The Importance of Checking Nitrate & Nitrite Levels when Acclimating New Discus
Before placing your discus order from us, it’s important to make sure your aquarium is cycled. Use a high quality water test kit, like API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT, to measure nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. You want the nitrites and ammonia levels to be zero and your tank should have little to no nitrates. You should also lower the temperature of your tank to 80 degrees. Finally, make sure the pH in your aquarium is adjusted to 6.5.
When you receive your fish, open 1 bag and check the water temperature and pH. The pH of the bags should be close to 6.5. If the pH is too high or too low by 0.3, then adjust your aquarium water to the pH of the bagged water. If the bag is cooler than your aquarium water, you should float the bags in a clean bucket with warm water(about 90 degrees) for 10 minutes. The water in the bags will slowly rise. Once the bags have warmed up, open the bags and dump the water with the discus into a net over an empty container. Then place the net over your tank and dump in your new discus. Place only 1 discus into the net at a time, so the fish don’t scratch each other. Do not add the shipping water to the aquarium.
After you have put away all your new discus, raise the temperature of the aquarium heater to 82 degrees. Turn off any lights above the aquarium and keep the tank dark until the next morning. Also, do not feed the discus fish any food until the next morning. Following these instructions should help your new discus acclimate quickly to their new home. If you have any questions or problems on how to acclimate the discus to your aquarium, do not hesitate to contact us.
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