Odd behavior from discus

[nkelmquist]

So anyway I have three discus in my meager 40 gallon tank. I am impressed by their behavior though. Some days they are at the tank greeting me every time I come up to it (my friend likes to call them "stalker" fish") and other days they just spaz out and hide at my every movement. They just sit there and eyeball me from behind the bushes. I just don't get it. Can anyone explain this to me?

[NatakuTseng]

what kind of maintenince do you do on the tank? (water changes, cleaning the filter, wiping down the tank walls, etc) What do you have for substrate, tank mates, etc?

[anonapersona]

If the water is dirty, the filter needs cleaning and they need a water change, they will be jumpy.

Best to do water changes and cleaning WAY before they get that way. Maybe 2x/week!

[nkelmquist]

I do one 50% change per week, I wipe off the sides of the tank every time I do the water change. And I have peat as a substrate. I have 2 filters, one for peat and the other for carbon, both get changed weekly. I guess I'll do another water change this afternoon and see if they're friendly again. Thanks:)

[sumthin fishy]

What do you change weekly? The filter media?!! That is likely your problem. Get a test kit and measure ammonia nitrites and nitrates. By removing your filter media you are taking out your bio-filter. The bacteria in the filter need to stay there to remove fish waste, go to the sticky cycling and read read read.

[NatakuTseng]

Alright, changing filter media weekly is a bad idea, you remove most of your nitrifying bacterial colony right there. Cleaning and changing are different, cleaning is just as it sounds, you take tank water, rinse the filter material out and return it to the filter, hard to do with carbon and peat, but I don't reccomend either anyway.

Carbon is not that great of stuff, I never reccomend using it unless you need to remove a medication, even then water changes are a better way to do that. Some filter wool, bio balls, or Siporax ceramic peices would be a much better alternative.

Peat as a substrate, not a good idea either. Discus DO NOT need soft acidic water contrary to popular opinion, they will do find in hard alkaline water straight from the tap. The peat breaks down and releases other things into the water as well over time.

I agree with Anona about your water, and is what I was suspective of. The quality of that water is substandard for the discus, which is why they exhibit the jumpy behavior. I would reccomend at least 3 50% changes weekly, spaced out evenly during the week. Water temp around 84-86 is also best.