Close to giving up

[paulyer]

Hi can someone please help. I am very close to giving up on keeping discus altogether. I have a 300l tank with 7 discus. 2 fully grown and 5, 3 inch. They share the tank with various tetra's. and 2 cory's. I have had the tank 6 months. My ph is 6.6, ammonia & nitrite 0 and nitrate about 15. I just can't get my discus to come out of them selves. The are all showing dark lines clamped fins and going dull. They eat fine. A mixture of specialist discus granules, Garlic flake food and bloodworm. I have 2 external canister filters and one internal. I have tried blackwater extract. Vitamins, The have been treated for worms and flags. The decoration is average with live plants and a few rocks. I took out the supposed bogwood because it was decaying in the water and making the water very dirty. I am very close to just giving up. I must spent £100's on treatment new filters etc...

[Tariq]

How long have you have the discus? they need to get accustomed to their environment. If the fish are being spooked very often they may just stay in a corner. If you tank is close to a door, you may have to move the tank or find some way in which the fish dont get caught by surprise.I would stop feeding bloodworms and find some with spirulina, that maid my scared discus come out of the corner. Also do daily or every other day water changes. PLenty food and clean water equals healthy discus. Dont give up yet, I have just started also, did lots of research though! i only have my discus for 2 months now, I am a 2 month old discus owner! just stick with them , you'll see the benefits!

[ILLUSN]

New filters wont help your fish for a goos few weeks till they are cycled.

your ph is good. whats your temp? keep it at 30C while the discus settle in.
how often are you doing water changes and are you ageing and heating your water before you do them?

[paulyer]

Hi.
Yes my tempreture is 30c I do water changes 25% once a week. RO water is not a viable option for me. I do not age it though I do heat it.

[Merrilyn]

Don't give up just yet.

You're obviously doing lots of things right, because your fish are still alive !

I'm wondering if maybe you have a high bacteria count in your water, in which case your system would benefit from the addition of a UV sterilizer.

In the meantime, you need to increase your water changes to 30% twice a week. Whilst most fish would be happy with a 25% weekly water change, discus come from very clean waters, and that's not enough to keep them happy.

I know with my own fish, if I neglect water changes, they get the sulks, and let me know it's time to get the hose out.

I think if you do some daily water changes for a while, you'll find a big difference in the behaviour of your fish.

[paulyer]

Ok thanks for all your help.

Ill stick with it and hope it goes well. Thanks.

[ellwa]

you mentioned you have a few rocks in the tank.

I tried this with my discus a few years ago when I first put them in the tank.

the went very dark and didn't move around much at all.

as soon as I took the rock out, the water softened up and they were out all the time.

its worth a shot.

ellwa.