Hello, I'm new and have a question.

[FishyGal]

I have one discus in a 40 gal tank with 12 cardinals, he is very well, eating really well, and looks MAGNIFICENT!! but...........here is my query, why does he swim mostly at the top of the tank while the cardinals swim mostly at the bottom? Surely he isn't afraid of the cardinals? He does come down to feed, first from my hand and then picking up any bits that are on the gravel, but then returns to the top. He even sleeps at the top of the tank which I beleive is unusual for discus. The temp is 86F.

[discalicious]

is there enough air provided to the tank?
i have found that if there is not enough air in the water
than they will tend to hang at the top of the tank.
Shane

[Ben]

Fishygal welcome to the forum!

If its possible a photo would be great.

When you mention the top of the tank, is it just under the surface or generally the top level of the tank.

He might be swimming at that level simply waiting to be fed all the time.

Ben

[Merrilyn]

A very warm welcome to the forum Fishygal.

I'm sure we can help you with an answer, if you can provide a little more information.

How big is your tank, and do you have an airstone in there? Discus have a very high demand for oxygen, and warm water holds less oxygen than cool water, so that may be something to look into.

[FishyGal]

Thanks for the welcome guys :D
No I don't have an airstone, funnily enough I was planning on putting one in but changed my mind at the last minute thinking that it would 'move' the water around too much, I know that discus like the water fairly still.

The tank is a 3' bow fronted which holds 40 gal and I am using an internal Fluval with the flow pipe turned inwards to lessen the flow.

If you think an airstone would be O.K. and not make too much turbulence then I will certainly add one.

Val

[sharn]

id definatly add one, can put the diffuser behind a plant or something if your worried about the look of it. if you find its too powerful just bleed a bit off, i cut a small hole in the start of the air tubing and depending on how you move the pump determines how much air comes out (when the airline is straight lots comes out, if its 90 degrees nothing comes out etc) but im sure theres other higher tech ways to bleed it off :)

if you have a spray bar and dont mind the noise you could always raise that above the water for some extra airation?

[wickedglass]

Hi Val and welcome,

perhaps you could try standing on your head, that way your discus will appear to be moving at the expected levels through the tank and so will the cardinal tetras. But be careful, if you do it long enough, this will become normal and then you run the risk of losing all the water out of the tank because it will be upside-down. It would certainly make water changes a challenge and feeding might be a problem.

seriously though, what kind of filter are you running? How is it circulating the water? generally speaking, a filter that draws water from the bottom of the tank and returns it at the top can be said to create a rollover effect. this means that the water, which is naturally aerated at the surface of the tank is moved to the bottom. if you have a spraybar, make sure it moves the water horizontally across the surface. It's not actually important whether the spraybar sprays from above, or at the water surface. the important factor in aerating water is surface movement and rollover. An airstone can further enhance this by moving water from the bottom of the tank to the top.

I'm guessing, however, that if the cardinal tetras are quite alive, happy and well at the bottom of the tank and your discus seems happy, then there is little to worry about concerning aeration. One might argue that cardinals are smaller and therefore consume less air than discus and therefore wouldn't show signs of low oxygen as readily as the bigger fish, but this theory would not hold up considering that the deciding factor is still the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. So, if you water is low on oxygen, then all your fish would be having problems and swimming at the top or have problems breathing and being a seasoned fishkeeper, I'm sure you would have noticed any signs like that.

Considering the information you've given so far, I think I would agree with Ben and say that your discus is a greedyguts and waiting for a pinch of yumyums. Or maybe he just likes the view from up there.

Cheers
Chris

[FishyGal]

Hey wickedglass, your reply really made me laugh, it also put my mind at ease concerning the aeration of the water. I too had wondered about the cardinals, they seem exceedingly happy swimming around the bottom part of the tank as does my discus in the top part of the tank, so perhaps I am just worring unnecessarily.

Thanks so much for all the help guys. :thumb I will try to stop worring and just enjoy him/her????

Val