making sure the water was perfect for them but this morning when i woke up 1 of them had died.

I am now have the dilemma whether to buy another for company or wait a while,does anyone know what i should do for the best?

Thanx
Jon

 

[MAM]

first step would be to figure out why it died. check your water parameters, make sure theyre where they should be. did the fish show any symptoms of some illness? i wouldn't go adding a new fish until you know what caused him to die.

 

[joniwaller]

the poor things eyes were clouded the night before

 

[gadazobe]

Don't get any more until you find out why they died. Cloudy eyes can be a sign of poor water. Discus need perfect conditions to thrive and any small changes in the water will affect them.

 

[joniwaller]

my other discus seems fine as are the other fish,i will get my water tested tomorrow

 

[bugsy66]

Hi, discus need two main things. Very very clean water, and a temp at 80-85 degrees. You must do weekly water changes with discus and make sure they are not in a crowded tank with aggressive tank mates.

The ideal setting for them is companions of their own kind, a nice school of rummynose tetras or neon tetras also will bring them out of being shy. Cory cats are also very nice to add with them.

A nice planted tank with driftwood, live plants is also a favorite of theirs.

What size of tank do you have?

The thing to keep in mind is that one adult discus needs 10 gals water. So if you say had a 55 gal I would put no more than 3-5 in that tank. They get to quite a size.

I have "one" discus in my 25 gal, many say that they do better in 5-6 but if your tank is like mine I would only be able to keep 2. Put two in there and you have problems. I used to breed angels on a large scale, if you want to breed and need a pair the 25 gal is okay for them. But if you want a nice community tank like mine is 2 of them will just cause major fighting (learned from experience).

So in my 25 gal I have one beautiful discus, one angel and some small schooling fish. I also have my bristlenose and a couple of cory cats.

In your case I would definatley get your tank under control as to what caused the cloudy eyes. Watch your remaining discus for any signs of illness. It will be just fine by itself till you find out what is going on.

Do your weekly water changes and vacum that gravel well. All sorts of things get trapped in there and foul the water fast.

If you could mention the size of your tank, what other fish are in there that would help a bit.

Sorry to hear about your loss, these are truly beautiful fish. Keep us posted

Season's Greetings....bugsy

 

[joniwaller]

I have 2 oscars,2 tilapi and 4 angels alongside my discus, the tank size is 1'x18"x2'.
temperature is ok and water is fine i could be doing with more live plants i will give that a try.will the water not be a bit warm for rummy noses?

thanx joni

 

[Ben]

ouch.

theres your problem

are you sure its 1 foot? or is it 10?

because if it is one foot, no woner they died, its wayy over stocked

sorry to say dude

DD

 

[joniwaller]

its 2 foot long by 1 foot wide by 18 inches high as i said i only have 9 fish in it,surely that is not overstocked? isit?

thanx joni

 

[Ben]

oh god.....oh god

first off,2 oscars need a 100 gal tank, which si about 5 times the size of yours,

second off dont know much a tilapi but i heard they get mighty aggresive

thirdly, 4 angels should never be kept in a tank that size, 55 gal would do good

fourthly,discus should be kept in groups of 5 in a 55 gal tank or higher(thats like 4-5 feet)

i suggest you re think your stocking plans

sorry if i sounded mean

HTH

DD

 

[joniwaller]

nah it dosnt sound mean, apart from the discus all the fish are very small i have had them in the same tank for over 6 months with no problems, i will be buying a very large corner tank next month anyway so there will be plenty of room.

thanx
joni

 

[technium]

Hi and Welcome

Your tank is only approx 22 gallon tank which is way way too small as already mentioned.

You said your getting a larger corner tank but to hold all those fish will need to a massive corner tank.

I had a Tilapia if thats the same fish as your talking about and mine was 12" and very agressive.

Good luck, hope the rest of your fish live, your certainly in the right place here though, everyones very helpful.

 

[joniwaller]

Hi,i have had some fantastic advice already,the corner tank is 4'high by 4'wide and looks massive looking forward to filling it and will be seeking advice when i get the tank no doubt.

thanx again
joni

 

[Sanj]

OMG!!

I'm sorry about your loss m8, but reading on I was like what!!! ...not really surprising.

Good you are getting a bigger tank for them., although the choice of fish with Discus is not what most discus keepers would conisder compatible in the long run.

 

[joniwaller]

ok, cheers for the advice, when i get my new tank i will keep one of the old ones just for discus.SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN