Tropical Tank + 2 Discus Questions

[Narny]

I've got a fairly new tank, 4 weeks old. I've been testing the water daily to monitor what's going on, i know this may be OTT but i'm one of those people who likes to delve deep and really know what's going on. I've been using nutrafin cycle and i've been using tetra aquasafe to make sure the water i used is metal and chlorine free. I added a few tetra's and waited, doing 10 or 20 % water changes daily to keep the fish healthy.

I'm now four weeks on.... got rid of the tetra's (friend had them, i'm not a killer ), and i've now got 9 gourami's (blue and flame, male and female), 2 silver sharks, and 2 small clown loaches.

Water is as follows :

ph 7
28 degree's celcius
amonia - zero
nitrite - 0.3 (nutrafin test kit)
very low nitrate (which as i understand is a natural byproduct)

I've planted the tank, and added some driftwood. Water is still as above.

Beginning of week 5, friend is getting rid of his tank (moving home). I've inherited 2 2 inch discus, 1 red, and 1 white swan.

My other fish are healthy in this water, feed well, and behave fine. The discus have taken a couple of days to get used to the new tank, and are now eating and swimming at the front of the tank and showing off. They don't seem phased at all by the other fish (i heard discus were timid).

My question is about the discus... Are they ok in this water??? I've been reading around and a lot of people are saying that the nitrite should be at zero. Like i say, they seem fine at the moment. And i'll be keeping a close eye on them. Is there any other equipment i should have to be caring for discus?

Thanks,

Ade

 

[wetwetwet]

Hi Ade,

From what I've heard discus can be very fussy about water quality and you should really ahve 0 nitrite (your tank may still be cycling) - They also prefer soft water (you didn't mention this parameter)... - catch22 is water changes prolong the cycle but necessary to prevent levels becoming excessive Some captive breed dscuss can be relatively hardy...

Also the discuss would probably prefer slightly higher temp...

I wouldn't have thought gouramis and discuss compatable - the gouramis may see them as a threat. Also the sharks and loaches may be too boisterous but then there's allways exceptions and you may be lucky.

In addition the sharks and loaches are schooling species and would be happier in bigger groups (4-5 min). They also grow large (allbeit slowly)

What size tank?

hth


www

 

[Narny]

I read that the loaches and discus are good tankmates somewhere... Oh well, just goes to show you can't believe everything you're told.

The sharks look happy and stay well away from the other fish, allways paired up wherever they go. The discus seem to mind them less than anything else.

It's a 96 litre tank btw. And at the moment the tank is 80 celcius, hot weather here. Is there anything i can do to lower nitrite further?
I'm still keeping with the 10% changes daily untill i know more or the tests show negative. Like i say the discus were inherited... Not a planned thing at all. But i'm beginning to love them and i'd hate to lose one.

Oh forgot to mention : Water hardiness??

 

[ryan]

Those Gouramis can't withstand the higher temps that Discus need for long. THe Silver Sharks get to about 12" and sometimes more and are considered to active and large for Discus which are timid and can often shy away when other larger and more active companions show themselves. They do prefer slighty acidic and soft water and an established tank is normally recommened for them, e.g not still cycling, at least 2-3 months.

 

[G_Sharky]

I don't think your Discus is going to do well with the tankmates and with nitrite on the water....For young discus temp should be 30 C/86 F and I don't think the gourami's and the sharks would like that..Also how big is your tank?? a fully grown discus would need 10 gallons for it to be happy...Also Discus don't like any fast moving fish like your silver sharks and they would easily get stresss and get sick....If you want to keep those Discus then you must be committed into making them the priority and frequent water changes....You have to get the nitrite to 0 FIRST OF ALL....GOOD LUCK with them....

 

[Narny]

The discus seem ok at the moment. They're eating well, and swimming about at the front of the tank. They don't seem to care about the sharks at all. The gourami's have had a couple of run in's with the discus now, which allways results in the discus getting it's own way and moving the gourami's on. My main aim now is to get the nitrite down to zero. Daily 10% water changes, 20% if needed. The tank is a 96 litre Juwel, and with the weather being what it is here at the moment, the water is at 29 or 30 degree's celcius, there's nothing i can do with this at the moment that's room tempreture water and the heater is not even on (discus seem to love it). I can honestly say the other fish are all happy too, everything swimming normally and it's quite harmonious really. Both discus are brightly coloured, i've been reading and it seems they go dark when they're sick.

So, i know i'm up against it. What i need to know is :

1) Can i get that nitrite down quickly? Water changes?

2) Assuming i get another tank and split the fish, how do i cool water down if 30 is room tempreture and heater is down as low as it can go?

 

[tstenback]

Water changes are the only way to keep the nitrite down while this settles out. Just keep doing 10-15% daily and all should be well soon. You can do a couple a day if required. To keep the water cooler i have floated containers with very cold water in the tank. Tried ice one time but it brought the temp down too fast and got an ICH outbreak. So just put some cold water in a container or two and float them in the tank. Then replace as necessary. I used plastic pop bottles but you can use anything that is safe for the tank and can be sealed. HTH

 

[Narny]

HTH?

 

[BettaBabe]

HTH?

HTH = Happy to Help or Hope this Helps..

 

[my_fallen_angel]

where abouts are you from??

i think you will need to get another tank.

Silver sharks (balas) get very big and big quickly.
I have 2 and they are almost ready to leave my tank and find a bigger home i've only had them about 5 months.

 

[Narny]

I'm in the UK.

As for the other tank, i'm thinking about it... If they get too big i could probably swap em with a friend or a fish shop. The Discus are my main concern at the moment. I love em.

As an update, had a quite big nitrIte spike last night, had to do a water change, will look again tonight. I'm assuming this is the big NitrIte spike you get before a cycle finishes, that everyone is talking about. Could someone confirm please.

Cheers for all the support,

Ade