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Discus info please

Sanzinia

Sanzinia

Seedling
Joined
29 Mar 2013
Messages
14
I am keeping discus for the first time. I do 75l water change every two to three days with ro water. Kh 5, ph 7 and temp of 30. All feed really well. So why don't they seem unhappy? Have had them for 3 weeks now and they still seem dark in colour.????
 
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Not sure what my TDS is I do have a new RO unit but do live in a bad water area so maybe I need a DI pod on my system. The nitrate is between 10-20ppm and I purchased the discus from maidenhead aq Bracknell
 
Elevated TDS may be an issue, but I suspect it may not be too bad from the info you've given.

Next on the list I'd be looking at gregarious tank-mates, Discus can get spooked easily, hence why shoaling dither fish are recommended.
 
Yes I was concerned about tank mates at first this is why I went for fish a little more grown on so they would be less spooked but they are given a wide berth by all other fish and are calm in behaviour. I will test the TDS this may be the reason. Thank you for your input.
 
Sorry to hear your problems. The one in the right corner looks pretty bad in colour and if the pic doesn`t lie, the one on its left side looks skinny to me. The tank might be overcrowded (->high in organic waste). I can see and think many things that can cause your discus peppering/being dark: bad water quality, (too many/ wrong) companions, feeding, filtration, flow, dark background, sickness, WCs....etcetc . NO3 sounds a bit high, but if the water is otherwise clean and if NO3 is just from fertz, not from organic waste, that shouldn`t be the case thou Im sure some discus experts recommend keep it really low, max 5ppm. Anyway I highly recommend to ask help here Disease/Sickness and Medication, there are plenty of friendly and experienced discus hobbyists to help find the solution(s) for your problem. Also reading SD is very useful when having or considering to buy discus. I wish you good luck with your discus, they are really atractive fish, but sometimes it takes time to learn to live with them and their manners.
 
I agree that the top right corner one looks like its the runt of the pack. To me it seems overcrowding and if you are running the koralia they it might be a bit too much for them.
From what I have learnt over the years discus can tolerate high flow, but prefer to be more peaceful environments.

Your water parameters might be causing some issues, but for me I bought asian discus and over time I managed to keep them in tap water and they were fine. What about feeding? What are you feeding them?
Mine really loved bloodworm, brine shrimp and during their growing periods I would feed them beefheart mix and daily water changes as they are messy eaters and create alot of waste.

Darker backgrounds also set them off but I would say its likely to be overcrowding.
 
Thanks to all for the help. I think I may have to make a few changes and you all have given me things to think about.

They feed on tetra discus and blood worm.

Tank mates consist of,
Cardinals 30
Flying fox 3
Harlequin tetras 2
Congo tetra 1
Zebra loach 3
Cherry barb1
Whiptail 1
 
Hi, from the photo it looks as if you have one Flying Fox and two Siamese Flying Foxes. I suspect the (true) Flying Fox is too boisterous and stroppy for the Discus' liking and could get worse as he grows. The Siamese are less troublesome (and smaller) and will usually only chase each other.
Also, do I see a Red Line Torpedo Barb in there? He could also be a bit lively, especially if there's just the one with no shoalmates to play chase with.
 
You are correct. I have observed no boisterous behaviour as yet but know these species can be so will be moving them out. Not looking forward to catching them thou!
 
Is there one discus bullying the others? Thats what happened in mine. Also, I found that mine are dark and unhealthy looking if CO2 injection is too high as well.
 
I think it was a hierarchy problem and two have paired up and bred. Since then everything has been fine.
 
Mine def dont like the CO2. They did however especially enjoy the new Cardinals I introduced..... they have now settled in nicely and I have just 2 Cardinals left!
They took around two weeks to get their true colours sorted out and the Blue Turqs were the slowest of all
 
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