stormhenge
Tue Dec 09, 2008, 10:08 PM
hello all,
HISTORY: ill start with a general history of my discus, i had them in a 30g tank, that had no problems with it whatsoever and they did perfectly fine. they started to breed, and when it was hard to maintain water quality and plant life i setup a 10 gallon bb tank for them.
the tank was a 25% tap water 75% ro water combination, water temp was 86, i ran a sponge filter, and a back mounted filter. they only bred twice in this tank and neither times were successful (im not too concerned, as a 17 year old i dont have all the time int he world to dedicate to my fish)
so i started to strip down and redo my 30 gallon tank in order to house my two discus.
TROUBLE: i went away for the weekend with my two discus still in their bb 10g tank, but sometime during the trip the power gave out, and the breaker did not come back on for my room (bad news for me because the person watching the fish didn't know what to do) so when i got home, the water was dirty, and the water was cold.
so i jumped into action right away, i turned on the heater, cleaned out the sponge filter, primed the water, and added some bio start to the tank. the next morning i did a 50% water change and the fish seemed to perk up. but by the end of the day my female discus was showing signs of ick, so i added some of my medication to the tank and shut off the lights.
i continued the treatment for a few days, but the female did not seem to get any better and the male was now showing signs of ick. so i filled up a bucket with clean water, added a dose of salt, a dose of methylene blue, and a dose of sensitive fish ick remover, i left them in the tank for a few hours with a heater an air stone, and i regularly added stress coat.
the male seemed to be fine so i netted him and moved him into the 30 gallon tank with a temp of 86F no ammonia nitrite or nitrate, 8 neon tetras and a planted corner (the only filtration running is a homemade wet dry filter.
i netted the female and moved her into the bb 10g tank that now had completely fresh water, an air stone, and a heater and she seemed shocked but that she would make it.
2 days later she seemed to be doing better and the tank conditions were deteriorating so i moved her into the 30g tank with the tetras and the male.
PROBLEM: the male swims around the tank normally, he is brightly colored, he eats beef heart and occasionally the tubifex or flakes i add for the tetras. but he also bullys the female into a corner behind all of the plants where she sits all day long. i thought her condition hadnt gotten better and i was going to have to treat her again but i noticed the other night when the tank lights went off that she comes out and acts normal.
at night time she swims around the tank, she seems to forage for food scraps and plants to eat, when the male tries to bully her, she fights back (she has traditionally been the dominant discus in the tank). but as soon as the lights come back on she retreats into the corner where she sits all day with a darker than normal color, and almost no motion at all.
the weird thing is, if i leave the tank lights on for 30 seconds, and shut them off again, she comes right back out.
anyone have any ideas?
HISTORY: ill start with a general history of my discus, i had them in a 30g tank, that had no problems with it whatsoever and they did perfectly fine. they started to breed, and when it was hard to maintain water quality and plant life i setup a 10 gallon bb tank for them.
the tank was a 25% tap water 75% ro water combination, water temp was 86, i ran a sponge filter, and a back mounted filter. they only bred twice in this tank and neither times were successful (im not too concerned, as a 17 year old i dont have all the time int he world to dedicate to my fish)
so i started to strip down and redo my 30 gallon tank in order to house my two discus.
TROUBLE: i went away for the weekend with my two discus still in their bb 10g tank, but sometime during the trip the power gave out, and the breaker did not come back on for my room (bad news for me because the person watching the fish didn't know what to do) so when i got home, the water was dirty, and the water was cold.
so i jumped into action right away, i turned on the heater, cleaned out the sponge filter, primed the water, and added some bio start to the tank. the next morning i did a 50% water change and the fish seemed to perk up. but by the end of the day my female discus was showing signs of ick, so i added some of my medication to the tank and shut off the lights.
i continued the treatment for a few days, but the female did not seem to get any better and the male was now showing signs of ick. so i filled up a bucket with clean water, added a dose of salt, a dose of methylene blue, and a dose of sensitive fish ick remover, i left them in the tank for a few hours with a heater an air stone, and i regularly added stress coat.
the male seemed to be fine so i netted him and moved him into the 30 gallon tank with a temp of 86F no ammonia nitrite or nitrate, 8 neon tetras and a planted corner (the only filtration running is a homemade wet dry filter.
i netted the female and moved her into the bb 10g tank that now had completely fresh water, an air stone, and a heater and she seemed shocked but that she would make it.
2 days later she seemed to be doing better and the tank conditions were deteriorating so i moved her into the 30g tank with the tetras and the male.
PROBLEM: the male swims around the tank normally, he is brightly colored, he eats beef heart and occasionally the tubifex or flakes i add for the tetras. but he also bullys the female into a corner behind all of the plants where she sits all day long. i thought her condition hadnt gotten better and i was going to have to treat her again but i noticed the other night when the tank lights went off that she comes out and acts normal.
at night time she swims around the tank, she seems to forage for food scraps and plants to eat, when the male tries to bully her, she fights back (she has traditionally been the dominant discus in the tank). but as soon as the lights come back on she retreats into the corner where she sits all day with a darker than normal color, and almost no motion at all.
the weird thing is, if i leave the tank lights on for 30 seconds, and shut them off again, she comes right back out.
anyone have any ideas?