ok i think i understand. i did not know that about ph and how it CAN change. when i had this tank up befor it always was real close to the same as the water i was adding. i new about the nitrates i just never had mine leave 0 no my test kit but i had less than half the numbers of fish. my test kit is a comon one from aquarium pharmaceuticals,inc freshwater master liquid test kit. is that ok or is ther a better choice. thanks for the info this is what i have been wanting to know
water changes and yes i searched first
- Thread starter shane.s
- Start date
The API test kit is a pretty good one. I prefer the SeaChem test kits or lab testers (which is what I use now) but used the API test for a long time with no problems other than it can be a pain to read sometimes. I still use it occasionally for placency readings. Many a hobbyist use it and I have read very few bad things.
Let me put it this way....if you get adult discus, you can most definetly get by with a once a week w/c (sometimes even everyother week if the tank is done right). If you get younger fish I highly recommend as many water changes as you are able to do. It will encourage growth, appetite and overall health/vigor. IMO, it totally depends on how you have the tank setup as well as what you feed, stocking densities, and the overall pH of your water.
pH will naturally overtime drift downwards as the nitrifying bacteria convert (oxydize) ammonia/nitrite. When they do this, a byproduct of their work is an acid which of course will lower pH. Overtime the acid builds up and will naturally lower the pH.
Nitrates themselves dont inhibit discus (or general fish) growth. Yes, discus are more sensitive to nitrates than other fish and when the levels are elevated, it creates stress. This stress will cause them to reduce or even totally stop eating, cause them to become susceptable to intestinal problems (spiro/hex for example) and can lead to them getting sick period. All of that which of course means slower growth (or in extreme cases total lack of growth) This is true for all fish, though some are more resiliant than others to stress factors (tilapia are among the most resiliant to poor water quality). Stress comes in the form of wrong temp, pH, lighting, high nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), low O2, general poor water quality, even flow rate and other tankmates. Those and many more are a vast array of stressors than can stress all fish and lead to problems.
-Ryan
pH will naturally overtime drift downwards as the nitrifying bacteria convert (oxydize) ammonia/nitrite. When they do this, a byproduct of their work is an acid which of course will lower pH. Overtime the acid builds up and will naturally lower the pH.
Nitrates themselves dont inhibit discus (or general fish) growth. Yes, discus are more sensitive to nitrates than other fish and when the levels are elevated, it creates stress. This stress will cause them to reduce or even totally stop eating, cause them to become susceptable to intestinal problems (spiro/hex for example) and can lead to them getting sick period. All of that which of course means slower growth (or in extreme cases total lack of growth) This is true for all fish, though some are more resiliant than others to stress factors (tilapia are among the most resiliant to poor water quality). Stress comes in the form of wrong temp, pH, lighting, high nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), low O2, general poor water quality, even flow rate and other tankmates. Those and many more are a vast array of stressors than can stress all fish and lead to problems.
-Ryan
There is another thing to factor in about growth. I read most of the previous posts but I might have missed it. If I did, sorry.
Hormones. I don't remember if all fish excrete hormones or not. But most fish I think do possibly to a lesser degree, and I was told that in particular this is true with discus. The dominate or largest discus excretes a growth hormone that basically stunts the growth rate of the other fish. Helping to keep the dominance, biggest fish gets bigger but the others not so much. And No the hormones do not usually effect other fish or things in the water that are a different species. So another reason for all the water changes.
Hormones. I don't remember if all fish excrete hormones or not. But most fish I think do possibly to a lesser degree, and I was told that in particular this is true with discus. The dominate or largest discus excretes a growth hormone that basically stunts the growth rate of the other fish. Helping to keep the dominance, biggest fish gets bigger but the others not so much. And No the hormones do not usually effect other fish or things in the water that are a different species. So another reason for all the water changes.
sprwoman1;1706174; said:
I have heard two different schools of thought on growth and hormones in discus fish. First is as you have stated above that the larger discus excrete hormone to keep smaller fish from becoming more dominant.
The other is that when mixing smaller and larger fish in the one tank the larger fish get the lions share of the food as they are dominant and chase the smaller discus away there by stunting or slowing the rate of growth in the smaller fish in this manner. That is why serious discus keepers alway raise their juveniles together to avoid this happening. You will always have a hierarchy in a discus tank but you can alleviate this problem by starting with fish of similar size and age.
Juveniles, depending on age require at least WC's every second day at approx 50% that is why I raise my juvenlies in a smaller tank before putting them into the display tank and adults can get away with twice weekly 30%. When I am raising juvenile discus I do daily WC at 30% they grow faster and are more resiliant to disease when water quality is kept at its best.
Hope this helps.
