Im thinking about adding peat moss to my aquarium?

Question

I'm going to be adding discus and heard its good for them but i was wondering does it really change the water brown or does it barley tint it.

Answer 1

I don't care for it because it turns the water too brown, for me.

Answer 2

Peat is added to aquariums to "lower" the pH of the water.   Discus in the wild live in water that has a pH of around 6.0-6.5.  Tank raised discus, which is what is available in fish stores (wild discus are VERY expensive), do not need the low pH that the wild fish are used to.  A small portion of peat in the filter does not discolor the water very much.

Once you start using peat to lower the pH, you must continue changing the peat out and putting fresh in because it will become depleted in about a week and not keep the pH low unless you add fresh peat.  I did not use any kind of artificial pH lowering when I kept discus (mine were acclimated over a 4 hour period to my tap water which is 7.4 pH.  I did read that Michigan peat is the best for this, however.  Be sure to rinse it good before putting in your tank if you decide to use it.

Discus are very particular about water quality and you must do partial (30-40%) water changes at the very least, every week, to keep them healthy and in the best condition.

Be careful adding discus to a tank with other fish in it, they are very shy and not at all agressive.  If you have other fish in the tank that are even mildly agressive, you will surely lose the discus.  They are not compatible with very many fish.  Angels, especially are dangerous because some carry a disease that is fatal to discus but has no effect on the angelfish.  If you try to mix angels and discus, buy from a reputable angel breeder that can guarantee that his fish are free from that particular disease.  It will cost you more, but not losing your discus will be worth it in the end.

Also, when adding discus to any tank, you must be careful to acclimate them VERY slowly or the shock of the difference in water from the fish store to your home will kill them in just a few days.

To acclimate properly, you need to roll the top of the bag down 4-5 times so there is a ring of air trapped in the plastic.  This will allow the bag to float in the tank with the top open.  

Next, take a half cup of tank water and pour it into the bag.  Now wait 15 minutes.  Every 15 minutes for the next 2 1/2 to 3 hours, add a half cup of tank water to the bag that the discus are in.  

If the bag gets too full, you can pour some out into the sink drain, do not pour any of the bag water into your aquarium, ever!  After you have added water to the bag for the perscribed length of time, net the fish out of the bag and put them into the tank, do not allow any of the bag water to get into the tank.

The reason you should take so long with discus is that they are very delicate fish that are very susceptible to changes in their water quality.

Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

8

Answer 3

I heard that peat is too rich and causes algae.

wow how can i be marked down for that?