Moving Discus

Hi All

Well my tank has new tank has stabilized I used media and sand from my old tank to mspeed things up. My question is the guy I am getting the discus off says his water is a PH of 6.5 mine is 7 ish. Can I successfully move these fish without damage?

Mick

i think blooper or kev are the best people
to answer this question

As long as they are aclimatised slowly they should be fine. When I get new discus I take them from the bags and place the fish and water they traveled in in a bucket. I then use some airline tubing and use this to add water from my aquarium. I tie a small knot in the airline so that a few drops per second is going in with the discus. I do this at this pace for 20-30 mins then I untie the knot so more water is going in. I let the bucket fill then take out half the water and refill a couple of times. Then I net the fish and add them to the tank. Don't worry if your discus are lying flat when you add the to the bucket at first, its just a defensive mechanism and they will right them self in time.

Where are you getting the discus from texpis as if I know the source I could advise you if necessary?

I am getting discus from a private seller he advertised them in Aquarius classified, he lives at Norton and has had them since small.

Mick

Do u have link? Can't find it on there. I'm a bit weary of private sellers as I got my first lot off a guy when I was inexperienced and he fed me a load of rubbish to get a sale. What type of discus are they and how much are they? Hope you don't think I'm being cheeky as I'm just trying to help cos they are so much bad quality discus out there!

Hes probably removed the ad I took a photo of one. He is not a breeder but is wanting a breeding pair hence getting rid of these. there are 3 like this and one all red they are about 4 to 5 inch and all 4 were 90 pounds

This on is a poor photo both took on an iphone

That one looks ok but I think £90 is a bit high. Do you know where he sourced them originally?

Don't know where they came from originally. I thought just over 20 quid a fish was a good deal compared to some of the local shops but you live and learn.

Mick

There is a misconception that discus are expensive because of what shops charge for them. They are more expenses involved in a shop keeping these hence their silly price.

I ask their source because its one of the most important elements of discus keeping. Good quality fish are hardier and make the hobby more enjoyable. They are 2 main sources of discus available, German and asian. Both have their own benefits. As a whole these can't be mixed due to cross contamination. This is where one type have bugs the other type aren't immune too. Therefore staying with one source can save complications. I prefer Asian but that's Upto the individual.

Here s where I go for all my discus needs. Steves very knowledgeable and supplies the best discus in the northeast:

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/detail49_217325.php

Either way the fish you have are quite decent and we are here to help. Have they settled well? What's your husbandry going to be with these fish, from feeding to water changes etc...

Nice looking fish. I have never kept discus (beyond my price range), but by looking at these they look good quality.

Thanks for the replies. They are settled in but one of the smaller fish is mercilessly chasing the larger fish it cant seem to get it out of the way. They are large fish its causing mayhem in the tank uprooting plants etc should I remove the bully or let it settle.

Mick

How big is the tank and is the total number of discus 4? They do squabble like any other cichlid especially while a female is ready to spawn. It's likely though that after being moved the hierarchy bras been reset and they are in the process of sorting it out. Along as they is room for the discus being chased to manoeuvre around the tank don't worry too much. They should settle within a few days. How big are the discus now and did you find out where they came from?

The tank is 38" x 18" x18" there are 3 about 5 1/2" including tail (Difficult to measure accurately) and one about 1" or more bigger this is the one being chased. 2 of the others appear to be swimming together one a red melon I believe is the one doing the chasing. Sorry chap didn't know the origin.

Mick

4 can be a funny number with discus cos more often than not one gets harassed off everyone and struggles to feed. Your tanks a bit small for anymore so just keep an eye on them. If a pair has formed the male in the pair will harass other males really bad.

As for source is advise you find out cos if you wanted to add anymore it will help. Discus aren't like other tropicals were you can add them from anywhere.

k3vinjam3s wrote: If a pair has formed the male in the pair will harass other males really bad.

Hi Thanks for the reply two of them have paired up and have laid eggs on the heater the male is the one chasing the other fish relentlessly. Will it all settle down or do I need to remove one?

Mick

the only problem i can see is the tank size. the bullied fish just cant get enough space and he may become withdrawn as a result of this.

Thought I would let you know how I got on. I removed the discus that was being bullied for a week. T replaced it on Saturday this week it was chased for the first couple of hours then it decided enough was enough and it started holding its ground and everything calmed down. looked at them yesterday afternoon to find these from the bullied fish.

nice one mate. expect the colours of the female to darken and dont worry as this is normal. u might find they wont eat for a while and the male will be aggressive towards fish coming near the eggs. what two fish have paired?

Hi Kev
Unfortunately I don't know its like sex in the city in there :-) There is a red melon which I believe to be a male. There is a small blue diamond and two standard colour. The melon I believe fertilised eggs with the smaller standard discus, the blue diamond just tends to keep away from all of them except at meal times. The red melon was also chasing the bigger standard fish so I presumed it to be another male (This is the one I removed) The larger standard is the one in the picture guarding the eggs it wont let any of the others anywhere near so I don't know which is its mate or what sex it is. The eggs have now been eaten and peace rains over again. How do I stop them eating the eggs next time? Earlier you asked what husbandry I have been doing. I have changed two buckets of water one a week and if there is a build up of crud I have removed it. Is this okay? hope you understand the rambling.

Mick

In a community set up the eggs will be eaten everytime. I've had them to wiggler stage in my big discus tank but that's as far as it goes. To be honest mixing strains won't produce nice young anyway so just enjoy watching them breeding and be satisfied they are doing well. Also the "standard" one in the photo looks to be slightly spotted, so a bit nicer than standard.


So one bucket a week? Is that say 10 litres of what capacity. Discus don't tolerate high nitrates so test for them if you can.

Sorry bit of an error I change 2 buckets a week and most times a third during the week. Its a fairly big bucket so all together about 20 liters, its a a 240 liter tank so a bit less then 10% is that enough?
Mick

I'd say no. With our water being quite stable for ph I'd be changing at least 50% weekly. Like I said before the nitrates are needed to stay quite low, between 5 and 10ppm. Do you have a test kit to check nitrates.

Yes I have a test kit ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all zero PH is 6.9. I will up the water changes.

Mick

The nitrate can't be zero. In a mature tank nitrate is always present as its the waste product of the nitrogen cycle. Are they strip tests or liquid?