Who Gives A Fish Forums

Java Fern's weird, it thrives in my tap water (pH 7.8) but dies in my softwater tank. Maybe try a small batch in a bucket with adjusted water to see if it's the substrate or something else.

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'll cut back on feeding and test my tap water. Tank's been running for about 8 months, so it's not new. Gonna try adding some frogbit too.

My 75-gallon Discus tank keeps having ammonia spikes, even with weekly 50% water changes. I've got a Fluval FX6, sand substrate, and a bunch of Amazon swords. Tankmates are 6 Cardinals and 2 Rams. Feeding twice a day with frozen bloodworms and pellets. Any ideas why this keeps happening?

Re: "Natural Discus Behavior"

I think I should clarify that discus are shoaling fish. Not schooling fish, there's a difference. You can look it up if you're not sure what that means.

Re: Stunted Juvenile Discus?

If you're looking for an alternative to Prime, I'd suggest checking out Seachem's Safe. It's essentially the pond version, but stronger, so you end up using less and it's more cost-effective in the long run.

Re: San Merah?

Thanks for the lead, Luckyo. For the OP, it seems the definition of San Merah might be a bit flexible. I had some a while back from Kenny, but the details are fuzzy - I think they had a solid brown base with a red cover, but don't quote me on that. Maybe Luckyo can shed some light ...

Re: Discus and water softeners

Iron, calcium, and magnesium are pretty common in well water around here. I've found that adding a small dose of Safe after big water changes helps keep the iron and other heavy metals under control. The calcium acts as a natural pH buffer, which is nice - it means I ...

Re: Discus and water softeners

Try searching for "water softener" in the top right search bar. I'd advise against using one, as they work by swapping salt for the minerals they remove. Not ideal. If you're just keeping discus and not breeding, they should adapt to hard water, assuming it's free ...

Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

James, no worries on the questions, this place is for sharing knowledge after all.

I didn't go through the whole post Pat linked, but I'd like to add that proximity can also be a contaminant issue. Having a quarantine tank helps, but I'm guessing that's ...

Re: Morning Feeding Time

You can see in the video, they'll stick to the glass for a bit if pressed against it. Floating's fine too, they'll still get 'em.