All 3 or 1 at a time??

[Erk]

Today has been two weeks since my discus arrived, and I was wondering how to go about swapping them from the quarantine tank to the main tank? Im currently working on water parameters in both tanks, trying to make them the same, and at the same getting the nitrates down in the main tank. They are down to 10ppm now! :D The pH is the same (7.0 with stabilizer) and has been like this for the last 3-4 days. The juvies seem to really eat well, and last night for the first time the scorpion came up to eat frozen bloodworms out of my girlfriends hand, so I was VERY happy to see that!! :D I guess they are settling in well now, and since I got the pH stable and the ammonia is back down to zero, they seem to swim more. I have also noticed the red ribbon and the scorpion seem to pick on the ocean green. Nothing major tho....and they do all eat, and eat well. The ocean green is the smallest, and the red ribbon is by far the largest, so here is my question finally.....should I move the ribbon to the main tank first, so I can "beef" up the other two, or do them all at the same time? I prolly looking to move them sometime in the next two weeks

Sorry about the long post, and thanks very much for your help! :D

[ILLUSN]

moving them 1 at a time will help your filter adjust to the bigger bioload, you could move the biggest 1 first and then work your way down over a couple of days. once you get the big one out be sure the small one still has somewhere to hide from the scorpion, with only 2 fish in the tank the bigger WILL pick on the smaller a lot more.

[the german]

i think before you put them in make sure your filter can handle all fish,and then put all in at the same time,discus are shool fish so it cant be good let 1 or 2 longer in the Q. tank

[Erk]

Thanks very much for your help guys! I guess everyone is gonna have a different opinion on how to go about this. I have been trying to feed more frozen food in my big tank, so the filter can get beefed up a lil bit. Im also gonna do a water change tonight when I get home, so I can keep the nitrates low, and once I feel comfortable with that, and the temps match a lil more, I will prolly move them all at once. Any suggestions on how to do this? Or if all the parameters match, I can just move "grab and plop"?

They have been eating soooo good over the last few days, Im very happy :D The ribbon, and the scorpion ate from my girlfriends hand last night, so Im only waiting on the ocean green! lol

Thanks again guys....hopefully pics of them in the big tank will come shortly!! :D

[ILLUSN]

Grab and plonk works well when the water is the same, you'll be fine

[Erk]

Great! Then the temp is really the only thing I need to worry about! So like a week or so, and I finally will get to see them in the planted tank!! :D

Thanks again!

[the german]

grab and plonk :D like that,its ok but watch out that the ph is the same or very close

[Erk]

haha...will do! Thanks german! The pH is 7.0 in both tanks, using a 7.0 pH stabilizer. I was checking the juvies out last night, and the red ribbon, and the scorpion are both picking on the ocean green a good bit. All three of them eat well, and hopefully when they get into the big tank, it will calm down a lil bit, or at least the ocean green will have somewhere better to go and hide if he needs to. I was thinking tho.....maybe move the ribbon and scorpion, and get another discus to keep in the quarantine tank for a lil bit with the ocean green, then it would be two in each tank? Just throwing an idea out there, as I have read on this forum, the more the merrier, but at the same time, I will def. be overstocking a lil bit?

Suggestions?

Thanks a lot for your help! New pics will be up in the photo album section soon :D

[Erk]

here are some pics...also in the photo album section, but I thought they would work here too, since the ocean green is my concern. Hopefully you can see his marks...like little bite marks, and I dunno what to do

Thanks for your help

[ILLUSN]

while the ocean green is in the quarentine tank try adding salt to help him heal, if you have it try some melefix or pimafix again to help healing and hagen make a water conditioner Aqua plus with aloe that can helpp fish heal and calm them down, i wouldn't worry too much, as long as he's the smallest he's gonna get picked on, get another so they can share the load :D

[Erk]

Thanks ILLUSN....I was really thinking about moving the two bigger ones soon, and leaving the ocean in the Q tank, and after I move the other two, on the same day, running out to the LFS and getting another small one...so I guess my question now is what are the suggestions for water changes in the big tank, after all of them are in there? That would be 4 discus, plus whatever is listed below in my signature as tankmates. I can do whatever, Im just curious what is recommended?

Thanks :D

[Erk]

Oopps...also I will pick up the water conditioners and read up on some threads about salt usage, and try that this weekend!!

Thanks!! :D

[Erk]

ok, 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of salt...just regular table salt? Iodine, no iodine? Rock Salt? I think my LFS carries the melefix, and primafix too...I will look for the water conditioner with aloe in it, I think I wanna try the salt and the aloe water conditioner first, before I go to melefix, and primafix. Also, I should be receiving flubenol 15 for the snails soon, and also in reading other threads, it sounds like this is good med to have on hand with discus, so Im happy....nitrates are down to 5 in the big tank, but Im gonna leave my signature at 10ppm...cause thats prolly more realistic. I cant wait to shop for a new discus....any suggestions? I was thinking a snakeskin of some sort. Someone on here has a VERY nice blue looking snakeskin or something as there avatar, I wouldnt mind looking for those, but Im pretty sure the LFS, just carries very common strains

Thanks a lot :D

[Erk]

Yep....its dntx5b9....his avatar is fantastic...love that fish! Not sure what it is, and I highly doubt I will find one of those at the LFS here....dntx5b9 if you read this....love that fish!!

Thanks :D

[Merrilyn]

Hi Erk, your fish look lovely.

Use rock salt or cooking salt. Not table salt, that has fillers in it to make it flow. You need the plain stuff. One teaspoon of salt per 40 litres of water.

Melafix and primafix are pretty good but they don't seem to work on discus. Probably something to do with the unique slime coat.

[Erk]

Thanks so much Merrilyn for the compliments, I will pick up some plain salt....rock or cooking today and the water conditioner with aloe. No primafix or melefix. Any suggestions on what fish to look for, or water change regime with all those fish? Im used to cichlids, and used to them picking on other cichlids, but its always been mostly fin nipping, and with the cost of these beautiful fish, I get worried when I see those bite marks, so I guess I should have ordered 4 from the beginning...I had a better selection, but I thought it would be too much.

Thanks very much! :D

[dntx5b9]

Thanks for the compliments. The way my discus looks in my avatar has more to do with the lighting when I took the picture; blue lighting. But he looks good under regular light as well. :D He is about just over 5" and he is probably about 1.5 years old. I had him just over a year. He went through a lot and thought for sure he wasn't going to make it. Here is a pic of him that was taken under the normal light. Hope you still think he is a good looking guy. :wink:

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1307

[DiscusEden]

He's lovely! Lucky you!

[Erk]

Yes yes, I do like him! dntx5b9 I left you a comment on that same pic in your personal photo album too! Thanks for replying to my mother too :D Angelfishie....She loves angelfish, and discus, and is just getting into the hobby. I picked up a silver pigeon blood last night, moved the other two, and I will get lots of pics later today!

Thanks for the info, and he is def. a very nice looking guy! Great work!

[Erk]

I have lots of pics in the photo album section, but here goes a few anyways.

Thanks!

[Erk]

Well its been 9 days since the newest discus was purchased and put into quarantine with the ocean green, also, this is how long the yellow red ribbon and scorpion have been in the planted tank for. Ive noticed yesterday and today the bully....the red ribbon, has been chasing and biting at the scorpion, almost non stop...Im gonna watch them today, and see if the scorpion is eating, but I think I may have to move these other two from quarantine, to calm things down...the problem is, is that Im not really ready to do this? Like I said, its only been 9 days for the newest guy in quarantine

Suggestions, comments??

Thanks very much!! :D

[ILLUSN]

D'day mate,
ocean green has been in quarantine long enough, put him in to ease the stress of the scorpion give it 2 weeks and put in the pigion then you should be ok

[Erk]

Thanks so much ILLUSN!! Im gonna switch the ocean over tonight...will wait to weeks, and I will keep an eye on the ribbon, he is mean! haha...

thanks a lot tho! :D

[Erk]

So I dropped the ocean green in last night, after lights out in both tanks, and I get home from work today, and BOTH the red ribbon, and the scorpion are none stop biting on the ocean green :( :evil: He is dark in color, and def. hasnt been allowed out to eat at all yet....will this settle down in a few days or should I take other actions to stop this??

Any help would be greatly appreciated....the silver pigeon is still too small to add to that tank, IMO......and there is no other tank to put the red ribbon in for a short amount of time or anything

Thanks very much!

[Erk]

PS....I dunno how to tell who is a male, and who is a female...dunno if any of the pics I have posted before will be able to help anyone figure it out. Would this cause these problems, this fast?

Thanks

[ILLUSN]

Try moving some things arpound in the tank (wood ornaments etc) this can reset the teritories in the tank and help bring down aggressive behaviour, there was a thread here a while back about 'calming islands" in a discus tank, will try to find it for you.

[Erk]

Thanks much ILLUSN, I remember reading some on here a lil while ago, but it was something more like if 1 is constantly being mean, take him, wait about 2 weeks rearrange some things, and then put him back in, so I do see what your saying.

It seems like the ocean takes it from the scorpion, but is def. afraid of the big bad ribbon! haha.....maybe he will be a lil bolder in a few days...I did some trimming, propagating and replanting of some things last night, before I added the ocean....but didnt mess with the wood, I guess I could move entire plants around a lil bit

Thanks, things are tough sometimes, and I feel bad too! :?

[ILLUSN]

found it http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11151
I'm not saying re-do your tank just shuffle a few things around, also you could put the pb in early a few people i know qt for only 2 weeks.

[Erk]

Interesting thread ILLUSN....Im gonna go move the red tiger lotus right now, since that seems to be the favorite amongst all three right now, and I think it will make a nice "centerpiece" in my tank anyways :wink:

Thanks, and I will def. keep you posted :)