just wondering

[alan j t]

hi everyone i love this forum its the best one
i was just wondering if i was doing a good job or not
i have been taking on discus for about 4 weeks
i have a 55 gallon with 6 juvies, an albino pleco, a betta ,and 5 rams
about 15 plants
big piece of drift wood
fluval 304
diy co2
air stone(not sure if needed)
flourish supplement
40% w/c everyotherday
i fed them flake, frozen blood worms, krill with vitamins,and flakes
my water is
ph 6.8
nitrate20
nitrite0
total hardness75(soft)
alkalinity300(high)
ammonia0
im welcome to some constructive criticism
i been the fish game for some time now but discus is a whole nother ball game :wink:

[goldenpigeon]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

Firstly, you should try and get your nitrate down a bit. It's a little high.

Secondly, your airstone will be stripping the tank of its co2... you should remove it.

Thirdly, you should try and get some more protein packed food into the diet of your discus. A beefheart based mix with added sea meats, vitamins and a little green food will do them very well (check out the food and nutrition section for some good mixes :D).

And last, just keep an eye on your pleco to make sure he isn't sucking on the discus, plecos love the discus slime coat!

Other than that it sounds like you are doing a great job! :)

Have you got any pictures of your tank we can see?

Cheers
David

[alan j t]

thanks a bunch
i was wondering how do i lower the nitrates i've tried more waterchanges but it doesn't budge
and also do you think my alkalinity is a bit too high
ill try my lfs if they have any other beneficial discus food
and ill take out the airstone
with 3 kids i dont think i can manage another chore making discus food but ill try :)
i've taken pictures but they dont come out to well

i'll try again