newbie discus keeper - is this normal?

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A

Auricom1

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 22, 2010
38
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U.K.
Hi all,

I am new to discus, i've had them for about a month.

i am familiar with keeping challenging species, so am no stranger to setting up suitable aquaria, but as i said, i am new to discus, so don't really know what is 'normal' or not. (I have been keeping advanced fish for over 15 years).

My water is 75% RO waste water and 25% pure R/O pH is 6.8, no Ammonia, NO2, or NO3. Water is nice and soft. Water temp is 29C

The discus are feeding very well indeed, and seem to be healthy. They are being fed on a variety of discus food and bloodworm.

Minor aggression seems to occur regularly, but nothing too dramatic (similar to angel fish).

I have noticed what appears to be bits of slime coast floating around in the water over the past week or so. When the discus are looked at from the side they look perfectly healthy. But, when viewed 'front-on' there are subtle 'patches' slimecoat on the fish. When they are close to the lights these patches stand out a lot, but only when viewed from the front of the fish. I can't decide if the fish are losing their slime coats in pieces because of aggression, or whether these are 'natural' occurrances in a healthy fish?

I have added small amounts of tonic salts to the water, as this is meant to help fish to retain their slimecoats/keep them healthy, etc.

i have been reading up on discus, and i can't find anything that discusses this.

I would really appreciate any advice from experienced keepers.

Cheers,

Mike:headbang2
 
if you could post some pics thatd be great. sounds like it could be ph burn or chlorine burn. which is unlikely because its ro water.
 
Hi,

thanks for your reply. Please find photos attached to message. Tonic salts added is something i do with all of my fish as a 'standard' precaution to aid good health. I didn't realize it could be a problem for discus, so thanks for that. I can't imagine the slimecoat issue is related to water. I use R/O waste, which goes through four carbon filters, and then pure R/O to balance pH and to further soften water. I also allow the water to stand overnight before use.
But, i am new to this so i am happy to take on board all opinions,

Cheers,

Mike:headbang2

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if they are eating readily as you say then they might just still be adjusting to your water parameters. either way go to this site and post it your problem there with pics

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/forum.php

ppl there REALLY know what there talking about and truly are experts. there are also some of the most respected breeders in the world on that site to.
hope this helps.
 
^+1

Talk to "Eddie" on the site. He is all over the "Disease/sickness" thread.

It seems to me that it could be an exterior bacterial infection if this is not just happening after a WC.

Are they eating?!

Are their poop color normal/solid? Or are they clear/white/stringy?
 
Use a chemical called Life Guard...... i guarentee it will work its from stress and if not fixed will sufficate the discus....PM me if u have more questions
 
Potassium permanganate for external bacterial infections. I had a similar problem that was worse than yours and they all made a full recovery. Ask around on simply discus, it is used widely with them.
 
First thing I would do is raise the temp for those fish, 88-90° f and stop mixing the r/o waste water with your good r/o. If you are wanting to mix water I would use the tap water rather than the waste water. That waste water can be some pretty concentrated stuff. The good folks over at simply though will likely have some other ideas as well.
 
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