I had taken the discus out of my ray tank as they had been bothering my little female hystrix. I gave them about 2 weeks time out and then put them back. This was what Pedro from aquascape had suggested. During this time no problems. My male hystrix whom is about 5" spends a LOT of time up and down the sides of the tank. He generally eats two or three baby crawlers a day and some live blackworms. He hasn't eaten since Thursday morning when he ate a baby crawler. I had put the discus back in about that time but can't remember exactly when whether it was before or after the last time I saw him eat. When he was on the bottom for a brief minute last night in the dark, I saw two of the discus go down and poke at his eyes, so out they came again. He still hasn't eaten and is continuously up and down the sides. The other two rays, which are smaller, are fine. They eat and scoot around the bottom as normal. I've done 40% water changes the last 4 days and have made sure the sump and filter media are good. This afternoon I put new carbon in a sock in the water flow as well to pull out anything that might be in the water that I don't know about. Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0 and nitrates running about 40-60 as usual, PH is 7.0 - 7.2. My thoughts are if something is bothering the bigger ray, shouldn't it as well be bothering the smaller rays and maybe even worse? Is the up and down normal? I've read both ways, that it can be and that it also shows something in the water is bothering him. Any help or suggestions on what to try or look for would be appreciated.
anything else to look for?
- Thread starter Chasintail
- Start date
As to the ray going up and down the sides of the tank that seems pretty normal because my retic does it all the time and my water is ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10-20
He's totally ignoring the food now. He would stop bouncing up and down before to grab his worm, eat some black worms and then back to it. Now he won't stop..up and down...hours and hours on end. I've cut up the worms and then find them all later uneaten. I'll keep trying.......
I was doing the water changes worried that something was in the water, though I'd not know what. Unless something is getting into my well that I don't know about. But still I'd think the other rays would be affected.
I was doing the water changes worried that something was in the water, though I'd not know what. Unless something is getting into my well that I don't know about. But still I'd think the other rays would be affected.
Just because something is bothering the bigger ray does not mean it will bother the smaller ones. They simply may be more resilent at this time. It is possible that the poking from the discus simply have him stressed. I think he will settle back down since you checked and everything is good. But I would not return the discus to the tank. Also that method of taking them out and returning after a couple weeks or months almost never seem to work unless there is a considerable change is size from when they were seperated.
I pretty much knew the discus might be the cause and that with the water being good, there shouldn't be too many issues. I also know he had a time with the last worm, for some reason, usually he sucks them in like spaghetti. I hope he calms down soon though, it stresses me seeing him like that! If I was in a tank, I'd be bouncing up and down as well! How long until I should be concerned about worms or parasites? Or is that pretty much a non issue?
This kills my plan of having the discus and rays in the 300 when I get it. Oh well, rays first! The discus will get the 120 with the few oddball cheaper fish store fish that are in the 55 right now. I had purchased some new discus...is this a common thing with them or just a habit the two larger ones picked up?
The only other thing I've changed is to start using my new filter media. This is what I got and have heard of others using it.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/AIR-HANDLER-Polyester-Roll-Filter-4WZ68?Pid=search
I do HVAC work and know that some materials like this have a tack adhesive applied to help catch dust but Grainger has an orange and white that SAYS it has tack adhesive. This does not say anything about it.
I appreciate the support and welcome any more thoughts from anyone else.
Derek
This kills my plan of having the discus and rays in the 300 when I get it. Oh well, rays first! The discus will get the 120 with the few oddball cheaper fish store fish that are in the 55 right now. I had purchased some new discus...is this a common thing with them or just a habit the two larger ones picked up?
The only other thing I've changed is to start using my new filter media. This is what I got and have heard of others using it.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/AIR-HANDLER-Polyester-Roll-Filter-4WZ68?Pid=search
I do HVAC work and know that some materials like this have a tack adhesive applied to help catch dust but Grainger has an orange and white that SAYS it has tack adhesive. This does not say anything about it.
I appreciate the support and welcome any more thoughts from anyone else.
Derek
Have you seen him poop he may be having digestive issues. It will be very hard for you to monitor since he is in with other rays. I would go back to the other media or something you know is fish safe just to be safe. I highly doubt it is anything parasite related.
If you see him lifting his tail a lot that could be another sign that he is constipated. Only other things I can think of would be oxygen and temp but I doubt those are the issue since you use a sump and I am sure you have a thermo on the tank
If you see him lifting his tail a lot that could be another sign that he is constipated. Only other things I can think of would be oxygen and temp but I doubt those are the issue since you use a sump and I am sure you have a thermo on the tank
What's the water chemistry from your well like. Alot of wells in the NE have sulphur, zinc, molybdenum, etc., and a low DO. Your county's water district doesn't run seasonal tests. Most wells change in their water chemistry from season to season. It might be prudent to run your water through a 5 stage home filtration system to remove possible metal and mineral contaminants.
Hmmm...i highly doubt its due to parasite either. When you changed the water in your tank, did you take the filter media out and cleaned it? I'm sure you didn't, but in my opinion, maybe its because the stress from the discus picking on her and the frequent water changes might gave her extra stress. Sometimes its better to hold off water changes temporarily if your fish shows signs of stress but you know your water parameters are good, that way you didn't disrupt the eco-balance in the tank. But right now, I say keep a close watch on her. check your water parameters daily to keep a close tab. Hold on water changes. I'm not sure on the new filter medium that you changed to, so I don't have any thoughts on that. Hope you keep us posted though. Best wishes 