Saddened By My Discus Troubles.

[freshwaterfishlover]

I don't want to be like other people and say Discus are not for me , but maybe it's true.

This is the tank setup.
65 gallon
Heavily planted
Canister filter
Heater
50% water change once a week
Clean the filter once a month

This my problem. I have 2 Synodontis Catfish live in the tank for like 6 months with no problem. My 10 Sterbai Cories that some been in for over a month are active and eating well.

I have the original 3 + 1 other Discus in the tank that have been in the tank. The original 3 been in the tank for 3 weeks. the other one has been in there for one week. They are 2-3". I want a total of 6. I tried about 2 wweks ago adding a white Diamond Discus and it was dead by the next day. The store gave me a replacement White Diamond and again it was dead by the next day. They gave my a Samurai and it lived. Last week I bought of line 2 Discus. One White Tiger and a Red Melon yellow faced and the red Melon was dead the next day. Today one of my Samurais died after about a month.

I did noticed that the new heater I bout 2 months ago is junk. Never heats up the tank right and always says at 76f even when turned up. I noticed my Discus are not eating except my Red Malbro and that's active and eats. The other 3 Discus are thin as paper and once and awhile staying at the top of the tank.. I started adding dewormer 3 time already. I took the Carbon out of the filter when I started adding Dewormer.


I need help.

I did my research before buying Discus.

Sand
Planted
82-86f
Deworm them first
Low water flow
Frequent water changes
Clean tank

 

[Tuxyu3]

What temperature do you keep the tank at and is it at a consistent temperature?
Do you add black water extract or anything similar?
Do you use an RO unit at all?
Are all the Discus from the same supplier?

Sorry to hear of your problems, I know it must be pretty gutting for both you and your wallet.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

1. I want to keep it at 84f but for some reason I think something is wrong with the heater because it was not going above 76 with the heater turned up this week. Red button went on then a minute later turns off.

2. Asked about black water extract on the forum, but people said it was worthless and a waste of money. All it does it make the water red.

3.I do not use a RO unit.

4. The Discus are from 2 diffrent Suppliers. Both had Discus that died.

 

[Tuxyu3]

Sorry about the slow reply, i don't know where time goes.

I feel i should mention i am by no means an expert on Discus and all the information i give you is gathered from people who i know keep Discus and reading threads in forums and such things so i can only provide a pretty basic level of knowledge on them, hopefully it is better than nothing.

1. This could well be a major problem as Discus are very sensitive to temperature, i would advise you get a new heater (remember to turn up the heat over the course of a few days rather than hours in order to avoid shock).

2. I can not argue against that as i am not well informed in that area of expertise but i do however know many people who keep Discus use extracts of some kind but then again these same people do use RO water so they need to.

3. Most people i know use at least some RO water in their tanks (the mix of RO with normal water must be consistent though) to be able to get the parameters that are required with less difficulty.

4. I have heard that you should only buy from one source due to them having different bacterial strains that can kill the fish if crossed or something along those lines.

What is the hardness of your water like, i'm pretty sure Discus like it pretty soft and acidic.

 

[Randy Tarner]

I'm also sorry to hear about your Disvus, they are beautiful fish. I too am no expert on Discus or any other fish for that mattter, but i too think this may be temp related. I do everything wrong according to the care sheets except the temp. My tank is a constant 86 degrees. I use treated tap water when doing a water change and it is also heated while "setting up" The tank gets vacuumed at least once a week and water changed twice at about 40% each time in a 75 gallon tank. I would also suggest and have read going with a bare bottom tank. They are much easier to keep clean. What do you feed them? They can be finicky eaters. Good luck.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Randy,

I wouldn't get too excited about this thread, it is from 2012.