Discus Dan · SellFishes

Nitrate creeping up in the discus tank even with big water changes, am I overfeeding the plants or the fish?

Running a 75 with five grow-out discus and a decent amount of stems. Doing 50 percent changes twice a week and nitrate still sits around 20 right before the change. Feeding beefheart mix twice a day plus granules. Pic below of the stand setup. Part of me thinks the fish are just eating a lot at this size, but I'd rather hear from people who run heavy planted tanks. Do you dose nitrate for the pla…

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 3d ago

Heater died overnight in the grow-out tank, 24C by morning. How worried should I be?

Woke up to the discus grow-out at 24C instead of 29. Heater had just quit. Swapped it, tank is back up to 27 and climbing slowly. Everyone is eating a bit shy this morning. I'm skipping the big water change today so I don't stress them more. Anyone had a drop like this and did they get sick after?

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 3d ago

Discus tank with live plants, what are you doing about nitrate between water changes?

I run sword and anubias in my grow-out tank and the plants seem to keep nitrate lower than my bare tanks, but I still do big daily changes. Wondering if anyone with planted discus tanks has dropped to fewer changes without the fish sulking. Temp is 29C and I feed three times a day. Pic below of the fish room shelf where the air runs from, in case anyone wants to see the setup.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 5d ago

Angel pair dropped eggs on the slate tonight, now what about the lights?

Well, finandfry's tip was right on time. Female laid this evening about an hour after I wrote my last thread. Pic below of the eggs on the slate right now, pair is guarding. Do you leave the tank lights off through the night or keep a dim one on so they can see the eggs? First clutch for these two so I'm nervous they'll eat them.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 5d ago

Cheap way to tell if an angel pair is about to spawn?

Following the black lace talk, my young pair has been picking at the slate again today and the female's tube looks a bit more blunt than last week. Is the blunt ovipositor a reliable sign or can it still be weeks? I'd rather not move them or touch anything and jinx it, just want to know how long to wait before I put a camera on the tank.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 5d ago

Black lace pair auction is at 144, anyone ever paid more for a proven angel pair?

Watching finandfry's auction and it keeps climbing. I never see proven pairs go this high locally. What's the most you've paid for a pair that already had spawns on record, and was it worth it? My young pair still sulks so I'm tempted.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 6d ago

Black lace angel pair, what would you feed to condition before a spawn?

Finandfry's black lace auction got me thinking about my own angels. I have a young pair that keeps pairing up and then sulking, no eggs yet. Currently on flake and frozen bloodworm every other day. Do you push more live or frozen foods to get them going, or is it mostly tank size and water temp? Running 28C in a 55 with a couple of slate pieces.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 6d ago

Anyone keep discus with live plants? Sword and anubias only so far

Thinking about adding a few plants to my grow-out room tubs but everything I read says 28 to 30C cooks most stems. Right now I only have anubias on wood and one amazon sword that doesn't seem to care. Anyone running discus warm with plants that actually last? Pic below of the java fern and anubias wood I'm thinking of expanding on.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · 6d ago

Cheap stick thermometer saved me from a bad week, what else is in your fish room toolkit?

After the temp swing talk in my bare bottom thread I bought a three dollar stick thermometer and checked the refill bucket. It was 4 degrees off from the tank. Flashing stopped the next day once I matched it. What small cheap tools do you actually use every week? Mine so far is the thermometer, a turkey baster and a headlamp for checking tubs at night. Pic of my cabinet setup below.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 11

Bare bottom day 3 pic: color after the black back glass

Promised a day 3 update so here it is. Colors are noticeably darker and the turquoise lines are sharper than when they were on sand with bright glare. Nobody is hiding anymore and they all hit the beefheart at the front glass. Still doing 50 percent each evening. Only oddity is one fish keeps flashing against the elbow, going to watch it a couple more days before I think about anything.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 10

Black lace pair auction, how much slate do you actually need?

Thinking of bidding on finandfry's black lace pair. I have a 40 breeder with a single piece of slate leaning on the glass. Is one piece enough for a proven pair or do they fight over spots? Also the tank has a couple of adult cories in it, would that be a problem during a spawn?

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 10

Bare bottom day 1: first big change done, discus reaction

Did the first big change tonight after wrapping the back glass in black and adding two pvc elbows and floaters like finandfry suggested. Pic below of how it looks. They hung at the surface for about twenty minutes and then came to the front glass for food, so far no hiding. Will update in a couple days.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 10

Moved my discus tank to a bare bottom, anyone regret it?

Thinking about going bare bottom on my grow-out tank so I can do big daily changes without hunting for waste. I keep sand in my display and the juveniles just seem to grow slower when I skimp on changes. Anyone who switched, do the fish look stressed with no substrate or do they not care?

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 9

Pulled the male after wrap, what do you feed the female for recovery?

Spawn went well this morning, male is back in his jar and she is torn up a bit but alive. I usually do small live food feedings twice a day for a week. Curious what others use to get a female back in shape, especially if she's lost weight.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 8

Pairing a young female with an older male, any real downside?

Got a 14 month old male who's thrown two good spawns and a female about 5 months. She's barred up nicely and rounds out on live food. Is it better to wait until she's older or is that age fine if she's well conditioned? Mostly worried about egg binding.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Oct 8

How warm do you keep your betta breeding tubs in autumn?

Room temps are dropping here and my spawning tubs are sitting at 25C with a small heater. Wondering if you run warmer for conditioning or just for the actual spawn. Heaters in small tubs make me nervous too.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 16

First time shipping fish, nervous

Sold my first pair on here and the box is packed like it is going to the moon. Breather bags, 96 hour heat pack, double insulation. Tracking says out for delivery and I cannot focus at work.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 16

Shipping heat packs, 40hr vs 72hr

Testing both this month with temp loggers in the boxes. Early data says the 72s hold above 60°F for a full extra day. Will post the graphs.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 15

Confession: I like water changes

Sunday morning, coffee, python running, podcast on. It is the only chore in my life with instant visible results.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 13

Show me your oldest fish

My bristlenose turns nine this year. Bought as a 'temporary algae solution.' Who's got a real senior citizen swimming around?

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 9

Discus myths that need to die

1. They don't need blackwater. 2. They won't die if the temp drops to 27 for an hour. 3. Beefheart isn't mandatory. Stability beats everything.

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DD Discus Dan @discusdan · Jul 6

Discus water change routine

People ask how I do 50% daily on 8 tanks, automatic drip + drain, 30 minutes of actual work a week. Setup thread coming this weekend.

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