Discus are hardier than they are given credit for!

[msjinkzd]

I was just doing some maintenance and stuck my hand in the tank adn thought to myself "hmm, this seems warmer than usual". I busted out the thermometer and the tank was at 96!!! None of the fish seemed bothered at all but sheesh! Obviously, one of my heaters is malfucntioning so I unplugged the suspect one and did a water change, I cannot believe the sterbai and discus seemed so unphased!

[dixienut]

wow. good thing you were there to catch it,.. it might have continued to cook them,..

[pinkertd]

Yikes Rach! Good thing you were sticking your hand in today! I try to remember to check all my tank temps every day. On the discus tank there's an external digital reading which makes it easier.

[msjinkzd]

yea, but with 30 some tanks running, i don't always get to check all that stuff on every tank every day. I do typically check my L 046 tank, my discus tank, and my sulawesi tanks everyday (these are the ones where temp is crucial). I can't tell you if i checked yesterday or not, or even teh day before. The reason I was sticking my arms in today is because my anubias looked like crap (probably from teh heat, LOL). Lucky my plants looked crappy I guess!

[Dkarc]

An infrared temp gun works wonders when checking temps on lots of tanks. Quick, easy, and relatively cheap. I got mine a few years ago for like $40....im sure they're cheaper now.

-Ryan

[msjinkzd]

i have one. I just never remember to use it, LOL

[Star_Rider]

:22_yikes:

that is a bit warmer than they are accustomed to.

nice catch

[The Zigman]

yup, I have seen mine reach temps of 94 ... And I thought that was hot!

[fishorama]

golly! you must have good aeration, seems like they'd be at the top at that temp. Good save.

[msjinkzd]

yea I have an xp3 and an AC110 on that tank so there is good circulation/surface disruption. I just cant believe none of them were phased.

[Star_Rider]

discus are tougher than most would imagine.

when you consider that heat treatment is often used with temps up to 90+

as long as you have good flow aeration ;) and clean water.

[ksane]

Wow. I'm really surprised they were ok. What little troopers those Corys are, they're the ones who like cooler temps. I always tell people Discus aren't as fragile as the old-timers claim. I guess this is proof :-)

[msjinkzd]

luckily sterbai are more a warmer water fish so tha tis probably what saved them. I hadd amano shrimp and clithon corona snails in the tank as well which had no ill effects. it really was fortunate. Tank is back to a stable 86 (I added a thermometer, lol)

[pinkertd]

I wondered today about the amanos...good that they didn't cook!

[acevudoo]

How fast did you drop temp?

[msjinkzd]

i unplugged the heater before a water change of about 30% which was at 88. It dropped it down to 92 which was safer. Then it slowly dropped to 86 over the course of about 10 hours.

[acevudoo]

Nice .. The lowering wouldve freaked me out more than the apex.. Glad it worked out for ya!

[wesleydnunder]

In the wild during the dry season discus often get stranded in isolated pools with elevated temps and nothing to eat but algae for a couple months before the rains come. They often survive the experience. Good catch, Rach.

Mark