No carbon for discus?

[swervo513]

I walked into a local pet store today and noticed some beautiful discus. The old Chinese man who owns the shop said that the secret to keeping discus is to not use carbon in the filter. I thought that was odd. I was wondering if you guys thought this theory held any weight or if it makes sense at all?

Thanks
Larry

 

[3dees]

I have been keeping fish fo more than 25 years and now have my first discus tank. I have never run carbon. use it to remove meds but other than that it's a waste of money. if you want clear and clean water then do water changes. carbon lasts for only a couple of weeks and if not changed it will leach everything it took out back into the tank. it might have been useful years ago, but with modern filters offered now there just is no need.

 

[ccebr]

I agree with the above. I used to use carbon in the filter, because the staff in lfs say it makes the water crystal clear and removes bacteria and chemicals. This was just a way for them to sell their overpriced product; yes it removes chemicals and should be used to remove medications from the tank, but it does not contribute to the water quality. Cleaning your tank will. I have not used carbon for more than 5 years now and seen no difference whatsoever, other than my thicker wallet from saving a fortune. I would say the guy who advised you discus don't need carbon knows what he's talking about and if you ask him what you should run carbon for he will probably say to remove the meds alone.

 

[halvyt]

Some people believe there is a correlation between carbon and hole in the head disease. There has been tons of discussions on that with people riding both sides of the fence on that. I agree you dont need to use carbon either if you are doing your water changes. I have never used it cause I have never had a reason to.

 

[ryansmith83]

I'd just like to echo the other replies. Only use carbon to remove meds from the tank. Otherwise it's not going to do anything that a water change wouldn't remedy. Like halvyt mentioned, some people have linked it to HITH (though I don't know if there's been a study or definitive proof). Because discus are one of the SA cichlids that are prone to HITH, a lot of discus hobbyists choose to avoid it.

 

[swervo513]

Thanks for comments guys. I already removed carbon. I may be away for a month so in that time I might reapply carbon to sub for the water changes. I am so worried to leave my tank in someone elses care for that long. It never ends up good. But I guess carbon is out dated. I wish I knew that before I bought a 50 pound bag.

 

[Snowflake311]

I like my drinking water filtered by carbon. I think it's nice to do for the fish it does keep tannins from wood down so you do have clear water. It gives it a clean taste. But it needs to be replaced every month if you don't replace it then you are wasting your time and it will do you no good. Fish do fine with out carbon and you will save a little bit of money not changing it every month.